Yesterday, Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) led a group of 75 senators in writing a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry urging him to counter the Palestinian Authority's effort to join the International Criminal Court and to terminate humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian Authority. The letter further argues that Israel was entirely justified in killing over 1,400 civilians in Gaza last summer.
Here is the text of the letter:
January 29, 2015
The Honorable John Kerry
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20220
Dear Secretary Kerry,
We are deeply concerned by the decision of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to seek membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC), because the Palestinian Authority is not a state and its express intent is to use this process to threaten Israel. President Abbas’ effort contravenes the spirit of earlier agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and erodes the prospects for peace. Therefore, the United States must make clear that joining the ICC is not a legitimate or viable path for the Palestinians.
We ask your assistance on three matters that threaten to further undermine the prospects for achieving the shared goal of two states living side-by-side in peace.
First, we were heartened that the Palestinians’ effort to unilaterally seek statehood via the UN Security Council failed and were encouraged by the efforts of the Administration to reject this one-sided resolution. The Palestinian Authority’s stated plans to reintroduce their resolution at the UN Security Council later this year will require continued U.S. leadership and engagement with the members of the UN Security Council and Palestinian leaders to oppose imbalanced, unilateral solutions outside the context of direct negotiations. We urge you to make clear, publicly and privately, that the United States will veto any unilateral resolutions brought before the UN Security Council related to Palestinian statehood.
Second, current law prohibits economic assistance to the Palestinian Authority if the Palestinians initiate an ICC investigation of Israeli nationals or “actively support such an investigation.” Although we believe it is in the interest of the United States for urgent humanitarian assistance to continue to be provided to the Palestinian people, we will not support assistance to the Palestinian Authority while you undertake a review of this matter.
Third, Israel is a major strategic partner of the United States and is facing increasing pressure from those who seek to delegitimize its very existence. President Abbas’ actions are intended to directly challenge Israel’s legitimate right to defend its citizens and territory, and President Abbas has been aided in his efforts by the statements and actions of other governments, including many close U.S. allies. We request that you and other senior administration officials continue to speak out, as you did during last year’s Operation Protective Edge, in unambiguous support for Israel’s right to protect its citizens. We also urge you to highlight Hamas’ ongoing support for terrorism and documented use of innocent Palestinian civilians as human shields.
The fact is that the only realistic and sustainable path to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. For those negotiations to be successful, Israel needs a Palestinian partner that has renounced violence, refuses to partner with terrorists, accepts Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, and is willing to make compromises for peace. President Abbas’ recent actions undermine these efforts and make a comprehensive peace agreement more difficult to achieve.
Sincerely,
Here are the 75 senators (51 Republicans, 24 Democrats) who signed it (organized by state):
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Dan Sullivan (R-AK)
Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
John Boozman (R-AR)
Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Cory Gardner (R-CO)
Richard Blumenthal (R-CT)
Chris Coons (D-DE)
Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
David Perdue (R-GA)
Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Brian Schatz (D-HI)
Joni Enrst (R-IA)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Mike Crapo (R-ID)
Jim Risch (R-ID)
Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Dan Coats (R-IN)
Joe Donnelly (D-IN)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Jerry Moran (R-KS)
Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
David Vitter (R-LA)
Ed Markey (D-MA)
Ben Cardin (D-MD)
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Susan Collins (R-ME)
Gary Peters (D-MI)
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Al Franken (D-MN)
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Roger Wicker (R-MS)
Steve Daines (R-MT)
Jon Tester (D-MT)
Richard Burr (R-NC)
Thom Tillis (R-NC)
John Hoeven (R-ND)
Deb Fischer (R-NE)
Ben Sasse (R-NE)
Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)
Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
Dean Heller (R-NV)
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Bob Casey (D-PA)
Pat Toomey (R-PA)
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Rob Portman (R-OH)
Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
Jim Lankford (R-OK)
Ron Wyden (D-OR)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Tim Scott (R-SC)
Mike Rounds (R-SD)
John Thune (R-SD)
Bob Corker (R-TN)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Mike Lee (R-UT)
Mark Warner (D-VA)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV)
Joe Manchin (D-WV)
John Barrasso (R-WY)
Mike Enzi (R-WY)
Here are the 25 senators (22 Democrats, 3 Republicans) who did not sign:
John McCain (R-AZ)
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Michael Bennet (D-CO)
Chris Murphy (D-CT)
Tom Carper (D-DE)
Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Rand Paul (R-KY)
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Angus King (I-ME)
Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)
Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
Tom Udall (D-NM)
Harry Reid (D-NV)
Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Jack Reed (D-RI)
Lamar Alexaner (R-TN)
Tim Kaine (D-VA)
Pat Leahy (D-VT)
Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Harry Reid never signed letters as Majority Leader, and he's been out with an injury, so his absence does not surprise me. I was surprised not to see John McCain on the list. Maybe he was too busy taping a Sunday Show appearance to sign a letter I have no doubts that he would support. There were a few other names that I was surprised not to see in the list of 75.
So, out of curiosity, I decided to compare the list of 25 non-signers with the list of 21 senators who did not co-sponsor the Senate resolution endorsing Israeli war crimes in Operation Protective Edge last July.
Excluding Harry Reid for the reasons noted above leaves only 10 senators who did not sign either this letter or last year's resolution:
Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Tom Carper (D-DE)
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Angus King (I-ME)
Pat Leahy (D-VT)
Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Tom Udall (D-NM)
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
It's difficult to expect much of senators when it comes to Israel. But if you aren't going to say anything good, have the decency to say nothing at all. In that respect, kudos to the 10.