United States Senator Lindsey Graham recently faced backlash for making anti-Palestinian remarks on social media after a group of protesters gathered outside his home in Seneca, South Carolina. Graham referred to the Palestinians in Gaza as a radicalized population and compared Hamas terrorists to the Nazi SS, drawing criticism for his inflammatory comments.
The protest, organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation, was in response to Graham’s support for Israel amid its deadly military campaign in Gaza. The protesters called for an end to US support for Israel and criticized Graham’s hawkish stance on the conflict.
Despite growing opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza, the US continues to provide billions of dollars in military aid to the country. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress support this aid, with bipartisan resistance to placing conditions on it to ensure humanitarian safeguards.
Graham is not the only member of Congress to face scrutiny for anti-Palestinian comments, with others, including President Joe Biden, also facing criticism. Advocates have raised concerns about the rise in anti-Palestinian, Islamophobic, and anti-Arab sentiment in the US, particularly following the recent war in Gaza.
Critics accuse politicians of misrepresenting the goals of pro-Palestinian protesters as anti-Semitic and downplaying the discrimination faced by Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities. Calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from firms linked to Israeli human rights abuses have been met with resistance in Congress.
The House recently voted to advance a bill barring the State Department from referencing statistics about the Palestinian death toll in Gaza, despite the widespread recognition of the reliability of these numbers by international organizations. Palestinian American Representative Rashida Tlaib highlighted the need to acknowledge the human impact behind these statistics and called out anti-Palestinian racism within Congress.
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