Some Dems seek halt to Israel aid
Ryan said letter calling for end of support ‘markedly different’ from draft he was shown
KINGSTON, N.Y. >> A group of Ulster County Democratic Committee members, including several elected officials, are circulating a letter to be sent to federal representatives calling for the U.S. to “halt unregulated military aid and restrict future aid to Israel,” saying the continued aid “connects all Americans to the indiscriminate behavior of the Israeli military and any crimes committed during this military conflict.”
“Today, the United States stands alone on the global stage in its support for (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu government’s collective punishment of Gaza and the West Bank,” the letter states.
“This support through tax dollars directly connects all Americans to the indiscriminate behavior of the Israeli military and any crimes committed during this military conflict,” it continues.
The letter was introduced during the Ulster County Democratic Committee convention on Wednesday, Feb. 21, by sponsors looking for the committee’s OK to send it out to other Democratic committee members across the county. The letter would go to
U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan, D-Gardiner, and U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-Catskill, and U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
In urging support by the committee to share the letter, Chelsea Villabla, a member of the Kingston Democratic Committee, said local federal officials “have expressed support for the continued and increased funding of disproportionate acts of violence on Palestinian civilians.”
“Millions of Palestinians are currently living in tents with no water, electricity or food,” she said. “They are starving to death due to the violent defense allocations of our tax dollars.”
The content of the letter and the request to share it more widely resulted in disagreement among committee members, with some supporting the content of the letter and saying it should be shared to generate a “dialogue” and others calling it “wrong,” “immoral,” and “anti-Semetic.”
Committee member Linda
Geary called the introduction of the letter during the party’s nominating convention disrespectful and “a pretty shrewd move for people who have been pushing these kind of resolutions at municipalities around the county.”
Others, though, said sponsors weren’t looking for the party to endorse the contents of the letter, but simply for permission to circulate it among other committee members.
“I think being able to have respectful dialogue and being able to share this out with our members and let people choose for themselves whether they’re going to sign on or not is completely open, transparent and democratic,” said committee member Melissa Tierney.
Committee members ultimately left it to the party’s executive board to decide whether to send it out to other party members. Committee Chairman Kelleigh McKenzie did not respond to an email Friday asking about the executive board’s decision.
On Friday, Ryan called for an immediate “mutual cease-fire” in response to the threats by the Israeli government of a massive ground offensive in Rafah, a city where more than a million Palestinians have amassed after fleeing attacks elsewhere.
At the convention, Ryan told committee members he supported the letter, but on Friday, he said the letter introduced by its sponsors was “markedly different” from the draft he had been shown.
“I clearly was talking about a different letter because multiple aspects of that letter, I don’t agree with,” Ryan said Friday. “There’s multiple parts I don’t agree with in that letter.”
Ryan said that while he has a strong disagreement with the Netanyahu government, he believes the state of Israel is a critical ally of the United States.