The Ƶ area’s legislative contingent in Washington has been busy reacting to Hamas’ surprise attack Oct. 7 against Israel.
U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Ƶ, is one of five legislators leading a move to have an immediate cease-fire declared in the embattled Gaza area.
On Monday, Bush saying: “Today I am introducing ... legislation that calls for de-escalation and an immediate ceasefire in Israel and Occupied Palestine, and for humanitarian assistance to urgently be delivered to the 2.2 million people under siege and trapped in Gaza.”
In the days following the Hamas surprise attack that killed more than 1,100 Israelis, Bush made an official statement that was lambasted for calling Israel an apartheid state and, in the view of some pro-Israel factions, seemed to lay the blame for the aggression on Israel.
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Bush was roundly criticized by Jewish organizations and also by U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Town and Country, who called the statement “reprehensible and offensive.”
Bush has consistently stood with a minority of Democratic lawmakers who strongly oppose Israeli policy in Gaza and other Palestinian areas in the Middle East.
The resolution on Monday was co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan, one of the leaders of a group of progressive Democrats known as “The Squad.”
The area’s other Democratic member of the U.S. House — Nikki Budzinski of Springfield, who represents parts of St. Clair and Madison counties — has taken a different tack on the issues.
“I’m committed to standing with our allies in Israel as they defend themselves and their homeland,” Budzinski said in a recent statement.
Budzinski has co-sponsored two bipartisan resolutions, one that condemns Hamas and another which supports Israel “as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas.”
On the other side of the Capitol rotunda on Monday, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley asked the U.S. Department of Justice to who recently have staged pro-Palestine demonstrations on U.S. campuses.
Hawley to Attorney General Merrick Garland, asking him to “deploy DOJ resources to investigate these organizations’ funding sources.”
“The First Amendment protects the right to protest. But it does not protect the provision of material support to terrorist organizations,” Hawley’s letter states.
And last week, U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt was one of 19 GOP senators who called on President Joe Biden to deny Iran access to in exchange for the release of five American hostages. Iran, a major backer of Hamas, is suspected of being behind the Hamas attack.
Those opposed to the freeze counter that the U.S. retains control over the money, which can be used only for humanitarian purposes. At this time, none of the money has been spent.
U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, also is sponsoring a resolution in the House that would freeze the Iranian money. Smith is chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee; his district includes parts of Jefferson and Ste. Genevieve counties.