Muslim and Jewish congressional staffers are signing onto an open letter first reported by POLITICO to directly call on their bosses to demand a cessation of hostilities in the Israel-Hamas war.
“Today, we write to implore our bosses, Members of the United States Congress, to join calls for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Millions of lives hang in the balance, including the 2.3 million civilians — half of whom are children — in Gaza, civilians in Israel, and Jews and Muslims around the world,” the staffers wrote.
The signatories, who are led by Muslim and Jewish staffers but are expected to include allies too, are anonymous out of concern for the staffers’ safety and job security. The total number of signatories wasn’t yet available at the time of publishing.
The letter highlights the urgency of ending the conflict “with antisemitism, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian sentiment on the rise nationwide” and the recent murder of a Palestinian American boy that’s being investigated as a hate crime.
“Nationwide and in Congress, the voices calling for de-escalation and peace have been drowned out by those beating the drums of war. As Muslims and Jews, we are tired of reliving generational fears of genocide and ethnic cleansing,” they wrote.
The letter comes amid stark political divides on Capitol Hill over the conflict in the Middle East and support for the U.S. ally as it responds to attacks by Hamas. Protesters took to the Cannon Rotunda on Wednesday in support of a ceasefire, leading Capitol Police to make more than 100 arrests.
