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For Immediate Release
December, 16 2020, 11:00pm EDT
Contact:
Collin Rees, collin@priceofoil.org, 308-293-3159
Haaland is a "Fierce Ally" and Her Appointment to Lead the Interior Marks a "Historic Moment for Native Americans & the Green New Deal Movement"
WASHINGTON
Today, Sunrise Movement Executive Director and co-founder, Varshini Prakash, issued the following statement in response to Rep. Deb Haaland being selected as Secretary of the Interior. This marks the first time that a Native American will lead the office which manages relations with native tribes and pubic lands as well as the first Native American Cabinet Secretary. One of the most well-respected Indigenous leaders in the country, Rep. Haaland has a broad coalition of supporters including progressive organizations, over 150 tribes and hundreds of tribal leaders from across the country, environmentalists, and even Republican members of Congress.
"Today is a historic day. Joe Biden campaigned on a promise to "heal the soul of America." I cannot think of a single greater act to begin that promise than by giving a Native American woman authority over the nation's stolen land and allowing her to begin the process of restoring relationships with our nation's first peoples. Thank you Joe Biden for listening to the unprecedented groundswell of support that united behind Deb Haaland -- there is no one better to lead the Department of the Interior.
"Haaland is a perfect choice -- she is a fierce ally of our movement who has fought for renewable energy job creation in the House and was one of the first Congresspeople to endorse the vision for a Green New Deal after it was introduced by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez in 2019. With a progressive leader at the helm, we can make real progress on stopping climate change and ensure sovereignty and dignity for all native people and justice for all.
"Rep. Deb Haaland's appointment as Secretary of the Interior is a historic moment for every Native American and the Green New Deal movement. We know that in order to stop climate change, we must return leadership to the native tribes who cared for this land for centuries. This historic day would not have been possible without the hard work of tribes, native leaders, our Indigenous movement partners like NDN Collective and Indigenous Environmental Network, and every young person who made phone calls, knocked on doors, and pushed every candidate in the Democratic primary to chase the vision of a Green New Deal."
Background
What Sunrise Movement did to back #DebForInterior
- Creative campaign: Since Biden won the election, Sunrise Movement charged out of the gates with a campaign to hold him accountable in appointing a cabinet that looks like America and that will be able to deliver on his bold climate agenda. Sunrise created a "Climate Mandate" campaign, with a website, video, and creative communications to mobilize their supporters behind a slate of candidates for major cabinet positions. Deb Haaland was not only featured in the premier video launch but is highlighted 1st on the website. Sunrise movement even made further videos allowing Deb to share the story of her people.
- Letter to Senator Udall: On December 10th, Sunrise Movement joined NDN Collective, Justice Democrats, and Data for Progress in sending a letter to Senator Udall, asking him to heed the call of Native leaders and support Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Interior. These groups represent a cross-section of the broader Indigenous, youth, climate justice, and progressive movement which has overwhelmingly coalesced to support Representative Deb Haaland for the next Secretary of the Interior. This letter generated media attention and helped solidify Deb as a front-runner for the role.
Endorsements
Haaland has been endorsed by more than 150 Tribal leaders, organizations representing over 100 Tribal Nations, more than 50 members of Congress (including Republicans Don Young and Tom Cole), and a broad coalition of climate and environmental groups. She may be the only politician in America with support from progressives like the Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats and Congressional Republicans like Don Young and Tom Cole.
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren described Haaland as having "not only invaluable lived experiences, but also a top-notch command of policy."
- Rep. Young (R - Alaska) praised Haaland as a "consensus builder" and said that at the Department of the Interior she "would pour her passion into the job every single day."
- A letter to the Biden transition team signed by over 50 Members of Congress led by Rep. Raul Grijalva, the chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, described Haaland as "eminently qualified to be Interior Secretary."
- Rep. Cole (R - OK) said that he has accomplished a great deal with Rep. Haaland, pointing to bipartisan legislation addressing murdered and missing Indigenous women as well as coronavirus relief aid for tribes. "We understand that Native American issues are not a matter of conservative versus liberal," he added.
Policy
- Deb Haaland introduced the 30 by 30 Act, which "sets a national goal of conserving at least 30% of the land and 30% of the ocean within the United States by 2030".
- She's argued persuasively that the best route out of the coronavirus recession is to move swiftly to build out clean energy. "We need to listen to our planet and act now. While we do that, our country can reap the economic benefits of new industries and address economic inequality."
- In Congress, she is a respected and effective leader with a reputation for working across the aisle, introducing more bipartisan bills and attracting more cosponsors than any other House freshman, and introducing more bills with bicameral support sponsors than any other member of the House, period.
- Haaland has served as vice-chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, and the chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands -- which means she's exercised oversight over the same agencies she would be managing as Interior Secretary.
Sunrise Movement is a movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process.
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As Israel Defense Forces bombing continued to kill and maim large numbers of Palestinians across the Gaza Strip over the weekend and into Monday, the discovery of the bodies of medical workers who were apparently executed by their captors and the publication of several reports in which Israeli soldiers admit to torturing prisoners and using civilians as human shields have drawn renewed war crimes accusations and calls for accountability.
On Sunday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it had recovered the bodies of 15 Palestinian first responders from a mass grave, including eight Red Crescent workers and six Civil Defense personnel, who were killed by Israeli forces on March 23 while traveling "on duty" in five ambulances, a fire truck, and a United Nations vehicle in the al-Hashashin area of southern Gaza.
Jonathan Whittall, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza, said Sunday that the vehicles were picked off "one by one."
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The IFRC condemns the killing of eight Palestine Red Crescent Society medics in Gaza. We are heartbroken. These dedicated humanitarians, killed while responding to the wounded, should have been protected. We mourn their loss and stand with the Palestine Red Crescent. Full statement: bit.ly/427LXxp
[image or embed]
— IFRC (@ifrc.org) March 30, 2025 at 11:47 AM
The Gaza Health Ministry said that "some of these bodies were bound and shot in the chest" before being "buried in a deep hole to prevent their identification."
Accusing Israel of a "heinous crime," the ministry called on U.N. agencies "and relevant international bodies to conduct an urgent investigation into these crimes and hold the occupation accountable for committing them."
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said troops opened fire on the convoy because it was "advancing suspiciously" toward their position.
"Following an initial assessment, it was determined that the forces had eliminated a Hamas military operative, Mohammad Amin Ibrahim Shubaki, who took part in the October 7 massacre, along with eight other terrorists from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad," the spokesperson claimed.
Israeli officials routinely claim—often with little or no evidence—that Palestinian first responders, United Nations workers, journalists, and other civilians that it kills are members of Hamas or other militant resistance groups.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a statement Sunday that it is "outraged" by the killings, which it called "the single most deadly attack on Red Cross Red Crescent workers anywhere in the world since 2017."
"After seven days of silence and having access denied to the area of Rafah where they were last seen, the bodies of ambulance officers Mostafa Khufaga, Saleh Muamer, and Ezzedine Shaath and first responder volunteers Mohammad Bahloul, Mohammed Al-Heila, Ashraf Abu Labda, Raed Al Sharif, and Rifatt Radwan were retrieved today," the statement noted. "Ambulance officer Assad Al-Nassasra is still missing."
Noting that at least 30 Red Crescent workers and volunteers have been killed by Israeli forces during the war, IFRC secretary general Jagan Chapagain said: "I am heartbroken. These dedicated ambulance workers were responding to wounded people. They were humanitarians. They wore emblems that should have protected them; their ambulances were clearly marked. They should have returned to their families; they did not."
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Journalist Mohammad Alsaafin compared the killings to last year's IDF massacre of 6-year-old Hind Rajab, five of her relatives, and two PRCS medics who rushed to the site of the attack in a doomed bid to rescue the wounded child after she called for help.
On Sunday, the British newspaper The Independent published an investigation into alleged Israeli torture of Palestinians detained at facilities including Ofer Prison in the illegally occupied West Bank and the notorious Sde Teiman base in the Negev Desert.
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Handcuffed and cowering on the floor of a cell in a military base in southern Israel, the Palestinian found himself surrounded by five soldiers. Armed with dogs, the five reservists allegedly kicked, punched, and stamped on the man as he lay on the ground. Continuing their assault, they are accused of attacking him with Taser guns and sharp objects, sexually abusing him with these instruments. At one point, the soldiers allegedly stabbed him so hard that they pierced his buttocks and anus. The brutal alleged assault left the man hospitalized with a punctured lung, cracked ribs, and a tear in his rectum needing surgery for a stoma. He had not been charged with any crime.
The Independent noted details regarding some of the dozens of Palestinian detainees who have died in Israeli custody. The IDF is currently conducting its own probe into the deaths of at least 36 Sde Teiman prisoners, including one who died after allegedly being sodomized with an electric baton.
"The fact that we see some signs of abuse means that this is probably the tip of the iceberg," said one Israeli physician who has overseen multiple autopsies on dead detainees.
In an anonymous testimony leaked to The Independent, one Sde Teiman guard described a prevailing attitude of "Yes, they need to be beaten, it must be done."
"We began looking for opportunities to do so," the soldier said, adding that when he spoke out against the beating of one detainee, he was told, "Shut up, you leftist, these are Gazans, these are terrorists, what's wrong with you?"
One former Sde Teiman detainee said that "every meter you moved, they beat you, they hit you, they insulted you; they used dogs, tear gas, and electric shock."
IDF troops and veterans who were posted at Sde Teiman have provided similar details about "Israel's Abu Ghraib," a reference to the U.S. torture prison outside Baghdad during the Iraq War. Israeli doctors and medics have described forced starvation and 24-hour shackling so severe that prisoners have had limbs amputated.
A number of Sde Teiman guards were arrested last year following the leak of a video allegedly showing them raping a Palestinian detainee. The arrests outraged far-right Israelis, a mob of whom stormed Sde Teiman in a failed bid to free the accused guards.
As The Independent noted, "Among those held in [Israeli] detention are many of Gaza's healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, and paramedics." Some of these prisoners have died in custody, including the renowned surgeon Dr. Adnan al-Bursh, who may have been raped to death, according to Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.
Earlier this month, an independent U.N. panel found that Israel has "systematically" used reproductive, sexual, and other forms of gender-based violence against Palestinian men, women, and children during the war.
The IDF has responded to these and other allegations by claiming it "operates in accordance with international law."
However, the International Criminal Court last year issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant—who ordered a "complete siege" of Gaza blamed for deadly starvation and disease there—for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel is also the subject of an ongoing International Court of Justice genocide case brought by South Africa.
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"I recently saw that the IDF's Military Police Criminal Investigation Division opened six investigations into the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, and my jaw dropped," he wrote. "I've seen cover-ups before, but this is a new low."
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