Collaboration with the Israeli Lobby Disguised as Peace

An open letter to Congressman Jamie Raskin from Montgomery County’s peace and justice community

We write from a place of conscience and observation to reclaim our voices, which have been filtered and silenced in narratives that obscure the reality of Palestinian suffering. Specifically, we are concerned that you recently partnered with J Street, a pro-Israel lobby group, to draft a congressional letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu politely urging him to not demolish the West Bank village of Umm Al-Kheir. At first glance, the letter reads like an appeal for compassion. It rightly condemns demolitions, mentions the killing of Palestinian peace activist Awdah Hathaleen, and calls these acts “cruel” and “in violation of international law.”

But we perceive the carefully chosen words as really political theater, a political collaboration designed to defend Israel’s image while leaving systemic oppression intact. The letter frames Israel’s actions as unfortunate policy missteps rather than evidence of a deeper, structural violence. It repeats the false narrative that Israel is a “democracy,” a claim contradicted by the lived reality of the 20% of its population who are non-Jewish Palestinians living under systemic discrimination in an apartheid framework. Nowhere does the letter name apartheid, occupation, dispossession, or genocide.

The irony is sharp. Your press release includes a quote from an American who boasts serving in the Israeli Occupation Forces. Neither of the other Maryland Reps who signed the letter supports the Block the Bombs legislation which would limit military weapons to Israel. Specifically, Rep. Johnny Olszewski traveled to Israel with AIPAC just months ago. And Rep. Sarah Elfreth was among the top recipients of AIPAC contributions nationwide last year. You could have instead worked to persuade Congressional members to co-sponsor the existing and more tangible Block the Bombs legislation. 

Why must this analysis be so harsh? Because we are two years into genocide. Palestinians in Gaza are still starving. Settler AND soldier violence in the West Bank is at an all-time high. Israel has killed Americans with impunity and a 16-year-old American remains imprisoned by Israel. Israel’s top military lawyer has been arrested because she was the whistleblower who exposed the rape and torture of Palestinians in prison. Even some Republicans now use the word “genocide.” And yet, your letter remains timid, technocratic, and insufficiently transformative.

Words of concern that leave structures of oppression intact are not acts of conscience; they are acts of complicity. Working hand-in-hand with a pro-Israel lobby to craft statements about Palestinian suffering is not advocacy—it is co-optation.

We urge you to limit your alignment with J Street to expressing only the Israeli narrative. Not the Palestinian voice. And to use your influence to help other members of Congress join you in supporting the Block the Bombs legislation.

There is a saying: “In a few years, everyone will have been against the genocide.” As more politicians begin to distance themselves from Israel’s actions, the peace community must welcome genuine transformation. Co-sponsoring the Block the Bombs legislation, which you have done, is one example. But politely “urging” a Prime Minister who has an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court is not moral courage. It is not even a breadcrumb.

By filtering your “polite letter” through the Israeli lobby, you have sent us a painful message: that Palestinian voices, including those of your own constituents, are not regarded as equal partners in shaping your understanding of the genocide and the systemic underlying framework of discrimination, occupation and Apartheid.

We are open, and eager, to discuss these concerns with you directly. This letter reflects a deeper worry that you do not regard us as equal partners in the pursuit of justice. We hope you will choose to change that.

• Peace Action Montgomery (Convening Organization)
• The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee – Maryland Chapter
• Maryland2Palestine
• Maryland Neighbors Against Genocide
• Montgomery County Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)
• Montgomery County Palestine Solidarity Network
• Our Revolution – Montgomery County