<\/p>\n
Anti-Palestinian sentiment rises amid bipartisan US support for Israel | Israel-Palestine conflict News<\/p>\n
Washington, DC \u2013<\/strong> Anti-Palestinian sentiment is on the rise in the United States, with politicians from both major political parties backing Israel\u2019s war in Gaza despite the mounting Palestinian death toll and growing accusations of war crimes.<\/p>\n Last week, the war in Gaza dominated the third Republican presidential debate, where competing candidates were unanimous in their support of Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sick of hearing the media, I\u2019m sick of hearing other people blame Israel just for defending itself,\u201d one of those candidates, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, told the audience.<\/p>\n Such statements cropped up throughout the two-hour event, even when the candidates were discussing topics unrelated to the crisis. But Palestinians were barely ever mentioned, despite a death toll in Gaza that has ticked past 11,000.<\/p>\n In fact, the only time a candidate said \u201cPalestinian\u201d or \u201cPalestine\u201d was when DeSantis bragged about banning a Palestinian student advocacy group from state universities.<\/p>\n Advocates say this is indicative of a wider trend of US politicians \u2014 across ideological lines \u2014 justifying and denying Israeli atrocities in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a bipartisan effort to dehumanise the Palestinian people,\u201d said Ahmad Abuznaid, the executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USPCR).<\/p>\n Abuznaid cited recent episodes in US politics that he said underscore hostility towards Palestinians. They include Democratic President Joe Biden voicing doubt over the accuracy of the Palestinian death count and attacks on Palestinian American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib for her criticism of Israel\u2019s military offensive.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether they fail to mention Palestinians, question our death tolls, attack our students and protests, or censure the only Palestinian American representative in Congress, their attempts to silence us won\u2019t work,\u201d\u00a0Abuznaid said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs much as they wish us to disappear, we are here and will be here, and they will be seeing much more of us moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n At Wednesday\u2019s debate, DeSantis and Nikki Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations, used similar language to push Israel to take strong action in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cFinish the job once and for all with these butchers, Hamas,\u201d DeSantis said, referring to the Palestinian group that launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7.<\/p>\n Haley echoed that sentiment, saying, \u201cFinish them. Finish them,\u201d in response to a question about whether she would urge a \u201chumanitarian pause\u201d during the fighting.<\/p>\n Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie \u2014 another Republican presidential candidate \u2014 followed his appearance in the debate with a visit to Israel on Sunday, where he likewise rejected calls for ending the violence.<\/p>\n A bipartisan delegation of US congress members, including the top lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also made a solidarity trip to Israel this past weekend.<\/p>\n Ohio Republican Max Miller, who has faced outrage for saying that Palestine will be turned into a \u201cparking lot\u201d, accompanied key Democrats on that visit and posted a photo of the group with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Ambassador to Israel Jacob Lew.<\/p>\n Here is my statement as I head home from #Israel<\/a>.#StandWithIsrael<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/wcnnmLEp9I<\/a><\/p>\nHostility in Congress<\/h2>\n
\n