Photo by Andy Feliciotti

Last week, I was pleased to once again participate in a meeting with one of my U.S. Senators, Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a consistent leader for peace, justice, and human rights in Congress, and especially for ending U.S. support for Israel’s genocide, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing against the people of Palestine.

The subject of the meeting was his bill, with a vote expected early next week, Senate Resolution 852, to hold Israel accountable for its horrific actions against U.S. citizens killed or detained by Israel. The goal of the resolution is very simple: within thirty days of passage, to require a State Department report on Israel’s alleged killings of nine U.S. citizens, and more broadly, on the commission of “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights by Israel.” The resolution cites U.S. law, section 502(B)(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.

The resolution reads, in part “…since January 2022, at least nine United States citizens have been killed by violent Israeli settlers or Israeli security forces in the West Bank, including Omar Assad, Shireen Abu Akleh,........

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