Palestinian Group Endorsement Spotlights Ceasefire

From proper, Reps. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Katie Porter, D-Calif., Democratic candidates for California Senate, take part in a candidates’ discussion board in Los Angeles on October 8, 2023. Supply: Tom Williams / Getty

An advocacy group engaged on behalf of Palestinian Individuals has endorsed Barbara Lee within the U.S. Senate race in California as the opposite candidates within the race reject requires a unilateral ceasefire by Israel.

The U.S. Palestinian Council (USPC) Board of Administrators on Tuesday supplied its full-throated assist for Lee, a longtime Congressoman who has spoken in no unsure phrases for her need to see a unilateral and everlasting ceasefire as an alternative of “conditional” ceasefires her rival candidates are calling for.

MORE: Motion For Black Lives Addresses Israel-Gaza Battle, Calls For Finish To ‘U.S.–Backed Occupation Of Palestine’

“Consultant Lee was among the many first in Congress to name for a everlasting ceasefire in Gaza and continues to guide efforts for a de-escalation of violence and diplomatic options for peace, equality, and safety within the area,” USPC President Prof. John Dabeet stated in a press release emailed to NewsOne.

Lee has the mannequin of consistency in terms of reacting to the assault by the militant Hamas group towards Israel on Oct. 7. Notably, Lee has referred to as on Israel to cease attacking Gaza, the place greater than 26,000 Palestinians – together with harmless girls and youngsters – have been killed because the Hamas assault greater than 4 months in the past. Lee is among the many first members of Congress to make such calls for.

That response is totally different from these of Democratic candidates Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff in addition to Steve Garvey, a former Main League Baseball star working as a Republican within the California Senate race.

Porter, as an illustration, initially took a hardline pro-Israel stance towards Hamas and advised the U.S. was guilty earlier than softening her rhetoric.

“I assist working towards an enduring bilateral ceasefire in Gaza,” Porter stated in a press launch in December.

Lee has stated {that a} “conditional ceasefire just isn’t a ceasefire in any respect,” noting {that a} “true ceasefire just isn’t solely attainable, it’s the best and humane path ahead.”

Schiff, nonetheless, has been in whole opposition to any ceasefire. In truth, earlier this month he voted to ship emergency help “to assist Israel in its time of biggest want.” Whereas Schiff stated in a press launch the emergency help was additionally to “alleviate the struggling of the individuals in Gaza,” it will be naive to imagine Israel wouldn’t use that support to proceed its assault that has killed tens of hundreds of individuals amid a rising loss of life toll of Palestinians.

Garvey, for his half, has overtly stated “Hamas doesn’t deserve a ceasefire” and stated Lee is “fallacious” for calling for one, seemingly ignoring all of the collateral harm from the continued, widening regional battle.

As the one member of Congress to vote towards authorizing utilizing navy power in response to the Sept. 11 terror assaults – a response that led to separate misdirected and protracted wars that included greater than 100,000 deaths – Lee has a document of being on the suitable aspect of historical past, notably within the face of partisan strain.

The Israel-Palestinian battle continues to tell voters’ opinions about candidates, and the California Senate race is not any totally different.

Politico has referred to as it the race’s “single greatest subject dividing” the candidates.

The difficulty has additionally deeply resonated amongst Black voters, particularly, who’ve drawn a parallel between Israel’s colonialized therapy of Palestinians and the way African Individuals have been handled within the U.S. all through American historical past.

Information reveals that younger voters in additionally California agree with Lee on the subject of a ceasefire, and it’s not even shut.

Nevertheless, in a ballot launched earlier this month, Lee was in a distant fourth place at 7% whereas trailing Garvey, Porter and Schiff, who every registered 15% assist.