The Biden Administration called on the Netanyahu government to cease its obstruction of humanitarian aid in an October 13 letter, requesting a series of steps be taken within 30 days. If Israel did not comply, there would be consequences, the letter asserted.

On November 4, just a week before the deadline, the State Department gave Israel a “fail” grade. Humanitarian agencies report that not a single benchmark has been met. Israel’s own figures show it has not met the targets. Over 75,000 civilians face starvation in north Gaza.

Laws passed by Congress are clear: America cannot provide unrestricted arms to any government that is blocking humanitarian aid.

As pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy Americans, we are deeply concerned that the White House is abdicating its legal responsibilities – leading to intolerable human suffering and damage to America’s standing, while allowing Netanyahu to further trash Israel’s reputation.

We call on you to publicly and privately press the White House to uphold our values, enforce US law and stand by its own benchmarks.

Together, we are calling for the same standard to be applied to all countries. We note that the President has the authority to exempt vital defensive systems such as Iron Dome from any pause in assistance, and should do so. He must act now.

Sincerely,
The undersigned