The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the historic support from nearly half of the United States Senate for a resolution introduced by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) that would have required the U.S. Department of State to produce a comprehensive report investigating the killings of American citizens in the occupied West Bank and detailing human rights practices by Israeli forces and government-backed illegal settlers.
Although the Senate narrowly voted 51-47 to block the resolution, the vote represents a historic shift in congressional willingness to hold the Israeli government accountable for abuses against U.S. citizens. Led by Sen. Van Hollen along with Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), 47 senators voted in favor of forcing a vote on the measure.
At least nine American citizens have been killed in the occupied West Bank in recent years, – including Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 17-year-old Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, and 17-year-old Mohammad Khdour – without meaningful accountability or independent U.S. investigation into their deaths.
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw said:
“While it is deeply disappointing that a narrow majority of senators chose to block basic transparency, the fact that nearly half the U.S. Senate voted to demand accountability for Americans killed by Israeli forces and illegal settlers marks a watershed moment.
“For far too long, the U.S. government has applied a double standard when American citizens are murdered or brutalized abroad, granting total impunity to the Israeli military and violent settlers. The American people deserve a government that protects all its citizens, regardless of their heritage or where they travel.
“We thank Senator Van Hollen and the 46 other senators who stood up for basic human rights, American lives, and the rule of law, and we will continue urging Congress to end blank-check military aid to the Israeli government.”
Yesterday, CAIR called on all Americans nationwide to contact their U.S. senators and demand support for S. Res. 852 requiring the State Department to report what the U.S. government knows about Israel’s crimes against Americans and Palestinians and what actions it has taken, or failed to take, in response.
For years, American families whose loved ones were killed in the occupied West Bank have been denied justice and accountability. For years, Palestinians have faced violence, abuse, and impunity without meaningful consequences. Now, senators may soon have an opportunity to force the truth into the public record.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]