Several Yolo County residents from Davis and West Sacramento met with Congressman Mike Thompson on Sunday, Nov. 11, in his Napa office to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that has killed thousands of civilians in Gaza.
However, the group said they left the 30-minute meeting confused and concerned with the congressman's stance on the issue.
In a press release following the meeting, the group argued that "although Thompson claimed to agree with the need to follow international law… he did not specify support for a ceasefire or other concrete actions to prevent what the UN calls a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza."
Thompson did not allow journalists to attend the meeting, but the release noted that group members shared accounts of personal losses of family members, grief at the rising death toll and concerns for the "constant breaches of human rights and international law by Israeli forces."
"Reem Awad-Rashmawi, a Davis immigration attorney, emphasized that Thompson's own constituents have lost friends and family in the bombing campaign and that the daily civilian death toll and regular sight of extreme violence should move the congressman to act," the release emphasized.
According to an Oct. 21 NBC article, former adviser for President Biden Ahmad Ramadan warned that Michigan's Muslim and Arab American populations, who were instrumental in electing Biden, are growing frustrated with the president and are threatening to not vote for him again.
"She felt that inaction by the Democratic Party was causing Arab-Americans and other voters to lose enthusiasm for Democrats as 2024 approaches," the release added regarding Awad-Rashmawi.
Following the meeting, Thompson released a statement on the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza.
"The protection of civilian life is tantamount as the conflict in Israel and Gaza is creating a worsening humanitarian crisis," Thompson stressed in his statement. "Israel has a right to defend itself and its people from terrorism like we saw on Oct. 7, but they must do so while prioritizing the safety of civilians."
Regarding the bombing of a major hospital in Gaza, Thompson called the reports "grave and concerning," noting that "the director-general of the International Red Cross said that this situation is unbearably desperate."
"Innocent lives are at risk because of Hamas, but there is no justification for attacking health care facilities," Thompson emphasized. "The Israeli government must adhere to international law in their pursuit of Hamas terrorists and do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties."
Thompson also argued that Hamas is using innocent Palestinians as human shields, calling it a war crime and that they are "responsible for many civilian deaths."
However, Seth Sanders, a UC Davis Jewish Studies Professor who attended the meeting, said that bombing Gaza does nothing to stop Hamas because its leadership is based in Qatar.
"Hamas leadership is located in Qatar, not in Gaza, so this will not stop Hamas, but I think it will keep Israel angry, frightened and it will keep Netanyahu in power," Sanders warned in an interview after the meeting.
Furthermore, Sanders said he was confused by Thompson's stance because "it seems to directly contradict what he said his principles were."
"I didn't know what he meant when he said he was against targeting civilians because his actual stance was not to support a ceasefire and to continue the very large funding for the Israeli military," Sanders said. "I don't understand why he thinks that further bombing will help the hostages get home when the hostages, I assume, are in the place that they're bombing."
Sanders also noted that Hamas has largely been propped up by the Israeli government, particularly Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in efforts to keep a two-state solution off the table.
"The idea is that by propping up violent extremists, Netanyahu could prevent a Palestinian state and keep Palestinians divided," Sanders said referring to reporting from Times of Israel. "According to critics within Israel, Netanyahu has refrained from specifically targeting Hamas leaders previously perhaps because it's good for him politically to have people so frightened."
However, some Middle East analysts have disputed these charges with some arguing that he simply didn't do enough to shut them down.
Still, the political ramifications for Israel have been – and will continue to be – severe for both the United States and Israel.
"This further isolates the U.S.," he warned. "It's one of the cases where I think the moral thing to do and the politically sane thing to do are the same, which is to let the people of Gaza live."
Erica Ballinger, a Davis resident and member of Jewish Voice for Peace, also attended the meeting. She called the Israeli response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis "collective punishment" and not self-defense.
"He says Israel has the 'right to defend itself,' when Israel is using precision weapons to intentionally target churches, hospitals, schools, entire neighborhoods, reducing much of Gaza to rubble and killing over 11,000 civilians in the process, a staggering 70% being Palestinian women and children," Ballinger said referring to Thompson in a Thursday statement. "If he wants to stop the pictures of entire families dead under rubble, babies gasping for breath without ventilators, massacres in hospitals, he needs to tackle the source of those deaths – the billions of dollars in U.S. military aid that is enabling Israel's continued campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide."
Ballinger noted that the number of people who attended the group's most recent vigil Tuesday afternoon doubled from the previous week, with roughly 50 in attendance.
The group said it will continue holding vigils outside of Thompson's 622 Main St. office in Woodland every Tuesday from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., demanding he call for a ceasefire.
Thompson did not agree to do a follow-up interview but instead provided the following statement when told that some people who attended the meeting were confused by his stance.
"I have been and will continue to be outspoken about imploring Israel to do everything possible to ensure civilians are protected," he said in a Wednesday statement. "As they continue operations against the Hamas terrorists, avoiding civilian casualties must be a top priority."
"I recently received a classified briefing from the Biden administration on the ongoing conflict," he continued. "The administration emphasized that they continue to push for international law to be followed and that civilians be protected."
According to the Washington Post, one out of every 200 people in Gaza have been killed, amounting to over 0.5% of Gaza's population of over 2 million people.
Netanyahu continues to reject the growing calls for a ceasefire unless all 239 hostages held by Hamas militants are released, according to PBS.
Although the prime minister might still continue military action regardless of the United States' stance on the issue, more people are pushing their representatives to call for a ceasefire.
Even though many groups like the one demanding Thompson to call for a ceasefire have formed and rallies have been held around the country, their efforts have been largely unsuccessful. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has only been able to get 24 members of Congress to call on the Biden Administration to establish a ceasefire – up from 18 two weeks ago.
Still, Thompson, who filed for reelection in California's District 4 Friday, will continue having to answer to this growing group of his constituents demanding he call for a ceasefire.
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