Youth organizations issue "unmistakable warning" to Biden over Israel and Gaza stance

Washington DC - As Israel continues its brutal bombardment of Gaza, leaders of prominent US youth organizations are calling on President Joe Biden to negotiate a ceasefire, or else risk suffering consequences at the ballot box.

Thousands of people gather outside the White House during the National March on Washington for Palestine while calling for a ceasefire on November 4, 2023.
Thousands of people gather outside the White House during the National March on Washington for Palestine while calling for a ceasefire on November 4, 2023.  © Drew Angerer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

"We write to you to issue a very stark and unmistakable warning: you and your Administration’s stance on Gaza risks millions of young voters staying home or voting third party next year," leaders of March for Our Lives, GenZ for Change, the Sunrise Movement, and United We Dream Action wrote. "We are pleading with you to use every tool available to you to broker a ceasefire, now, and to revive the peace process."

Calls for a ceasefire are growing as the death toll from Israel's indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza has surpassed 10,000, while more than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank.

The assault began after Hamas launched attacks in southern Israel on October 7, killing over 1,400 people and taking more than 240 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. Israel is said to hold as many as 10,000 Palestinian political prisoners.

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The Biden administration has remained steadfast in its support for the Israeli government and has refused to back a ceasefire, calling instead for a "humanitarian pause" to allow food, water, and other resources to reach desperate Gazans living in nightmare conditions.

Meanwhile, US aid to Israel amounts to over $150 billion in taxpayer dollars (not adjusting for inflation) to date. Most of that money has gone toward the Israeli military, which has long been accused of violating human rights in the Occupied Territories.

Biden urged to rethink his stance toward Israel and Gaza

Demonstrators fly Palestinian flags outside the White House during the National March on Washington for Palestine.
Demonstrators fly Palestinian flags outside the White House during the National March on Washington for Palestine.  © Drew Angerer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

The US has been accused of complicity in genocide over its ongoing military funding for Israel, dubbed an apartheid regime by prominent international and Israeli human rights organizations.

If Biden does not change his tune and prioritize the preservation of Palestinian lives, youth voters – who were key to the president's 2020 electoral success – have warned he may lose out in 2024.

"Young people are a cornerstone of a winning Democratic coalition, and the vast majority of young people in this country are rightfully horrified by the atrocities committed with our tax dollars, with your support, and our nation’s military backing. We did not spend hours upon hours knocking doors and making calls to turn out the vote so that you could support indiscriminate slaughter of civilians and violations of international law," the joint letter states.

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"We came of age during two decades of endless war that cost thousands of American lives and millions of lives around the world," the letter continues. "We know that the longer you allow the siege of Gaza to continue, the greater the risk of this spiraling into a broader regional conflict, potentially pulling U.S. troops into combat or occupation. This would be both a moral and political disaster"

"You cannot win this election by only telling our generation that you are the lesser of two evils."

Cover photo: Drew Angerer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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