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Rep. Keith Ellison, one of 22 U.S. Representatives to vote “present” on the non-binding resolution supporting Israel’s attacks on Gaza over the past 14 days, gave this speech on the House floor on Friday:
Madame Speaker, I come to the floor today torn about this resolution.
Though I welcome resolutions by Congress to express support for the people of Israel and Gaza at this difficult time, this resolution does little to move toward a stable and durable peace in the Middle East.
I cannot vote against this resolution because I believe every country in the world has the right to defend itself.
I have been to Sderot and I have seen first-hand both the physical and emotional destruction caused by the rocket attacks launched by Hamas.
Israeli citizens living near the Gaza border have been repeatedly harassed and live daily in fear. Hamas, a terrorist organization founded with the goal of destroying Israel, has launched more than 6,000 rockets and mortars into Israel since 2005.
Last fall I voted for a resolution specifically condemning these rocket attacks into Israel.
At the same time I cannot vote for this resolution because it barely mentions the human suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza.
Over 750 people have been killed, including 250 children and 50 women, with over 3,000 people injured.
And even before the recent Israeli military operation, life for the people of Gaza had become increasingly unliveable — with shortages of food, fuel and basic medical supplies.
The 1.4 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip existed in a state of dreadful isolation, cut off from the world, often including the world’s media.
Earlier this year the people of Gaza broke through the walls separating Gaza and Egypt simply to purchase groceries.
We need to have compassion for the people of Gaza and the tremendous human suffering there.
That is why I will vote “present” on this resolution concerning the current conflict in Gaza.
History has shown that ground troops and air strikes have not resolved conflict in the Middle East. If we try to resolve conflict with military might and nothing else, then we will be no safer than we were before.
Diplomacy is necessary to save lives and yield a lasting peace with security.
The United States government, together with international partners, must play an active role in pursuing real peace with security in the Middle East.
With their “present” votes, Ellison and fellow Minnesota representative Betty McCollum were in the minority; the non-binding resolution passed with bipartisan support, 390 votes to five.
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8 Comments »
Comment posted January 9, 2009 @ 4:29 pm
Way to Rep. Ellison. You are right and very considerate. The House and Senate do not care about the children and civilians in Gaza. We have to follow what Jesus said: Love thy enemies.
Comment posted January 10, 2009 @ 3:36 am
The reason Palestinians fire their comparatively puny missiles into Israel is obvious-that’s all they have in the way of weaponry.Of course they do have the option of throwing stones.
Comment posted January 11, 2009 @ 10:06 pm
At least there are some polititians with integrity.
Thank you Rep Ellison for not following the crowd blindly and carlessly and standing up for what’s right.
as for the previous comment Get your facts strait, it’s appauling that the 3rd largest military in the WORLD is using all it’s force on a city as big as Chicago, filled with as many civillians as the States of North Dakota and Vermont, that’s almost one and half million.
In only 16 days almost 900 killed, 284 children!!
Where is the humanity??
Comment posted January 12, 2009 @ 9:56 am
Ellison should have voted NO on the resolution because what Israel is doing in Gaza are war crimes. Several other members of Congress voted No and I wish Ellison had had the guts to do the right thing. Unfortunately it’s politically difficult for people in our government to stand up against Israel because they are so busy bending over for them. Attacking a country and killing 1,000 or more civilians, half of them children, for non-bomb projectiles that usually land and hurt nobody, is cowardly. Israel’s government is cowardly. I wish our whole government had the balls to stand up to their tactics and their powerful lobbies. Israel’s government is worse than Bush. Even Bush had the common sense to turn them down when they wanted our help in bombing Iran. Israel is out of control.
At least Ellison voted present instead of yes. Stand up to them Keith! There are a lot of Minnesotans very very disappointed in Al FRanken for attending that ridiculous solidarity meeting in support of every STUPID thing Israel does.
Comment posted January 13, 2009 @ 3:00 pm
Yeah–Ellison “bravely” abstained from voting on this dangerous and lopsided legislation.
It’s one thing to have supported this bill, but why even show up for the roll call if you’re going to sit there and not vote (Ellison, like 21 others in the House, voted “present”). I suppose abstaining is better than voting ‘aye’, but it also certainly shows a lack of courage and conviction. Right now, I have a lot more respect for a Texas Republican (i.e., Ron Paul, who voted against the resolution) than I do for a Minnesota Democrat.
Comment posted January 13, 2009 @ 5:49 pm
Keith was a coward on this vote? Are you really shocked?
What do you expect from a politician who, at an anti-war demonstration in Minneapolis states “I will NEVER vote to give this war one single dime of your money” and then four days later, votes to authorize the funding of the illegal, immoral and racist war on Iraq.
When challenged on this, Keith Ellison stated “To vote against it would have been as futile as a Nader vote in Florida.” Further Ellison said, and I quote “We should be proud of the brave leadership of Nancy Pelosi.”
never mind his support of the thought Crimes Bill AKA the Homeland Radical Terrorism Bill.
Folks, you were all duped. Thank God, I didn’t vote for him.
Keith Ellison is a sell out, plain and simple.
Comment posted January 13, 2009 @ 9:56 pm
I know we have to give our muslim brother excuses for something that we may consider a bit shady, but i dont believe refraining is the answer. Decades of living in a prison called Gaza this is/has been a war. In a war you fight back, hundreds of civilians have been killed in Gaza and the numbers for the Israeli people probably have reached 10 yet and i dont mean 10,000!
May Allah forgive you for this irrational dicussion and may he guide you the straight path. I seriously thought you could have done better for the Ummah, since Allah has given you this position.
Remember we are Muslims first, Americans/Pakistani/Somali/Yemani/Palestinians 2nd, lets not even mention our occuppations cus they are no where on this list!
Comment posted January 20, 2009 @ 3:57 am
I wrote my 2nd district congressman when i learned that he had voted for this resolution. I got the standard AIPAC response from him. So I goggled Ellison so see if he was one of the few to vote against. I was disappointed to see he had not. A present vote is a cop out. I live in the UAE and have worked in the Middle East for 25 years. My fellow Americans are brainwashed and our representatives are culpable for conceding to the Jewish lobby.
The bottom line is simple. Israel has the right to defend itself but not to use disproportionate power to do so. What happened is a war crime. Our tax dollars supported the killing of hundreds of innocent civilians. Our representatives gave its stamp of approval to do so. The rest of thw world gets it. We so-called compassionate Americans don’t.
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