Tag: Chris Murphy

CT Jews Commend Sen. Chris Murphy for Voting to Block Arms Sales to Israel Fueling Gazan Genocide

by Miranda Rector, JVPNH and Sarah White, HJOC

Jewish Voice for Peace of New Haven (JVPNH) and the Hartford Jewish Organizing Collective (HJOC) commend U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy for his vote Nov. 20, 2024, to block the sale of weapons to Israel such as Joint Direct Attack Ammunitions and 120 mm mortar rounds that are being used to kill thousands in Gaza in the ongoing Israeli genocide.

Sen. Murphy joined 18 other US Senators in voting to approve Senator Bernie Sanders’ Joint Resolutions of Disapproval to block the Biden administration’s 20 billion dollar arms sale to Israel. Although the resolutions did not pass, this was the first Senate vote ever to stop arms sales to Israel. Sen. Murphy was among the 7 of the 11 Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that voted in favor. Three of the nine Jewish members of the Senate also voted in favor. The vote signals growing support within the Democratic party that cutting off the flow of weapons to Israel is the only way to end the US-backed genocide that has killed more than 44,000 Gazans so far, including at least 16,000 children, with the actual death toll far higher.

JVPNH and HJOC joined organizations across the state in urging Sen. Murphy to vote in favor of the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval, including by organizing a constituent letter with over 440 signatures, hosting a Children’s Day where participants colored drawings for Sen. Murphy, organizing more than 60 Jews to call Senator Murphy at a Shabbat dinner, canvassing local neighborhoods, and participating in numerous phone banks.

“The organizing that went into persuading Sen. Murphy is a huge victory. We showed both that Connecticut Jews and allies support blocking weapons to Israel and that we’re a powerful voice for change,” says Miranda Rector, a Chapter Coordinator for JVP New Haven. “We must continue to use our collective power to stop arming Israel and end the genocide.”

“The U.S. government is actively enabling the Israeli government’s genocidal campaign, offering it unconditional funding and weapons, as well as impunity, in direct violation of international laws. This makes every taxpayer complicit in this ongoing genocide and the Israeli military’s more recent assaults on Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen,” says Sasha Zoldessy, an organizer with HJOC.

To contact Jewish Voice for Peace of New Haven, phone Miranda Rector at 203-850-7183 or email [email protected].

To contact Hartford Jewish Organizing Collective, phone Sarah White at 206-388-7222 or email [email protected].

Senator Murphy Suckered into Defunding UNRWA

by Stanley Heller, Administrator, Promoting Enduring Peace

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has provided food, education, and more for Palestinian refugees since 1948.

Israeli government leaders have tried to weaken or destroy it as a way of pressuring Palestinians into giving up their rights. At the end of January, the Israeli government had an anti-UNRWA propaganda campaign ready for what they knew would be a devastating decision against their actions in Gaza by the International Court of Justice. The Israelis alleged 12 members of UNRWA had taken part in the Oct. 7 attack from Gaza. It sent the charges and names of the 12 to Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner general. He tried to appease the Israelis by acting before any evidence behind the charges was given.

Instead of cooling things down, this caused the charges to seem more credible, leading to Biden’s suspension of aid. This seems quite boneheaded on the part of Lazzarini, but he was between a rock and a hard place. According to an interview in The Guardian: “He said an Israeli bank account belonging to UNRWA had been frozen and the agency had been warned that its tax benefits would be canceled. Lazzarini added that a consignment of food aid from Turkey, including flour, chickpeas, rice, sugar and cooking oil, that would sustain 1.1 million people for a month, had been blocked at the Israeli port of Ashdod. He claimed the contractor said the Israeli authorities had instructed the company not to move it or accept any payment from a Palestinian bank.” So his heart was in the right place, but his actions helped produce the disaster.

Republicans and Democrats created H.R. 815 (formerly known as the “Revive Act”) which included a section forbidding any money going to UNRWA from the US government (its biggest contributor). The lead negotiator for the Democrats was U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy from Connecticut. On Feb. 2 he had called UNRWA “indispensable.” Yet days later he made the deal to cripple it. On PBS he said he did it to appease Republicans so they wouldn’t block humanitarian aid to Gaza. He also made the far-fetched claim that other agencies could do UNRWA’s work.

The bill passed the Senate and went to the House, where the Republicans hope to take out all the economic and humanitarian aid. Will they also take out the language on UNRWA? Not a chance.

Calling on Senator Murphy to Oppose Senate Bill #170

by Stanley Heller, Middle East Crisis Committee

Imagine if your business or group supported Cesar Chavez grape boycott your state government put you on a blacklist, and you would be forbidden all state contracts and any pension fund investment. Or maybe state authorities punish you because you refused to buy Nestle products in the ’70s when it was dressing up saleswomen as nurses and pushing baby formula on women in the poorest countries in defiance of all good health sense. Imagine if when Macy’s and Woolworths boycotted Nazi German goods in the ’30s they would be sanctioned. What if the states did something similar to groups demanding action against Sudan because of what its government did in Darfur?

Senate Bill #170 proposes just that in regard to one boycott, the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement that works to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law. It was proposed by Florida Sen. Rubio and has 28 cosponsors including CT Senator Blumenthal. It goes beyond boycotts. It punishes any “entity” that advocates “sanctions” so it could be triggered if a group called for a cut-off of cluster bombs to Israel. If passed SB #170 would be an outrageous violation of free speech and a very bad precedent for trade unions who use the weapon of boycott to support striking workers. An effort is being made to persuade CT Senator Chris Murphy to oppose the bill. Labor lawyer John Fussell wrote a terrific letter to Murphy about #170 and 194 CT residents signed on to a similar letter opposing #170 that was hand-delivered to him at his town meeting in West Hartford. Email him through his website or even better call his office in DC at (202) 224-4041. For details see www.TheStruggle.org.

Far from punishing people for advocating BDS, state governments should support it. A few years ago Connecticut’s Treasurer reported that the state had $32 million invested in State of Israel Bonds or stocks in Israeli companies.