Israel must 'urgently do more'

(JNS) — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, wrote to her 15 million social media followers on Sunday night that the Jewish state has to act quickly to allow more aid into the Gaza Strip.

“The U.N. reports that no food has entered northern Gaza in nearly two weeks,” Harris wrote. “Israel must urgently do more to facilitate the flow of aid to those in need. Civilians must be protected and must have access to food, water and medicine. International humanitarian law must be respected.”

The vice president drew praise from Keith Ellison, the Minnesota attorney general, and from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which blamed Israel for being attacked on Oct. 7, 2023 shortly after the Hamas terror attack in southern Israel.

“We welcome Vice President Harris’s call for international humanitarian law to be upheld. Now, those words must be matched with action,” CAIR said. “The Israeli government is deliberately starving and massacring the people of Gaza with U.S. support in violation of U.S. laws. Vice President Harris should pressure President Biden to enforce those laws. Suspend arms transfers to end the genocide and avert an all-out regional war.”

Mark Goldfeder, director, National Jewish Advocacy Center, wrote to Harris that “people actually involved in getting aid to Gaza told Reuters that food supplies had fallen because Israeli authorities introduced a new customs rule on truck convoys chartered by the U.N. What does that rule say?”

“It says that relief organizations sending aid must accept liability for any false information regarding the shipment,” Goldfeder wrote. “According to sources, relief agencies are worried that signing the form could expose them legal problems if aid fell into the hands of Hamas.”

“I know this is not your strongest suit, vice president, but a country instituting a rule saying that we have to know what is passing through a border is actually good policy. And if people are afraid to sign a form that says they are not lying, well, maybe that itself is a sign,” he added. “It is beneath your office to simply parrot U.N. talking points, even as your administration is arguing in court that U.N. workers should have immunity for participating in the Oct. 7 massacre.”

Goldfeder wrote that Harris ought to have access to up-do-date data, but if she doesn’t, “as of this weekend: Bakeries in Gaza status update:

13 active bakeries are producing 3.1 million pita breads daily. North Gaza: 5 bakeries are producing 1.3 million pita breads per day. Central Gaza: 8 bakeries are producing 1.8 million pita breads a day.”

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories “coordinated the refueling of bakeries in northern Gaza since Friday. They are there to facilitate humanitarian responses for the civilian population of Gaza,” Goldfeder wrote. “Maybe the U.S. can help guarantee that the aid won’t go to Hamas since the U.N. won’t do it? That could be productive.”

“In the meantime,” he added, “since Hamas has been stealing aid, Israel needs to put reasonable rules in place. They need to deal with reality on the ground, because until someone stops Hamas, they do not yet have the freedom to dream about what can be, unburdened by what has been.”

Randy Fine, a Republican Florida state representative, wrote that the vice president’s statement “is insane.”

“I had to check to see that this was actually a real post. It is not Israel’s job to feed the enemy so that they can continue to fight,” Fine wrote. 

He added that Hamas steals all the aid that enters Gaza. “Kamala is making clear she supports Muslim terror,” he wrote. “If you are a Jew considering voting for her, you need your head examined.”

“It’s been 374 days, and 101 hostages are still being held at gunpoint by terrorists in Gaza,” wrote Joel Petlin, superintendent of the Kiryas Joel School District. “Are you also waiting for the U.N. to issue a report on the food, water, and medicine being denied to the hostages?”