Hearing from constituents emboldened a member of congress to speak up against Israel’s military detention of Palestinian children. Oren Ziv ActiveStills By Jennifer Bing: There is not much to celebrate taking place on Capitol Hill these days. Nearly two years into Donald Trump’s presidency, US advocates for Palestinian rights may be rightly discouraged from believing that any progress can be made to change the status quo of unconditional support for Israeli government policies and actions. Many issues of concern – the status of Jerusalem (and relocation of the US embassy), the rights of refugees, the blockade of Gaza and the expansion of Israeli settlements – continue to undermine any prospects for a just peace.
We continue to see progressive elected members of Congress and candidates for office shy away from criticizing US policies when it comes to Israel.
US aid to Israel continues to gain widespread Congressional support without any concern for the well-documented human rights violations committed by the Israeli military. State and federal laws have been introduced against the right to nonviolently protest the occupation of Palestine through boycotts and divestment.
But not everyone in Congress is staying silent.








