The American public’s support for Israel’s 22-month full-scale military crusade in Gaza is drastically dwindling, with an overall approval rating at just 32%, and only 8% among Democrats. 

Our elected officials are also beginning to follow this shifting trend. 

A growing number of House Democrats have recently signed on to a letter to recognize a Palestinian state. This move follows a historic U.S. Senate vote, where more than half of Democrats voted in favor of two resolutions that would have restricted offensive arms transfers to the apartheid state. Although both resolutions failed, it signaled a  radical shift within the Democratic party. 

Shamefully, however, 70 Senators chose to blatantly ignore the will of their constituents by voting to continue unconditionally arming Israel’s military onslaught. 

For nearly two years, under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an accused war criminal wanted by the International Criminal Court, the Israeli government has carried out a sickening genocide in Gaza through indiscriminate bombing, ethnic cleansing, and the deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war against nearly two million children and families. More than 60,000 Palestinian civilians, including 18,000 children, have been murdered by the Israeli military, tens of thousands have been injured, and countless more remain buried under Gaza’s rubble. Israel has effectively turned Gaza into a mass graveyard, where Israeli soldiers and armed agents of the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation routinely kill starving Palestinian civilians seeking food. 

Human Rights Watch has concluded that Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war constitutes a crime against humanity and an act of genocide. Amnesty International, along with two prominent Israeli human rights organizations, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, have all reached similar conclusions. 

Americans are rightly outraged. 

Across the U.S., people of all backgrounds, including Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Arab, and Black communities, have consistently pressured elected officials to demand an end to the mass murder of Palestinians. However, most politicians on both sides of the aisle, especially those funded by the powerful pro-Israel lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), have largely ignored our communities’ pleas, rehashing tired old lines to cover up Israel’s war crimes—until now. 

Thanks to the relentless grassroots advocacy of American Muslim, Arab, and Jewish communities and our allies, an increasing number of elected officials are finally listening to our demands for justice for Gaza. I commend the 27 senators who took a principled stand last month against arming genocide. Their votes reflect a shift toward accountability that aligns with the will of the American people. 

The other Senators had a choice, and they shamefully chose to side with war crimes and apartheid, despite months of appeals from Americans demanding justice. 

Rank-and-file lawmakers must look to the growing number of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans, who are heeding their consciences and the American public’s outrage over Gaza, and taking action to stop the genocide. We must remember past genocides—of Jewish people, Indigenous Americans, and communities in Rwanda and Bosnia—and ensure that “never again” truly means never again for anyone. 

We urge our elected officials to do the right thing right now and not wait until it’s politically safe to retroactively condemn the genocide in Gaza. 

As the anti-genocide movement continues to gain momentum across the country, I urge fellow Americans to continue to step forward and join us. Our work is more important now than ever. We must not be fearful. We must not be silent. We must continue to build political strength, engage our lawmakers, hold their feet to fire, and build an America that truly champions human rights and freedom here at home and abroad. 

We owe it to the people of Gaza. We owe it to our children. And we owe it to ourselves. 

Hussam Ayloush is the CEO of CAIR-CA, a chapter of CAIR, the nation’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

---