Over 400 congressional staffers have signed an anonymous open letter demanding lawmakers urge a cease-fire in Gaza.
The signatories are said to be led by Muslim and Jewish staffers and “allied staff,” according to the letter. The letter says that they are choosing to remain anonymous over concern that signing it could cost them their jobs.
The copy of the letter that was obtained by Politico did not have a total number of signatories listed, but The Intercept’s DC bureau chief posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that there were 411.
411 congressional staff are circulating a letter urging their bosses to call for a ceasefire pic.twitter.com/bz1ox5QKuz
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) October 20, 2023
“Today, we write to implore our bosses, Members of the United States Congress, to join calls for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Millions of lives hang in the balance, including the 2.3 million civilians — half of whom are children — in Gaza, civilians in Israel, and Jews and Muslims around the world,” the staffers wrote.
“Nationwide and in Congress, the voices calling for de-escalation and peace have been drowned out by those beating the drums of war. As Muslims and Jews, we are tired of reliving generational fears of genocide and ethnic cleansing,” they wrote.
The letter says that they are pleased to see a united front condemning the atrocities committed by Hamas, but urged the same sympathy for the Palestinian who are “enduring catastrophic suffering at the hands of the Israeli government. As of this writing, more than 6,000 bombs have been dropped on the Gaza Strip. More than 4,000 Palestinian civilians, including entire families, have been slain, and about 12,500 are injured.”
“We believe that Palestinian civilians deserve to be remembered, mourned, and defended with the same rigor that Jewish Israelis deserve from the U.S. Congress,” the letter continues.
Murshed Zaheed, a progressive strategist who served as a senior leadership aide for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, posted that his former boss would be “proud of them.”
As a former Leadership Staffer in both the House and the Senate couldn’t be more appreciative of the courage these staffers are showing in speaking out for cease fire and peace. Every Democratic Leader should be proud of them. I know Harry Reid would have. https://t.co/a5IsTe5JC4
— Murshed Zaheed (@murshedz) October 20, 2023
“As a former Leadership Staffer in both the House and the Senate couldn’t be more appreciative of the courage these staffers are showing in speaking out for cease fire and peace. Every Democratic Leader should be proud of them. I know Harry Reid would have.”
As Timcast News reported earlier in the day, Rep. Ro Khanna’s political director has already resigned over the congressman refusing to co-sponsor a resolution calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine.
In a post on his private X account, the former staffer, Adam Ramer wrote, “Personal note: I resigned my job on Monday because of a refusal to call for a ceasefire. I will be doing everything in my power to stand against war & for Palestinian justice. So please continue to dm for any volunteering/organizing needs that I can assist with in NY/DC.”
The House resolution in question calls for “an immediate de-escalation and cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine.” It was authored by Rep. Cori Bush and is co-sponsored by Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
The resolution calls on the Biden administration to “immediately call for and facilitate deescalation and a cease-fire to urgently end the current violence” and “promptly send and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.”
