Baldwin’s sympathy for Gaza victims not enough
Why is she so willing to give Israel a blank check in regard to its treatment of the Palestinians?
Tony Gibart, The Capital Times, January 19, 2009
I am gravely concerned with Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin’s vote for the recent House Resolution 34, which expressed unconditional support for Israel in its war against Gaza.
Over 1,100 Gazans were killed and over 4,000 injured by this illegal invasion. Human rights groups on the ground estimated that 85 percent of these were civilians. In contrast, 13 Israelis, including 10 soldiers, were killed.
In explaining her vote Baldwin, D-Madison, said that her “heart goes out to the many innocent victims of this conflict.” However, her voting record on Israel/Palestine issues demonstrates an alarming pattern of one-sidedness in favor of Israel.
For instance, she voted for the draconian Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, which designated Palestinian territory as a “terrorist sanctuary” and thus gave the green light to Israel’s campaign of assassinations and its illegal blockade of Gaza. The drastic reduction of humanitarian aid and Israel’s strangulation of Palestinian economic life directly led to the recent bloodshed.
At the time, many of Baldwin’s constituents warned her about the unbearable hardships that the PATA and siege would inflict on the people of Gaza, 750,000 of them children under the age of 15. Unfortunately, Baldwin and the vast majority of her congressional colleagues ignored such warnings.
Baldwin has been willing to stand up against human rights abuses throughout the world. She has demonstrated an understanding of the root causes of humanitarian crises from Colombia to Darfur and openly criticized U.S. foreign policy in regard to Latin America and many other places.
Why then is she so willing to give Israel a blank check in regard to its treatment of the Palestinians? Palestinians who suffer from occupation, invasion, economic strangulation, and daily humiliation at the hands of Israel suffer no less than the innocent civilians who are terrorized at the hands of paramilitaries in Colombia or the Janjaweed in Darfur.
Certainly, with the staggering loss of civilian life and property now taking place in Gaza, there can be no excuse for U.S. politicians to continue unconditional economic, military, and political support to Israel.
A few brave members of Congress, such as Rep. Dennis Kucinich and Wisconsin’s own Gwen Moore, had the courage to vote against HR 34. Tammy Baldwin should work with fellow progressives in the House to begin to reshape U.S. policy so that catastrophes like the one in Gaza can be avoided and peace can finally be achieved for these long-suffering peoples. She represents a very progressive district and there is no political excuse for her to be taking a more hawkish approach to Israel than progressives such as Moore and Kucinich.
Furthermore, the blind support for Israel’s offensive, displayed by Baldwin and other Democrats, is completely out of step with the party’s base. A recent Rasmussen poll found that Democratic voters overwhelmingly oppose Israel’s offensive by a margin of 55 to 31 percent. It is distressing, to say the least, to watch Baldwin and the vast majority of her Democratic colleagues march in lockstep with the likes of President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney on one of the critical human rights issues of our time.
As Baldwin continues to obey the Beltway consensus on the Israel/Palestine issue, objective observers have irrefutably documented Israel’s persistent violation of international human rights law. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations International Court of Justice have all condemned Israeli actions against Palestinians. One day after Baldwin voted for HR 34, the Wall Street Journal ran an opinion column stating that Israel’s recent attack on Gaza is a war crime. It is disheartening that more sensitivity for the human rights of Palestinians can be found on the opinion page of the Wall Street Journal than in the voting record of the congresswoman from Madison.
Professed sympathy for innocent victims will not ease the suffering of the Palestinians or end the violence that plagues the region. While there is a pause in the fighting, Israel still must be held accountable for its behavior. If progressives in the U.S. do not speak out, Israel will continue its deadly siege of Gaza and engage in more disproportionate attacks that kill civilians. Kucinich has drafted a balanced House resolution that fully recognizes the human rights abuses occurring in Gaza, calls on Israel to allow unrestricted humanitarian access in Gaza, and demands a lasting cease-fire. Tammy Baldwin’s co-sponsorship and vocal support for this measure would be an important step in the right direction.
Tony Gibart wrote this column on behalf of the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project.
Copyright ©2009, Capital Newspapers
