The U.S. government is fully complicit in Israeli government and settler violence against Palestinians and we must put an end to the annual $3.8 billion blank check.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Adina Marx | media@jvp.org | 202-964-0380
Washington, D.C., May 8, 2023 – Jewish Voice for Peace Action welcomes Congresswoman Betty McCollum’s (D-MN-04) reintroduction of the Defending Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act, which seeks to ensure that no U.S. military funding to Israel can be used to support the Israeli military detention or torture of Palestinian children, the demolition of Palestinian homes, or annexation of Palestinian land.
In an official announcement of the reintroduction of the bill, Congresswoman McCollum stated that “Not $1 of U.S. aid should be used to commit human rights violations, demolish families’ homes, or permanently annex Palestinian lands.” This common-sense position is rapidly growing in popularity among the general public. August 2021 polling found that 55% of likely voters and 72% of Democrats support McCollum’s legislation.
Sixteen members of Congress joined the legislation as original cosponsors: Donald Beyer (D-VA-), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY-16), Cori Bush (D-MO-1), Dwight Evans (D-PA-3), Chuy Garcia (D-IL-4), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-3), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7), Barbara Lee (D-CA-13), Summer Lee (D-PA-12), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), Ilhan Omar (D-MN-5), Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ-10), Mark Pocan (D-WI-2), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12). The legislation is also supported by over 75 civil society organizations and groups. Full list available here.
“The reintroduction of Congresswoman McCollum’s Palestinian Children and Families Act could not come at a more critical moment. Israelis have elected the most far-right and extremist government in the country’s history. This government has escalated the already-brutal violence of Israel’s apartheid regime. The U.S. government is fully complicit in Israeli government and settler violence against Palestinians and we must put an end to the annual $3.8 billion blank check.”
— Beth Miller, Political Director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action
Beth Miller is available to speak with media.