Condemn the Murder of Awdah Hathaleen and End U.S. Complicity

I am writing in outrage and grief over the murder of Awdah Hathaleen, a courageous Palestinian advocate who was killed by Israeli settlers in the very community he devoted his life to defending. Just one month ago, the U.S. government—under pressure from pro-Israel political forces—denied Awdah entry into the United States, silencing him before he could speak in San Francisco about the violent settler and state attacks targeting his village and countless others across Palestine. Now, that very violence has taken his life. The United States bears responsibility for this. Our tax dollars and our political cover enable Israeli settler violence and apartheid. It is unacceptable for Members of Congress to remain silent while Israel continues to kill, dispossess, and dehumanize Palestinians with U.S. weapons and political protection. I demand that you: • Publicly and unequivocally condemn the murder of Awdah Hathaleen and call for justice. • Immediately end all U.S. military funding to Israel. No more weapons, no more excuses. • Reinstate funding for UNRWA and dismantle the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has allowed Israel to seize control of life-saving aid while engineering mass starvation. • Defend our right to speak the truth about Palestine — in our classrooms, in our workplaces, and in our public institutions — without censorship, repression, or fear. This is not a time for vague statements or empty platitudes. If you cannot speak out against the murder of a peaceful Palestinian advocate—especially one the U.S. government tried to silence—then you are complicit in a system of apartheid and genocide. Do the right thing. Act now.