Open Letter to Congressman Krishnamoorthi About the Democratic Party’s Shameful Silence On Gaza Genocide
Dear Congressman Krishnamoorthi,
In response to your numerous appeals for donations, I am sharing my latest appeal to the Democratic Party leadership.
The bottom line is that most Democratic lawmakers have said nothing about the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the worst human catastrophe since the Holocaust, which has been condemned my most of the world.
I’m sure that millions of Americans, who now know the story of the brutality and inhumanity that Zionism has wrought over the years, are wondering why our congress has been so beholden to AIPAC that they are willing to drag down our democratic values along with Israel’s Netanyahu, who’s literally destroying his country’s future. They are shocked that Democrats keep voting with the Republicans to keep supplying weapons and money to Israel, making us complicit in Israel’s war crimes.
Unless the party speaks honestly about its role in emboldening Israel, condemns the genocide, and is willing to make amends quickly to the thousands of dead, maimed and starving Palestinians, it is ill-qualified today to talk about its commitment to democracy. I think it’s past time to justify votes for Democrats as a vote against MAGA. Far from it, people want to see a real action plan from the party, barring which some people may well conclude that it may not be a bad idea for MAGA to come to power in 2028 and decisively destroy themselves — as Netanyahu is doing right now.
It’s shame that while most Democrats are trying hard to distract people from the Israeli genocide, Republican lawmakers such as Marjorie Taylor Greene are speaking truth to power on the issue of Gaza. She has called for suspension of aid to Israel, demanded that AIPAC register as a foreign agent, and has in the last two days, vocally objected to the State Department cancelling healthcare visas to the injured children of Gaza for treatment in the U.S. These truly humanitarian gestures will not be forgotten by the voters, especially from the Muslim community.
Thanks and good luck with your Senate run. I will defer any donations to you or the party until there is evidence that the party cares.
Regards,
Raju Rajagopal
(Co-founder, Hindus for Human Rights. Views are personal)
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Listen up DNC: Your silence on the genocide in Gaza will cost you millions of votes from lifelong Democrats as well as the young.
You’re bombarding war-weary donors with more fund-raising appeals, sometimes three or four times in a day!
“We must take back the Senate,” you keep repeating, but you share no road map on how you plan to push back on Trump’s disastrous rule, which has already taken a huge toll on working class Americans, including immigrants.
Truth be told, your fundraising messages are a big turn-off for those desperately looking to the party for fresh ideas on how to take our democracy back. Instead, what we are seeing are coordinated attacks on new faces and fresh ideas, which are making a mockery of the ‘party of diversity.’
You say that the “economy should work for everyone, health care is a right, and democracy is worth defending.” But can you credibly defend democracy at home, while supporting a genocide abroad, made possible by our bombs, our tax dollars, and your votes in Congress?
Truth be told, your fundraising messages are a big turn-off for those desperately looking to the party for fresh ideas on how to take our democracy back.
Hundreds of historians, Holocaust survivors, politicians, academics, and activists around the world, including many brave Jewish leaders and institutions in and out of Israel, have called out Zionism and Netanyahu for what they are and have always been — cruel, self-centered, genocidal, and now “suicidal.”
In stark contrast, most Democratic lawmakers are either remaining silent or doubling down on their support for Israel, and are in effect supporting the most horrific genocide since the Holocaust, in this case being perpetrated by descendants of Holocaust survivors. This is a travesty.
It’s easy to fix the blame on Trump and Netanyahu. So, let’s remind you that it’s President Biden and Secretary Blinken’s ill-conceived and disastrous response to Oct 7th that gave Israel a free hand, which has led to the worst war crimes since the Holocaust.
The Democratic Party’s addiction to funds from Israeli lobbies over the years have corrupted our democracy beyond recognition. All the democratic ideals and defense of human rights that we are fond of preaching to the rest of the world now lie in tatters.
Ironically, it’s a much despised Republican lawmaker, Marjorie Taylor Green, who is speaking honestly about the Gaza genocide and is demanding that we stop all aid to Israel. She’s also demanding that AIPAC, the all-powerful Israeli lobby, register as a foreign agent.
So, here’s our question to the DNC:
What will be your priorities if you win back power in Washington?
Will you go back to ‘business as usual’ of covering up for Israel and its leaders, defying the rest of the world by arming Israel’s genocide, abusing the UN, and continue to block the legitimate rights of Palestinians?
OR
Save our democracy by condemning Israel for its unspeakable crimes against humanity, and demand that the perpetrators be brought to justice; Acknowledge our culpability in the murder and maiming of tens of thousands of families in Gaza and take a lead in providing them healthcare and rehabilitation support; and stop accepting funds from AIPAC and other Israeli special interest groups, which have now been exposed as supporting Israel’s genocide?
We strongly suspect that a majority of the American people, once they comprehend the sheer scale of the crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, will support any candidate for office who supports these goals.
It’s up to you if you want to lead a Democratic Party that values diversity, civil rights and freedom of expression at home, and defends human rights abroad; or go down in history as an accomplice to war crimes and their cover-up.
Raju Rajagopal is co-founder of Hindus for Human Rights, whose mission is to oppose all forms of supremacy — Hindutva, caste, racism and Zionism – and to speak up for civil and human rights of minorities.