A multifaith, multiracial coalition of nearly 100 religious leaders in Georgia is demanding that the Biden administration implement an immediate arms embargo on Israel, with some saying they will withhold their votes for Vice President Kamala Harris in the swing state until she endorses the move.
The faith leaders signed an open letter calling the administration’s continued financial, military and diplomatic support for Israel’s ongoing siege on Gaza a “grave violation of United States and international law.” The letter was organized by the Atlanta Multifaith Coalition for Palestine, or AMCP, which is made up of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders who serve Georgia communities.
AMCP also held a press conference Tuesday morning at the Georgia State Capitol to reiterate its demands, which include Harris expressing support for independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Joint Resolutions of Disapproval and pledging that she will stop arming Israel on her first day in office, if elected.
“We are here today to say enough is enough. In the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, I say enough with war, enough with bloodshed, enough of slaughter,” said Presbyterian Rev. Marthame Sanders, adding that he witnessed Israelis treat Palestinians “as less than human” while he was in the occupied West Bank 20 years ago.
“Until every single Palestinian is afforded the rights they deserve,” he continued, “no more arms to Israel.”
“We have to be able to recognize that the Palestinians have a right to exist just like Israel has a right to exist,” Imam Nadim Ali said on Tuesday.
Later this week, Harris is scheduled to visit Georgia’s churches and historically Black colleges and universities to rally support from swing state voters and influential leaders as the election draws near. On Sunday, she attended Stonecrest’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and Jonesboro’s Divine Faith Ministries International, where she stressed the importance of treating everyone with dignity but declined to mention Israel or Gaza.
Just over one year ago, Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage, about half of whom remain in captivity. Israeli forces have responded by killing more than 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza, destroying life-sustaining infrastructure and causing widespread starvation by continuing to block humanitarian aid.
“This is the second Nakba,” said Presbyterian Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel, who survived the first Nakba, or “catastrophe,” in 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from what is now Israel. “We are losing our humanity, we are losing our ethics and our morals.”
Georgia’s Black faith leaders made similar demands to the Biden-Harris administration in January, signaling that the White House’s refusal to withhold arms sales to Israel was threatening their once-solid alliance with Democratic candidates.
Harris did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment. She has called for a cease-fire but simultaneously declared she would not withhold arms from Israel.
The group of faith leaders said Tuesday that calls for a cease-fire ring hollow when the U.S. continues to send Israel weapons to massacre Palestinians, especially women and children.
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“The Biden-Harris administration had told us that they’re calling for a cease-fire. But Palestinians are on fire,” community organizer Kafia Haile said, referring to a recent Israeli airstrike on a hospital in central Gaza that set tents housing patients ablaze. Disturbing videos showed people burning alive.
Haile is also an alum of Spelman College, a historically Black institution in Georgia that is preparing to host Harris for its homecoming this week. At the school’s graduation ceremony earlier this year, professor Ruha Benjamin condemned the U.S. government’s role in supporting Gaza’s destruction, saying: “Black faces in high places are not gonna save us.”
“If you come to our campus, you will not find joy in a genocide,” Haile said on Tuesday of Harris. “We know better than that.”