According to a report posted in the Times of Israel, three Jewish members of the U.S. Congress have come out blasting the human toll of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. One of them, Democrat Becca Balint of Vermont, is the first Jewish member to call for a ceasefire. “What is needed right now is an immediate break in violence to allow for a true negotiated ceasefire,” she said in an op-ed, that was published by VTigger, a Vermont news site. “One in which both sides stop the bloodshed, allow critical access to humanitarian aid and move towards negotiating a sustainable and lasting peace.”
All three of them—the other two are Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, and Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, still qualify their criticisms by saying that Israel must defeat Hamas, but otherwise are blistering in their criticism of Israeli conduct in Gaza. “The extent of civilian death and suffering in Gaza is unnecessary. It is a moral failure, and it should be unacceptable to the United States,” Ossoff said in a speech from the Senate floor on Nov. 17. “Israel has every right and expectation to target Hamas terrorists and dismantle their capability of destroying the state of Israel. But that response has taken an unacceptable toll on Palestinians, many of whom are subject to Hamas terror—not supporters of it,” Phillips said on Nov. 17.
