Israel Matzav

Rachel Corrie's congressman wants to 'reassess' aid to Israel

While Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John F. Kerry was in Gaza last week, so were two Democratic congressmen who traveled separately: Minnesota representative Keith Ellison (the Congressman from CAIR) and Washington's Brian Baird. Baird, whose district includes Olympia, the hometown of Rachel Corrie (whose district he has represented since 1998), is calling for a 'reassessment' of American aid to Israel.

Rep. Brian Baird, a Democrat from Washington state, visited Gaza last week with fellow Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota and was struck by "the level of destruction, the scope of it, specifically the civilian targets - schools, hospitals, industry."

Baird also said Israel had "apparently willfully destroyed any capacity of the Palestinians to rebuild their own infrastructure."

The trip to Gaza by Baird and Ellison coincided with a separate visit there by John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Their presence marked the first time members of Congress had visited Gaza since US personnel were killed in a roadside bomb in 2003.

Baird maintained that his fellow congressmen would benefit from his first-hand account of the situation in Gaza, as well as from photos and video footage he took. In addition to pictures of physical devastation in Gaza and families living in make-shift shelter there, Baird also has photos of damage from rocket fire on Sderot, which he condemned and planned to share as well. He also indicated he would like to bring in aid and medical workers from Gaza to share their stories.

"If our colleagues had seen what we have seen, I think their understanding of the situation would be significantly impacted," he said. "They would care about what happened to the Palestinians."

If they really cared about what happened to the 'Palestinians' they would encourage Israel to destroy Hamas, which uses Gaza 'Palestinians' as human shields as has been shown time and time again.

He also said he was troubled by the American origin of so much of the IDF weaponry used in Gaza, and suggested that the US should reconsider
the military aid it provides and the weapons it sells to Israel.

"We need to use every pressure available to make these needed changes happen," he said.

Baird said the Congressional briefing could come as early as next week, with administration briefings being more tentative. He has also talked to Ellison about penning op-eds and otherwise raising awareness of the issue.

Ellison's office had not responded to queries from The Jerusalem Post by press time.

Hopenchange anyone?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:36 AM