1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

From CNN on May 10: “CNN spoke to three Israeli whistleblowers who worked at the Sde Teiman desert camp, which holds Palestinians detained during Israel’s invasion of Gaza. All spoke out at risk of legal repercussions and reprisals from groups supportive of Israel’s hardline policies in Gaza. They paint a picture of a facility where doctors sometimes amputated prisoners’ limbs due to injuries sustained from constant handcuffing; of medical procedures sometimes performed by underqualified medics earning it a reputation for being ‘a paradise for interns’; and where the air is filled with the smell of neglected wounds left to rot. ‘We were told they were not allowed to move. They should sit upright. They’re not allowed to talk. Not allowed to peek under their blindfold.’ Guards were instructed ‘to scream uskot’ –shut up in Arabic – and told to ‘pick people out that were problematic and punish them,’ the source added.” President Biden continues to supply and fund Israel while knowing since October 2023 that Israel has been targeting civilians. This is continued participation in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians and a violation of Leahy Law, which prohibits our government from funding foreign forces who are implicated in gross human rights violations. U.N. human rights expert, Francesca Albanese, has documented how Israel’s gross human rights violations and war crimes are genocidal acts, including their targeting of hospitals and healthcare workers, targeting journalists and civilians, using starvation as a weapon, etc. Sites of learning, culture, and historical memory — universities, mosques, churches, museums — have been decimated. The Gaza Strip's ability to produce food and clean water has been severely destroyed by Israeli airstrikes and bulldozers which have razed farms and orchards. The U.S. stands alone in vetoing Palestine’s request for U.N. membership. The U.S. continues to ignore the U.N. resolution on March 25 for a ceasefire. As people of conscience, we will not ignore this. I am demanding you to take immediate steps to stop Israel’s genocide of Palestinians by calling for 1) a total and permanent bilateral ceasefire (which is what a ceasefire is), 2) humanitarian aid allowed to enter Gaza, 3) an end to Israel's siege on Gaza, 4) the release of all Palestinian and Israeli hostages, 5) no more weapons or funding to the Israeli military, 6) the reinstatement of UNRWA funding. A permanent ceasefire is an absolutely critical step to ensuring everlasting liberation and peace. The I.C.J. ruled that Israel should do everything in its power to prevent genocide. Never again means never again for anyone. Palestinians deserve to live with freedom and safety which means first stopping this genocide and then ensuring liberation from occupation and apartheid. The liberation and safety of Palestinians, Israelis, Jewish people, and Muslim people are intertwined. There can only be true safety when we are all free from oppression.