Caribbean American Congressmember Urged To Take A Stand On Ceasefire

By NAN ET Writer

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Nov. 10, 2023: Dozens of protestors this week showed up outside the office of Caribbean American Congressmember Yvette Clarke of Brooklyn, NY to ask that she sign on to a resolution urging the Biden administration to call for an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

“Palestine Is not an international issue that has nothing to do with us. It is an issue of humanity and right now there is a genocide unfolding,” Bhavana Nancherla told CBS News.

“A lot of children are dying to the bombs that are being dropping in Palestine,” Santiago Escudero added.

So far, 18 House members have signed on and families want Clarke to add her name, too. The House resolution also calls on the Biden administration to promptly send and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

So far Clarke, who is endorsed by the Israeli lobbying group, AIPAC, has not commented on if she supports a ceasefire and has released a mere two statements since the Oct. 7th attack.

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke was born in Brooklyn to Jamaican immigrant parents and is endorsed by AIPAC.

Clarke on Nov. 2nd wrote: “I wholeheartedly condemn the Hamas attacks on Israel and the escalating violence that has claimed the lives of thousands of innocent Palestinian women, children and men in Gaza.” And on Oct.11th, she  joined Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) and New York State Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein (AD-48) in calling on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the U.S. State Department to take immediate action to help American citizens safely and quickly return home from Israel.

A Palestinian man sits on the debris of collapsed structures destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 10, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out a ceasefire in Gaza on November 9, saying the military was performing “exceptionally well,” but insisted Israel does not plan to reoccupy the Palestinian territory. The retaliatory aerial bombing and ground offensive has killed more than 10,800 people in Gaza, mostly civilians and many of them children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

On Oct. 16th, representatives Cori Bush (MO-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), André Carson (IN-07), Summer Lee (PA-12), and Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), alongside Representatives Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Nydia Velázquez (NY-07) announced a resolution urging the Biden Administration to call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine, to send humanitarian aid and assistance to Gaza, and to save as many lives as possible.

Palestinian members of the Hijazi family, killed after their home was hit during the Israeli bombardment at dusk the evening before, are placed in the back of a pick-up truck to be taken for burial from the Najjar hospital in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 10, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out a ceasefire in Gaza on November 9, saying the military was performing “exceptionally well,” but insisted Israel does not plan to reoccupy the Palestinian territory. The retaliatory aerial bombing and ground offensive has killed more than 10,800 people in Gaza, mostly civilians and many of them children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

The war started on October 7 after the Palestinian group Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing over 1,400 people and taking more than 200 captives.

Israel retaliated with a relentless bombing campaign that has killed more than 10,000 people in Gaza. Settler violence against Palestinians has also soared in the West Bank amid a security crackdown by Israeli forces.

In addition to its bombing campaign in Gaza, the Israeli government has severely restricted the entry of food, water and fuel over the past month. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant promised to impose a “complete siege” on the territory, saying that his country is “fighting against human animals”.

Although the humanitarian situation in Gaza is deteriorating, US President Joe Biden has rejected calls for a ceasefire while expressing “unwavering” support for Israel. The White House has repeatedly said that it is not drawing any “red lines” that might limit the Israeli military operation.

Rights groups and the UN, however, have urged Israel to stop the bombing, which has struck hospitals, refugee camps, churches, mosques and schools sheltering civilians.

Last week, UN experts warned that the Palestinian people are at a “grave risk of genocide”, underscoring that Israel’s allies “bear responsibility and must act now to prevent its disastrous course of action”.

The UN’s Genocide Convention defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”, including killings and measures to prevent births.

The US provides Israel with at least $3.8bn in military aid annually, and Biden is seeking more than $14bn in additional assistance to Israel this year.