Why Do Our Politicians Care More About Israel Than Americans?I was astonished by the lack of response when I asked senators about the deadly beating of a 20-year-old American by Israeli settlers.
Three episodes over the last nine days underscored the US bipartisan establishment’s unparalleled commitment to Israel – and their utter disdain for anything that gets in the way of it. Including Americans. ‘I Am Pro-Israel’First, last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges, visited Washington, DC (for the third time since “anti-war” Donald Trump was re-elected). Amid the fanfare and revelry, I asked seven Republican senators if they knew how many Americans had been killed in the past 21 months by the government they were sending blank checks to. Each senator either had no idea, or no interest in the question itself. When pressed on whether she had any insight into Americans killed by the Israeli military, Maine Senator Susan Collins responded, puzzlingly: “I am pro-Israel.” A US senator was asked about US citizens killed by a foreign country. She responded by saying she supports the foreign country. Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin responded that he did not know, and that he hadn't "even given it much thought.” Two days later, on Friday, Israeli settlers – tolerated and protected by the Israeli government – brutalized 20-year-old American Sayfollah Musallet. The settlers, as well as Israeli forces, blocked ambulances from reaching Musallet, and another Palestinian they attacked, Mohammad al-Shalabi, for hours. Both were killed. After Musallet was killed, I reached out to the same seven senators, asking for their reaction to it and giving them more information about the previous six American victims they apparently didn't know about. None responded. Take a Picture, It’ll Last LongerI didn't just approach these seven senators; I also wanted to know what the 14 senators from both sides of the aisle who took a chummy photo earlier that week with Netanyahu were thinking. Among the group was Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar, California’s Adam Schiff, and New Jersey’s Cory Booker (whose new book about “good trouble” entitled “Stand,” inspired by his 25-hour speech on the floor of Congress, comes out this fall). So, I reached out to all 14 senators, who, at the time, had not publicly commented on Musallet, and asked if they had any response to the killing, or what they would say to the leader they had just taken a photo with. None responded. And, in the days since, one member, Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, has spoken out. That’s right: as of late Thursday, 13 of 14 still had said nothing about the killing. Including Schumer, the leader of the Senate Democrats. A Friend’s TrialBesides the progressive wing of Congress, as well as House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, and Reps. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.) and Kathy Castor, who represents Musallet’s Florida district, much of Washington has remained silent about the killing. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have still not said anything. It took four days for a senior-level Trump official to even make contact with Musallet’s family or publicly comment on the killing. On Tuesday, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned the killing, calling it a “criminal and terrorist act” on Twitter. Huckabee, who has previously expressed staunch support for the settler movement, the annexation of the West Bank, and opposition to a Palestinian state, said he asked Israel to "aggressively investigate” the attack. Musallet’s father told me that Huckabee had called him right just before his tweet, and that the ambassador said he met with Netanyahu and told him there must be justice for Sayfollah. Musallet said Huckabee came across as genuinely concerned. But then the next day, Huckabee made the highly unprecedented decision to attend Netanyahu’s criminal trial, as a show of support for the man facing bribery and fraud charges (of which Netanyahu denies). Afterwards, Netanyahu tweeted a public thank you to Huckabee – for his “support.” One day, Huckabee tells the father of a young American killed by foreign terrorists that he told the leader of that country that there must be justice. The next, Huckabee is appearing at that leader’s trial to support him. There Is No BottomThis all is not to center Americans’ suffering over that of the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed by Israeli violence, nor the millions displaced by it. Rather, it is to underscore that there is, in fact, no bottom even for the most cynical, self-interested parts of the US political establishment. Israeli forces can bomb the only Catholic church in Gaza, the church that the late Pope Francis would call on an almost daily basis. They can strike clearly-marked World Central Kitchen vehicles, and kill seven people, including a Canadian-American veteran and aid worker (the interests of WCK founder and DC’s beloved chef Jose Andrés be damned). They can kill Americans – journalists, peace activists, kids – and Palestinians at will. There is no bottom. A foreign government is committing an actual, ongoing genocide in plain sight. Meanwhile, the US press and political establishment are consumed with a mayoral candidate and college campuses. How much fear-mongering, cynical, and outright dishonest ink has been spilled on Columbia University? Or Zohran Mamdani? How much clear-eyed, critical, and truthful ink has been dipped about Israeli soldiers and settlers killing Americans and shattering the basic existence of millions of Palestinians? There is no bottom. It is inexplicable. Why are the media and politicians so transparently in the bag for a foreign government that seems to have no reciprocal respect? Why does this foreign government receive billions of US taxpayer dollars, unconditionally, while money for the homeless, healthcare, food aid, public transportation, or helping others rather than bombing them is penny-pinched? Why are those who protest this reality vilified and kidnapped, while those who perpetuate it are rewarded? Why is it that politicians are able to look away as more than 58,000 people are killed, as more than 2 million lives are utterly and irreversibly changed? Why? The almost robotic commitment – exhibited by a US senator saying “I am pro-Israel” in response to a question about Americans killed by Israel – makes such a basic question all the more compelling. "Hier ist kein Warum." There is no 'why' here. That is what Primo Levi, a Holocaust survivor, wrote in his book If This Is a Man. The phrase was said by a concentration camp guard, Levi wrote. It illustrated how, in the camps, there was no logic, no basic morality. That searching for an explanation of something so unexplainable is besides the point. The questioner is denied reason. They are not entitled to an explanation. Because to answer “why” is to dignify the question at all, to respect the skeptic as equally human, as worthy of logic. It is to allow for the possibility of “why not.” Perhaps this week can illustrate to you, and importantly, those you know who may disagree, that the people in power are not interested in answering. |