Why is Senator Murray Using American Taxpayers’ Money to Fund a Genocide in Gaza? | May 1–7, 2024

On Passover, hundreds of Seattleites – from two months old to 79 years old – gathered in downtown Seattle to call for a ceasefire and an end to US funds supporting the Israeli military. On Second Avenue, in front of the federal building, a 30-foot-diameter mural reading “No Funds for Genocide” was painted, demanding that Senator Murray call for a permanent ceasefire. During the protest, Senator Murray voted yes on the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, which sends an additional $17 billion in military funding and weapons to Israel. This vote was held despite the majority of Americans calling for a ceasefire, with hundreds of Murray’s Seattle voters emailing and calling her office for months calling for an end to military aid to Israel.

Passover is the holiday of liberation, when the Jewish people tell the story of the ancient Israelites’ journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom. We know that our liberation is linked to the liberation of all people. This year, Jewish Americans, holding Passover in the streets and liberation seders in their homes, across the country are calling for an end to the Israeli government’s campaign of genocide in Gaza.

The State of Israel was created through mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians (known as the Nakba), which forcibly expelled more than 750,000 Palestinians from their homes in the 1940s. Since its founding in 1948, the state of Israel has received more than $300 billion in military aid from the US, despite committing multiple human rights abuses over the past 75 years and currently committing “plausible genocide” in Gaza, the United Nations said.

Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the past six months and is now allowing children to starve. Because the Israeli military has deliberately attacked and killed more than 100 Palestinian journalists in the past six months, and has refused to allow international journalists into Gaza, the death toll is likely much higher than reported. The Israeli army has bombed all of Gaza, displacing millions, destroying Gaza’s hospital system and blocking the access of humanitarian aid, ensuring mass starvation.

We must end unconscionable U.S. military financing and support for this ongoing genocide. We do not want our tax dollars to continue to weaponize this genocide against the Palestinians.

“As a young person and as a Jew, I take action out of a responsibility for solidarity,” said Talia, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Seattle. “I am 18 years old and 13,000 of those killed were younger than I am now. Many soldiers with machine guns are my age. It hurts to breathe. I take action as an expression of sadness, but also to dream of a life together. Senator Murray should know that we will continue to fight until every Palestinian child is allowed to grow up.”

During the Passover seder, Seattle residents wore black T-shirts that read “Not in Our Name” and collectively painted a mural to depict the Israeli government’s deliberate starvation of Palestinians.

As Jews, we know that it is not anti-Semitic to criticize the Israeli government. We demand that our elected officials use their power to send more humanitarian aid to a starving population, instead of more weapons to the Israeli government.

“How can we celebrate Passover, the holiday that commemorates liberation from slavery, at a time when Jewish security is cynically used to justify atrocities against the people of Gaza who are literally starving?” asked Leonard Sklar, a concerned Jewish Seattle resident. “The answer is to take our seder to the streets and demand that Senator Murray stop sending military aid and weapons to Israel.”

Less than 24 hours after the mural was painted, the Seattle Department of Transportation prioritized city resources to paint over the mural’s words: “No Money for Genocide: Let Gaza Live.” As reported by the Seattle Times, an SDOT spokesperson said the mural was being removed in phases to prevent harmful chemicals from entering storm drains. However, non-toxic washable paint was used.

The veneer of liberal environmentalism to censor a peaceful message against genocide is misplaced. It is ironic to claim environmental damage from paint, given the amount of toxic chemicals targeted at those fighting for Palestinian freedom, from Gaza to Columbia University. The Israeli army’s bombardment of Gaza is causing serious environmental problems, such as drastic water and air pollution. In addition, 22.9 million tons of debris remain from the bombings, which contains harmful substances such as asbestos, heavy metals, fire pollutants and hazardous chemicals. It has also been reported that the soil will become infertile and chemicals from white phosphorus weapons used in Gaza will linger in the air for years. Since October 2023, more than 2,000 agricultural plots, including farms and greenhouses, have been destroyed in Gaza. If you care about the environment, try standing up against ecocide and genocide instead of removing some non-toxic paint from a Seattle street.

One of Judaism’s most deeply held values ​​is pikuach nefesh, the duty to save every life. So as descendants of people who survived genocide, displacement, ethnic cleansing, and persecution because of our identity, we refuse to remain silent while others are persecuted because of their identity.

‘Never again’ means: never again everyoneincluding Palestinians.

Read more in the May 1 to 7, 2024 issue.