Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz are our United States senators from Hawaii.
I very rarely get involved in politics because most of the times I don't think I know all the ins and outs, here or there of what is going on.
However, the present death toll of 34,000+ Palestinians in Gaza with over 70,000 injured has me so upset that I wrote emails to the President, our representative, Ed Case and Senators Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz telling them how upset I was.
Aloha,
Thank you for contacting me. Your thoughts and input are important to me. I will respond to your comments as soon as possible. You can also visit my website for updates at schatz.senate.gov.
Mahalo,
Brian Schatz
U.S. Senator
I didn't hear from Mazie Hirono's office for a couple of weeks so I wrote again saying I'd heard from the others but not her.
The following morning, I got this email from her:
Dear Ms. ---, Thank you for contacting
me regarding the war between Israel and Hamas. On October 7, 2023, Hamas
perpetrated an unconscionable violent attack against Israel resulting in the
deadliest day in Israel’s history. The ensuing war Israel has waged against
Hamas has resulted in the tragic loss of tens of thousands of innocent
Palestinian lives and created a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Hamas’s
stated goal is to eliminate Israel and Israel has every right to defend
itself, but to date, it has failed to protect innocent civilians in
Gaza. Israelis and
Palestinians deserve to live in peace and safety. I believe that the path
forward requires the following three elements: 1) a full and sustained
ceasefire in tandem with the immediate release of all hostages, 2) the
unfettered flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and 3) a path to a two-state
solution. Legitimate concerns have
been raised about how the Israeli military has conducted itself. To this end,
I
have consistently joined a group of my colleagues in pushing the
administration to adopt stronger and more stringent reviews of Israeli
military action in this matter. Most recently, I joined Senator Chris Van
Hollen (D-MD) and 13 of my Democratic Senate colleagues in pushing
for an explicit requirement that U.S. security aid received by any country,
including Israel, be used in accordance with U.S. law, international
humanitarian law, and the law of armed conflict, bolstering current law that
prohibits U.S. military aid to any country that prevents or restricts U.S.
humanitarian assistance to those in need. Heeding our call, the Biden
Administration issued a National Security Memorandum (NSM-20) establishing
humanitarian safeguards and accountability for any country receiving security
aid, including Israel. On April 20, 2024, the
House sent a bipartisan bill to the Senate containing more than $60 billion
in critical security aid for Ukraine, along with over $26 billion in security
aid for Israel—the majority of which is allocated for humanitarian assistance
in Gaza and defensive weapons systems—and over $8 billion for our allies in
the Indo-Pacific. Our allies in Ukraine have bravely fended off Russia’s
brutal and illegal invasion for more than two years. Additional U.S.
assistance will be the difference between victory and defeat in their fight
for Ukraine’s very existence. While I have serious
reservations about giving additional aid to Israel without more stringent
conditions in place, on April 23, 2024, I voted for this legislation to
provide Ukraine with the resources it needs to defeat Vladimir Putin.
President Biden swiftly signed the bill into law on April 24, 2024 so that
Ukraine could begin receiving aid this week. The violence and loss of innocent lives in Israel and Gaza is heartbreaking. Leaders in the region and around the world need to jointly call for this war to end and to put in place a process to achieve a two-state solution. I agree with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in our country’s history, that both Palestinian President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu are barriers to lasting peace in the region, and that new leadership will be essential to lasting peace for both Israelis and Palestinians. Again, thank you for
contacting me. If you would like to stay in touch with me on this or other
issues of importance to you, please visit my website at: http://www.hirono.senate.gov.
Please do not hesitate to contact me again in the future if I may be of
assistance to you in any way. Aloha,
Mazie K. Hirono OK, I've had my say and I'm hoping and praying for peace. POSTSCRIPT: My daughter in Illinois sent an article showing me how students at Northwestern University were also staging a protest against Israel's attacks in Gaza. This is sounding like the student protests across the country during the Vietnam war when I was in college. |
The conflict in Gaza is, I think, impossible to judge from our perspective. What your representative wrote is sane and what anyone reasonable would want. But, so sad, neither side in the conflict is reasonable or even close to sane. It is understandable that the Jewish state would react the way it did to the disgusting lethal incursion into civilian life. It is understandable that the Palestinian civilians see Hamas as proactive in ending the stalemate. It is not understandable that women and children are killed or used as living shields. I cannot see how the conflict can be contained. However, I think the protesters who are supporting "from the river to the sea" and cheering the 'seventh' are misguided at the very least. And I wonder who is doing the guiding.
ReplyDeleteI think the response by Senator Hirono was very rational though I personally am against sending money to either Israel or Ukraine to perpetuate wars that we aren't and shouldn't be involved in. I'm okay with humanitarian aide, just not weapons or money going towards the purchase of weapons.
ReplyDeleteI also like Mary G's comments above.
It does take one back, doesn't it? Sadly...
ReplyDeleteHow kind of Senator Hirono to write such a personal letter instead of the boilerplate response you got from Senator Schatz .
ReplyDeleteVery sad times -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThe college protests are very much like the Vietnam era, making me think today's college students are doing better than I had previously thought. Too many of them seem so wrapped up in themselves and having fun and getting through school the quickest and easiest and now they show their fortitude. I am proud of them and hope their protests make the old people take note.
ReplyDeleteI am very torn; there is such violence and hatred on both sides although (in my mind) Israel has taken their response much too far. I also feel that we did in the Middle East after 9/11, especially our attack on the so-called weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. I admire you for writing in and expressing your horror at what's happening. My dad, a history scholar, told me a long time ago that one of his professors told him that if another world war starts, it will come out of the Middle East. I see that now.
ReplyDeleteI'll never understand all the issues around Israel and Gaza even though I was around when Israel was formed. I cannot understand the extreme violence and the support for Israel. These politicians deserve an A+ for being wishy washy.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed by the letter Senator Hirono wrote to you. My understanding is that Israel has promised a ceasefire if Gaza will return all the hostages but so far Gaza has not done that. Yet it seems like a reasonable request.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very complex issue, one in which I can't take sides, but I can side against the endless killing and suffering of noncombatants. Ordinary people just trying to live don't seem to matter much to the leadership of either Israel or Hamas.
ReplyDeleteI am concerned about the anti-semitic tone of the college demonstrations. I would like demonstrating for peace to be peaceful.
There are a few bad actors, I'm sure, but the vast majority of the protesters are not violent or inciting violence against the Jews.
DeleteThank you Kay for writing to your representatives. It really weighs down our collective spirit to see so much suffering, especially among the innocent. United States provides so much weaponry to fuel these conflicts, I feel personally involved in them and wish that we would do more to get all sides to negotiate. My view of Israel has really been altered by their indiscriminate punishment of the Palestinian people. I am also frightened by our government's unconditional support of Israel.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you completely. However, could you just identify yourself with a name please so I sort of know who you are. :-)
DeleteHi Kay, I just figured out how to make myself visible on your blog. - Cathy
DeleteYay! Hi Cathy! I'm so glad I can know you now.
DeleteImagine being at war for generations. Lucky we live Hawaii. I wouldn't know how or what to do over there. Mazie is great. Brian - meh.
ReplyDeleteThis tragedy has been brewing since 1948 and Israel's establishment of a "state". This outcome is unconsciousable! It must end; humanitarian aid must get through to Palestine.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this. It is time for this to stop.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that letter from Mazie. She is just the kind of representative I think the whole country needs.
ReplyDeletethank you for getting involved, i hope it helps. it is all so sad...
ReplyDeleteInteresting to read
ReplyDeleteI commend you wholeheartedly for writing to these politicians. Mazie Hirono's letter was the kind you should have received from the other two.
ReplyDelete