By DR. TARA WOOD
On Thursday, Aug. 15, the grassroots organization, Peoria For Palestine (PFP), took a message directly to Congressman Darin LaHood’s office as he had thus far refused to meet despite countless requests for civil dialogue concerning Gaza, and his welcoming of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu onto the floor of the United States Congress.
Local media outlet, News25, filmed PFP members reading our official statement, which can be found on our Facebook page. Our statement highlights LaHood’s condemnation of American citizens practicing their fundamental right in Washington, D.C., to peacefully protest the onslaught in Gaza, and Netanyahu’s invitation to address Congress. LaHood also condemned elected officials who chose to boycott Netanyahu’s address, while warmly welcoming the internationally recognized war criminal into the People’s House. Our statement also points out the danger posed to U.S. citizens when the head of a foreign state stands before Congress and accuses legally protesting citizens (like LaHood’s constituents) of being Iranian proxies who wish Americans harm.
That message was lost in the News25 segment. Rather, it highlighted our critique of the Congressman’s past statements saying Israel has the right to defend itself against Palestine and committing to returning hostages.
That specific statement from LaHood was not our reason for demonstrating, and we absolutely share a commitment to returning hostages. While being interviewed, we said that the return of hostages in Gaza and release of illegally held Palestinian prisoners in Israel is included in the ceasefire resolution being developed in Peoria, along with the immediate influx of aid into Gaza, and an end to military funding for Israel, which currently violates the federal Leahy Law.
Not only was our demonstration misrepresented, News25 took our past criticism of the oversimplified, one-sided, unproductive messaging from LaHood’s office about Israel’s right to self defense out of context, wrongly connected it to the hostage situation, and made it sound as though we are critical of hostages being returned.
Peoria For Palestine values humanity and condemns all war crimes.
Unlike the Israeli and U.S. governments, we do not define war crimes based on who commits them, but by the act itself. We recognize that both Hamas and Israel have committed war crimes. We understand the history of the region, and identify one side as oppressed and one side as the oppressor.
We believe respected human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and B’Tselem, that identify Israel as an apartheid state. We feel morally, legally, and politically compelled to call out our leaders for politically and financially supporting an apartheid state as it commits war crimes against those it violently occupies and oppresses with our tax dollars — over $1.7 million from Peoria alone. Our taxes should not help fund war crimes regardless of who commits them. Let’s add Peoria to the list of American cities who agree and pass a comprehensive ceasefire resolution.
— Dr. Wood is an activist member of Peoria For Palestine