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jewish voice for peace action
Despite Gaza War Crimes Accusations, Biden Sends Israel More 500-Pound Bombs
Since October, the U.S. has sent Israel more than 20,000 heavy bombs, which have been used in some of the deadliest massacres in Gaza.
Jul 10, 2024
The Biden administration has ended a two-month pause on the shipment of 500-pound bombs to Israel despite the frequent use of U.S.-supplied weapons by Israeli forces to commit alleged war crimes and genocide in Gaza.
Citing an unnamed Biden administration official, The Wall Street Journalreported Wednesday that the bombs "are in the process of being shipped" to Israel and should arrive in the coming weeks.
In May, the Biden administration suspended transfers of 500- and 2,000-pound bombs manufactured by aerospace giant Boeing over fears the devastating munitions would be used in airstrikes on Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge.
By that time, Israel had already dropped hundreds of 2,000-pound bombs—which the U.S. military avoids using in civilian areas because they can destroy entire city blocks—on Gaza, including in an October 31 attack on the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp that killed more than 120 civilians.
"This is what U.S. funding and weapons do."
Last month, the United Nations Human Rights Office said Israel's use of 2,000-pound bombs and other U.S.-supplied weapons likely violated international law by deliberately targeting civilians in disproportionate attacks. Israeli military commanders have also been criticized for using artificial intelligence-based target selection to approve bombings they know will cause high civilian casualties.
The Biden official told the Journal that the pause on 2,000-pound bomb shipments will remain in effect.
"Our main concern had been and remains the potential use of 2,000-pound bombs in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza," they said. "Because our concern was not about the 500-pound bombs, those are moving forward as part of the usual process."
But Israeli forces have killed many civilians with smaller bombs too. The New York Timesreported Wednesday that multiple weapons experts including a a former U.S. Army explosive ordnance disposal technician identified a fragment from a Boeing-made GBU-39 250-pound bomb used in Tuesday's attack on a refugee tent encampment outside the al-Awda school in southern Gaza that killed and wounded scores of civilians, including many women and children.
Palestinian and international agencies say Israel's 278-day Gaza assault and siege have left at least 137,500 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing. Israel's conduct in the war is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case. International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is also seeking to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders for crimes including extermination.
Despite overwhelming evidence of Israeli war crimes, the Biden administration remains Israel's most steadfast supporter, providing billions of dollars in military aid, approving more than 100 arms shipments, and offering diplomatic cover in the form of United Nations Security Council vetoes and what critics call genocide denial.
Reutersreported last month that since October the U.S. has sent Israel 14,000 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, 2,600 air-dropped small-diameter bombs, and other munitions.
Citing the al-Awda massacre, Jewish Voice for Peace Action said Wednesday that "this is what U.S. funding and weapons do."
"Arms embargo NOW," the group added.
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Biden 'Moving the Goal Post' With Threat to Withhold Bombs From Israel
"Now Israel has a green light to destroy Rafah in slow motion," said one critic.
May 08, 2024
While some Palestine defenders on Wednesday welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden's threat to withhold bombs and artillery shells from Israel if it launches a major invasion of Rafah, critics noted that an invasion is already underway and accused the American leader of walking back a previous "red line" warning against an Israeli assault on the southern Gaza city.
Biden said for the first time that he'll stop sending bombs, artillery shells, and other arms to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians forcibly displaced from other parts of the embattled Gaza Strip are sheltering alongside around 280,000 local residents.
Referring to Israel's use of U.S.-supplied 2,000-pound bombs—which can destroy an entire city block and have been used in some of the war's worst atrocities—Biden toldCNN's Erin Burnett that "civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers."
Even the U.S. military—which has killed more foreign civilians than any other armed force on the planet since the end of World War II—won't use 2,000-pound bombs in urban areas. But Israel does, including when it launched a strike to assassinate a single Hamas commander by dropping the munitions on the Jabalia refugee camp last October, killing more than 120 civilians.
"If they go into Rafah, I'm not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities," Biden said Wednesday.
Israeli forces have already gone into Rafah, and it was reported Tuesday that Biden was taking the unusual step of delaying shipments of two types of Boeing-made bombs to Israel to send a message to the country's far-right government. It was, however, a mixed message, as the president also earlier in the day reaffirmed his support for Israel's war on Gaza. In January, the International Criminal Court ruled that a genocide case against Israel by South Africa was plausibly brought and ordered Israel to "take all measures within its power" to uphold its obligations under Article II of the Genocide Convention.
Critics noted the shifting and subjective language used by Biden—who previously said that any Israeli invasion of Rafah would constitute a "red line" resulting in unspecified consequences.
"He said invading Rafah was a red line. Israel invaded Rafah anyway, bombing buildings, burning and crushing children to death," political analyst Omar Baddar said on social media. "Biden is now moving the goal post by adding a completely subjective descriptor: 'Major.' Now Israel has a green light to destroy Rafah in slow motion."
During the course of the seven-month Israeli assault on Gaza—which has killed, maimed, or left missing more than 124,000 Palestinians—Biden has said Israel has killed "too many civilians" with its "indiscriminate bombing," even as he's pushed for more and more military aid for the key ally.
Wednesday's interview came on the heels of Biden's approval of a $14.3 billion emergency military aid package to Israel, multiple moves to sidestep Congress to fast-track armed assistance, nearly $4 billion in previously authorized annual military aid, and diplomatic cover in the form of several United Nations Security Council vetoes.
Reporting that the Biden administration will delay a highly anticipated report on whether Israel is using U.S. military aid in compliance with international law also drew backlash Tuesday from human rights advocates.
Referring to Israel's U.S.-funded anti-missile system, Biden continued his supportive rhetoric during Wednesday's CNN interview, telling Burnett that "we're going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks."
But the president added that Israel's use of devastating weaponry against civilians is "just wrong," and that "we're not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells."
Some peace groups welcomed Biden's threat to withhold bombs and artillery shells from Israel, even while urging him to do more to stop his ally's genocidal onslaught.
"Biden's statement is as necessary as it is over overdue," Jewish Voice for Peace executive director Stefanie Fox said in a statement. "The U.S. already bears responsibility for months of catastrophic devastation: The nearly 40,000 Palestinians that the Israeli military has killed, the two million Palestinians being intentionally brought to the brink of famine, the decimation of all universities and almost every hospital in Gaza."
"Today's statement shows that Biden can no longer ignore the will of the majority of Americans who want a permanent cease-fire, release of all hostages, and an end to U.S. complicity in Israeli war crimes," Fox added.
Correction: This article has been updated to clarify the International Justice Court's findings on the genocide case brought against Israel.
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Rabbis for Palestinian Rights Counter 'Warmongering' AIPAC in DC
"We refuse to be bystanders as the Israeli government wages a genocidal campaign in our name," one rabbi said.
Mar 13, 2024
As lobbyists with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, went to the nation's capital on Tuesday to push for more money for Israel as it continues its lethal onslaught in Gaza, 17 rabbis and rabbinical students showed up on the hill with a counter-proposal: negotiate a permanent cease-fire and stop unconditionally funding and arming the Israeli military as it commits war crimes.
The rabbis and rabbinical students, who were affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Action, wore black shirts reading "Rabbis for Palestinian Rights" and met with members of Congress including Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.).
"AIPAC is warmongering and pro-apartheid," Rabbi May Ye with JVP Action, who is also a member of the Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council, said in a statement. "They do not represent Jewish people or the Jewish tradition."
"If you want to know one large reason why more members of Congress still aren't calling for a cease-fire—even though a cease-fire is overwhelmingly popular among their constituents—look no further than groups like AIPAC."
"We are rabbis representing hundreds of thousands of Jews affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace Action imploring our leaders to end their complicity in the Israeli military's genocidal campaign in the name of tzedek (justice) and real safety for all people," Ye added.
Also on Tuesday, JVP Action members occupied the office of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), one of the lawmakers who receives the most money from AIPAC.
The mobilizations come at a perilous moment in Israel's invasion of Gaza, which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has already deemed a plausible genocide. Israel's offensive, which has already killed more than 31,000 Gazans, could escalate further as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to invade the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are now sheltering following Israeli orders to evacuate the north.
"Our Jewish communities are rising up to say 'never again is now,'" said Rabbi Leora Abelson with JVP Action and member of the Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council. "We refuse to be bystanders as the Israeli government wages a genocidal campaign in our name.
"We need our politicians to listen to Americans, including the hundreds of thousands of Jewish Americans who are urgently calling for a cease-fire," Abelson added.
According to a recent poll, 67% of all U.S. voters back a cease-fire, as do 77% of Democratic voters. Yet only around 15% of all members of Congress have called for a cease-fire.
"If you want to know one large reason why more members of Congress still aren't calling for a cease-fire—even though a cease-fire is overwhelmingly popular among their constituents—look no further than groups like AIPAC," Beth Miller, director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, said in a statement. "AIPAC and other pro-genocide lobby groups use massive amounts of money and racist bullying to ensure congressional complicity in Israel's unfolding genocide of Palestinians."
Tuesday's counter-lobbying comes amid an increased mobilization against AIPAC by anti-war and progressive groups. More than 20 groups, including JVP Action, launched Reject AIPAC on Monday to encourage lawmakers to decline endorsements and donations from the group. Members of the coalition point out that AIPAC takes significant donations from right-wing billionaires and backs candidates that take a far-right stance in U.S. domestic politics as well, as it endorsed more than 100 legislators who voted to decertify the results of the 2020 presidential election. At the same time, it has pledged more than $100 million to unseat lawmakers who have called for a cease-fire, who are also some of Congress' most progressive members, and also to target moderate Democrats who it deems insufficiently supportive of Israel.
The rabbis also met with many of the lawmakers who have called for a cease-fire, including Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Summer Lee (D-Pa.)
"Our Jewish tradition calls upon us to stand up for justice and for peace. Saving a soul, 'pikuach nefesh,' is the most holy commandment in all of Judaism," Rabbi Brant Rosen, a member of JVP Action, a co-founder of the Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council, and Rabbi at Tzedek Chicago, said in a statement. "We are here asking our representatives to call for a lasting cease-fire, to save lives in Gaza now, and thanking the representatives and senators who are already taking this stance."
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