Dear Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Al Franken,

Dear Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Al Franken,

This is a break-up letter, I’m sorry to tell you. I am done with each and every one of you. Don’t come knocking at my door or my inbox. Don’t look for my support.

Elizabeth, I am a Massachusetts resident at this time, although I spent 14 years in Israel where I was an activist in the peace movement you should have been allying yourself with, instead of going along with the Senate's unanimous consent to back Israel’s murderous invasion of Gaza. Shame on you. I will be explaining to everyone I know that you can no longer be trusted to do the right thing, even in a situation where one of the strongest armies in the world is pounding a crowded, impoverished Gaza.

Bernie, I have had a strong connection with Vermont since my college crowd founded a hippy farm in Vermont. They are still there, pillars of their communities now, some grandparents, and all of them supporters of yours. I will be talking to them about how you have compromised every principle that you say guides you, how you failed to reject the disgusting AIPAC and its resolution calling this Israeli barbarism “self-defense.”

Al, you are considered a national treasure, a person who transformed himself from an entertainer to a serious progressive politician. You have transformed yourself once again into a man willing to pass a resolution that does not even mention that over 350 Gazans have been killed, so far, in this horrific invasion - the vast majority unarmed, poor, and cowering in their own homes. Fifty of those are children.

I could do an ABC of brutal Occupation, but you ought to already understand what is being done by a country to which you vote billions of dollars in military and other support. You three are members of one of the most powerful political bodies in the world and you should be as ashamed of yourselves as I am of you.

Revolted,

Sue Katz
Arlington, MA

Comments

[tracy]

very well put. i'm sorry it was called for, but it surely was.

are you sending your criticisms to their respective websites or email addresses?

[sue katz]

I have not done that, Tracy, but maybe I should. I should not have been surprised, but I was gobsmacked by that figure of 100%. Thanks so much for your words. Every kindness in these hard times is appreciated.

[Allen Young]

Maybe these hard-working, caring, senators think about this conflict in a different way, as I do, and as do many millions of peace-loving Jews and Gentiles. You have told me in a cold dogmatic way that you are not interested in what I have to say about anything to do with Israel/Palestine, so perhaps you would like to disapprove this post.

[Larry Christensen]

Principles are nothing when a politician's standing with the Democratic Party is on the line. How desperately we need a real third party. Thank you for paying attention and speaking up Sue.

[William Lee]

From a new subscriber referred by a mutual friend b/c of this great post. I had been working on something along the same lines. Reading the text of SR498 literally turned my stomach. But you forgot one person: MSNBC darling Chris Murphy (D-CT), who co-sponsored this atrocity! Thanks for this.

[sue katz]

Thank you William Lee. You know more about this than me. I'm not very deep into electoral politics, so thank you for your addition. Thanks too to you Larry, and I agree with you fully. And Allen, I just don't know what to say to your remarks in the face of now more than 70 dead children, other than to say that it's actually not about you. I've very aware that in other spheres you are a very generous man, but let's talk about our relationship another time.

[Mike Evans]

Amen. That's all that needs to be said really. It's all well and good (and quite right) to speak up about what Russia doing in supporting violence in Ukraine, but it's not credible coming from the same voices offering such solid support for violence from Israel.

[sue katz]

Thank you Mike. I appreciate that.

[Seymour Kellerman]

I was born in Tel Aviv, Palestine. My mother was a member of Haganah; my father was a soldier in the war of 1948. Sometimes, I feel complicit in the brutal theft of Palestine from its native people.

I feel the same way you do about the murderous complicity of these otherwise decent congresspeople, Sue. Franken was also shilling for the destruction of Libya, and Bernie never met a military base he didn't love. War and destruction for profit is the essence of the empire in which we live, and these politicians know their place.

But should we be so ready to divorce these folks? Are there not important issues with which we need their help and voices?

I do agree that we need to withdraw our monetary and other support from the corporate liberals of the Democratic Party. That includes the feckless Obama, the warrior Hillary, and Warren.

[sue katz]

Thanks so very much for writing Seymour. And I learned a lot from your contribution. The truth is that I have never been very involved in electoral politics - except for the campaign of Mati Peled in Israel in the 80s - and so I didn't even know that about Bernie. I do recall how much Elizabeth talked about the military (I think she has a bunch of brothers who are/were soldiers) during her campaign. I'm sure you're right that we need to make coalitions where we can and when we can, but again I leave that to the admirable people with the stomach for electoral efforts. Thanks again for writing, Seymour.

[TBerg]

I am with you Sue. Their support of the fascist Likud is utterly unacceptable. I have recently sent similar emails to my reps. And Cory Booker.

[sue katz]

Astounding how they support politicians in Israel who they'd totally reject in the States. Thanks for writing.

[Ana]

Thank you for this! As a European who has spent some time in Palestine, I was already horrified by the situation in the occupied Territories before the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza. And I cannot accept the actions of Western governments that blindly support Israel's attacks in the name of security. Please write to your congressperson to express your disapproval. I believe that we American and European citizens can make our politicians think twice about military support to Israel by saying this will not be done in our name.

[sue katz]

Yes, as someone who lived a long time in Israel, I say Not in My Name to both the Israeli government and to the USA government that supports them militarily and financially and protects them politically. Thanks so much for writing Ana.

[Basil]

Thank you Sue,

I've been feeling the same way about our "progressive" politicians, and their duplicity. As an Arab-American (parents from Syria, not Palestine), I've been, well, let's just say disenchanted for a long time with attitudes in the American Jewish community about the issue(s) of the Israel-Palestine conflict, including attitudes of close friends. Honestly, I consider them racist. Generally, I just avoid the topic completely (who wants to tell your friends that they are bigoted), because there is an unbridgeable wall on these issues, that I can't seem to cross as a non-Jew (a new Jewish friend referred to it as a shutdown switch, which seems like an accurate description of my experience). Anyways, suddenly that seems to be changing - at least from what I can tell from my online feeds. I don't want to sound overly hopeful, because I'm not, but it seems as though some (more than a few) people are re-evaluating their past support for Israel. I've even had some good conversations about some of these issues. I am getting a sense that for many, it is a painful process. I wish it wasn't so painful, and I wish there were easier answers, but for what it is worth (probably not much), I don't feel quite so alone anymore. I don't know if my telling you all this helps, but I hope at least that you don't feel alone.

[sue katz]

Dear Basil,
What a moving contribution you've made to my blog. Thank you for your honesty and openness. I've been involved in calling for the end of the Occupation since the 70s, often in a group with other Jewish women, so I haven't felt that isolation - except in the wider social context. With each successive massacre on the part of Israel, I lose another set of friends. Funny enough, I'm working on a piece right now about losing friends in the emotional sense (ie, not from bombing) over Gaza. I hope that if you're on Facebook, you'll connect with me (facebook.com/sue.katz) so that we can stay in touch. I'm glad you're feeling that there is a glimmer of change - I hope that it sticks, that it is not temporary! How did you find my piece, by the way? In solidarity, Sue

[Basil]

Hi Sue

Thanks for the kind note back. I found your blog via Mondoweiss (you were hotlinked in one of their articles). I've read Mondoweiss intermittently for a long time and been reading feverishly for the last few weeks.

I've been alternatively depressed, angry, but now I am coming to a place of clarity and determination, anchored in faith (God, that is so strange for me to write something like that!). I became Quaker about 5 years ago, (that's another long story) but surprisingly (for me at least), it's been a comfort in these last few weeks. I don't feel so alone about this. I think we (all of us) can be honest, and truthful -- and sometimes that will be painful -- and be compassionate as we try to bring light into the world, through our words and actions, by working for justice. Now the hard part is figuring out how to do that.

I watched the interview with Harry Siegman, and read Michael Lerner's recent article (I was a skeptic of Lerner, but his article was really moving). Through them and others I'm getting a sense that this war in Gaza has been bitterly painful for a lot of American Jews. I wish it wasn't so painful. I don't what to say beyond that. Hopefully each sides pain will recede as we move towards justice -- at least that is my hope.

[Elizabeth Barger]

Sue, great letter. I hope that some of the people who fell for the "self defense" ploy realize the terrible mistake they made voting for it. If they truly believe in the national defense part of it then they have to fund an Iron Dome and military aid for Palestine. Of course that would make the military industrial complex cry with joy. So, what really needs to happen is that these folks should know that Hamas has dropped the destroy Israel skreed to work with Fatah for peace. These legislators should ignore AIPAC, that is running US foreign policy and come on with a principled American policy that removes Hamas from the terrorist list so they can come to the peace table. And if we are to be a true mediator of peace we must stop funding Israeli military aid. It is time for Israel to stop threatening and enacting total destruction upon Palestine.

[sue katz]

Dear Elizabeth, you sound like such an optimistic person! I cannot imagine American foreign policy changing, all the more so since Gaza's economy is completely destroyed. But thanks for your very positive contribution. I hope they're listenin' to you! Sue

[Helena Worthen]

We hear a lot about the billions of dollars that the US sends to float the Israeli military industrial machine. When people ask me about what the US could do RIGHT AWAY to help, I would say take Hamas, which won an actual election, off the terrorists list that give the US the tool for blocking funds from Qatar and other countries to flow to Hamas in order to pay the municipal workers. For some reason, the wages of civil servants in the occupied territories have to flow through Israel (Absurd!) and so employees of the previous Gaza/West Bank goverments are continuing to get paid and the current ones are trying to work wiht no pay. This is deliberately *&^-ing with people who are trying to stabilize this bonfire.

[sue katz]

Yes, good point, Helena. Today the award-winning journalist Amira Hass has an op-ed in the Israeli daily Ha'aretz calling for the opening of the Erez crossing - another essential flow-point that connects Palestinians and allows them to live.