1. United States
2. Colo.
3. Letter

I am writing to demand immediate action, including economic sanctions on Israel, a total embargo on arms transfers, and efforts to suspend Israel’s membership in the United Nations. As outlined in Francesca Albanese’s recent report to the United Nations, Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank amount to blatant violations of international law, which, as Albanese states, “cannot continue without significant consequences” (p. 5). The report documents “a prolonged state of domination and oppression” that Israel exerts over Palestinians through severe restrictions on movement, extensive land seizures, and systematic violence. Albanese asserts that these acts constitute a form of apartheid under international law, emphasizing that Israel’s policies are “designed to fracture Palestinian society, creating an environment in which Palestinians are driven from their land” (p. 10). The report calls these actions “a machinery of control,” reinforcing that they are part of a calculated strategy to dismantle Palestinian presence (p. 8). It is crucial that the U.S. government responds firmly to these findings. Albanese notes that the occupation’s violence has been “devastating to Palestinians, especially women and children, who endure violence, insecurity, and deprivation daily” (p. 6). Failing to hold Israel accountable means supporting ongoing brutality that the report categorizes as “ethnic cleansing” (p. 12). We cannot allow arms and military funding to continue to flow to a regime documented as committing “grave breaches of human rights” (p. 15). Under U.S. law, it is illegal to supply arms to states known to use them in acts of ethnic persecution or occupation. As Albanese urges, “Third States have an obligation not to aid or assist in maintaining an apartheid regime” (p. 18). The report’s findings are clear: Israel’s membership in the United Nations should be re-evaluated if it continues this violent regime. I urge you to champion immediate economic sanctions, halt all military aid to Israel, and pursue Israel’s suspension from the United Nations until it ceases its violations of Palestinian rights. Albanese’s report reminds us that international law is unequivocal; inaction only condones impunity. Thank you for standing up for justice. (https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n24/279/68/pdf/n2427968.pdf)