In this second episode of Just World Ed’s project “Washington and the World: The New Chapter”, JWE president Helena Cobban spoke with Josh Ruebner, the Policy Director at the IMEU Policy Project. They explored what the U.S. Congress should do to buttress Palestinian rights and end the U.S. war on Iran, and provided some handy guides as to what voters should be pressing for, to affect the policies both of the sitting (lame-duck) Congress and of the much more energetic and principled 120th Congress that will be seated on January 3.
You can see the video of the whole 40-minute conversation here. Or you can read a transcript here.
Cobban opened by listing three urgent priorities: Ending the war on Iran, Ending the genocide in Gaza, and Preventing Israel’s overlordship of the US military. Ruebner agreed with those priorities. Key topics in the discussion that followed included these:
- The midterms: Ruebner described the incoming freshman class as the largest and boldest ever in its support for Palestinian rights.
- The war on Iran: He argued the war would end as a major strategic defeat for the United States and urged Congress not to fund it.
- Gaza: He described worsening conditions, noting that Israeli forces now control about 70% of the territory. He pointed to the UNRWA Restoration Act, Section 620i of the Foreign Assistance Act, and the Block the Bombs Act as concrete steps legislators can take to end Israel’s many cruel atrocities in Gaza.
- The National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA: He explained how Senate Democrats could use their leverage to remove provisions that deepen US-Israel military and intelligence ties.
- Democratic leadership: They discussed Senator Chris Van Hollen’s challenge to Chuck Schumer for Senate Majority Leader.
Ruebner urged viewers to call their senators in support of Van Hollen, ask their representatives to co-sponsor the Block the Bombs Act (H.R. 3565), and demand that the NDAA provisions be stripped out.