Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) speaks to the media following Friday prayers at the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Virginia, December 4, 2015.
There are few things rarer in American government than a member of Congress who’s openly critical of Israel. In recent years, as bipartisan consensus has vanished on virtually every conceivable subject, Israel remains one on which members of both parties are virtually indistinguishable in their blanket support.
In recent days, that has changed seismically. House Democrats like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Cori Bush (D-MO), and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) have made strong statements on the House floor, condemning Israel’s human rights abuses, referring to the Netanyahu government as an ethno-nationalist project and Israel as an apartheid state, condemning their actions and calling for a limiting of American aid. Tlaib confronted President Biden before an event in Detroit over his position on the crisis. Ocasio-Cortez is now preparing to introduce a resolution that would block the United States’ planned $735 million sale of bombs to Israel. It’s exceedingly unlikely that it will pass, but its very existence is proof that we’ve entered a new era of Democratic politics on Israel.
Even a handful of Democratic senators have cautiously condemned Israel’s role in the violence, all of which would have been largely unthinkable not long ago. Joe Biden, of course, remains very much a part of the old guard, continuing to offer unwavering support for Israel and condemn Palestine while the Israeli military bombed the Associated Press and Al Jazeera building in Gaza City. Only on Wednesday did he nudge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toward a cease-fire, and even then it was “de-escalation … on the path to a ceasefire.” At least 212 Palestinians, including at least 61 children, have now been killed in the recent rash of violence, which kicked off with the Israeli evictions of Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem.
In years prior, the only House Democrat willing to vocally stand up to the Israel lobby, to condemn Israeli human rights abuses, and introduce resolutions that would prevent American military aid from going to things like the detention of Palestinian children has been Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN). Not at all a member of the Squad, the 20-year House veteran from St. Paul, Minnesota, has been a lone dissenting voice in the chamber, pushing for changes to American policy toward Israel for years, even when it was deeply unpopular. I spoke with Rep. McCollum via email about the recent violence, the sea change in Democratic attitudes toward Israel in the past few weeks, and how to push President Biden, a notorious Israel hawk even by old Democratic Party standards, to do something to prevent even greater loss of life. An edited transcript follows.
Alexander Sammon: I’m curious about your reaction to the violence of the last couple days—many on the ground in Gaza have said it’s been far worse than the violence in 2014, and the international outcry has been perhaps even stronger than it was in 2014.
Rep. McCollum: Innocent Palestinians are dying; their homes and places of worship are being destroyed; and a building in which AP and Al Jazeera media outlets were located was destroyed. This is unacceptable. Extremists on both sides are fighting for their agendas—what I’m fighting for is peace and security for all Palestinians and all Israelis. I want all children to be able to go to bed at night without the constant fear of violence. We need an immediate cease-fire.
You introduced H.R. 2590, your most recent resolution on Israel, in mid-April, before many of the evictions and much of the recent violence began. The swelling of support for H.R. 2590, which picked up two new co-sponsors in Bonnie Watson Coleman and Chellie Pingree this week, seems to be different than previous attempts to protect Palestinian rights or rein in Israeli human rights violations, especially with the recent statements on the House floor by Reps. Omar, Tlaib, Ocasio-Cortez, and Bush. Does this feel like something different than previous resolutions you’ve introduced?
I am proud of my courageous colleagues who are joining me in stepping up to promote the human rights of Palestinians. We now have 21 co-sponsors of the bill and more than 100 endorsing groups representing diverse constituencies from across America and around the world—civil-society groups, rabbis, and other religious groups, human rights organizations, advocacy organizations, and so many more. It should not take an escalation in violence to heed the plight of Palestinians living under military occupation—but it is my hope that our growing support for this bill helps to advance the conversation and make progress toward achieving human rights for all.
[Note: A full list of endorsing organizations can be found here.]
Standing up for Palestine has been a lonely battle in Congress; how does it feel to have so much popular support and organizing around this most recent resolution?
It has always been important for me to stand up for human rights, and for what I believe is right. Palestinian rights are worth fighting for.
You’ve been the longest-standing advocate for Palestinian human rights; did you arrive in Congress with Palestinian rights as a priority, or when did that become an issue of importance for you?
A U.N. report was brought to my attention in 2014 outlining the pattern of military detention of Palestinian children. Alarmed by this report, I led a letter with congressional colleagues to then-President Obama, and began to learn more about the situation on the ground for these children. No child should be arrested, dragged from their home, and locked up in a military detention facility. The thought that any U.S. aid could be supporting these actions is simply indefensible for me.
Your recent efforts have focused on preventing American aid money from being put toward demolishing Palestinian homes and detaining Palestinian children. Why start there?
Congress should be able to agree on the most basic idea—that children should not be arrested, dragged from their homes, and locked up in military detention facilities. Americans deserve accountability and transparency to ensure our U.S. taxpayer dollars are not being spent on human rights abuses.
How have you seen congressional attitudes toward Israeli human rights abuses change in your 20 years in office?
I have been fighting for human rights throughout my entire career in Congress—from advocating for Darfur, for the Rohingya, for the Karen community, for the rights of Palestinians. I will continue to do so. It is the right thing to do.
President Biden ran on protecting human rights as a cornerstone of his foreign policy; he’s also hawkish on Israel, and his State Department has remained unquestioningly supportive of Israel throughout these most recent attacks. As Al-Jazeera reported, the Biden administration blocked the U.N. Security Council from issuing a statement aimed at reducing tensions between Israel and Palestinians, making the U.S. the only one of 15 countries to oppose that action. How do you convince the administration to break with the consensus thinking on Israel and take steps to protect Palestine or move toward conditioning aid money?
By focusing on American values.
