By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs of San Diego and eight other Jewish members of Congress are among 88 Democratic and Independent lawmakers who have signed a letter urging President Joe Biden to sanction two top officials in the Israeli government, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The eight others are Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and House members Becca Balint of Vermont, Steve Cohen of Tennessee; Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island, Jerry Nadler of New York, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois.
In their letter to Biden, the 88 lawmakers accused Smotrich and Ben-Gvir of aiding and abetting violence against Palestinians living in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and disrupting humanitarian aid to Palestinian residents of Gaza. They asked Biden to invoke Executive Order 14115 against the two members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition as well as against two organizations: Amana, which “provides loans and building infrastructure for new outposts that are illegal under Israeli law” and Regavim, “which was cofounded by Smotrich” and obstructs “Palestinian construction in the West Bank, causing displacement and exacerbating tensions.”
If Biden agrees, sanctions against Smotrich, Ben-Gvir, Amana, and Regavim would include the freezing of any of their assets in the United States or under the control of an American person or company. They would also be banned from entering the United States unless the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security should grant an exemption.
In their letter, the 88 signers said that Smotrich “has seized the opportunity to take steps to advance illegal and dangerous annexation of the West Bank. He had weaponized his authority in order to approve thousands of new settler homes in the West Bank, secure Israel’s largest seizure of land in the West Bank in three decades, and enable settlement construction that even violates Israeli law.
“He has authorized an increase in demolitions of Palestinian homes, leading to the displacement of more than 2,000 Palestinians, over 1,000 of whom are children,” the letter continued. “As a key leader of the settler movement he has also used toxic and inciting rhetoric in public and private, shielded instigators in the West Bank from accountability, called for a Palestinian town to be ‘wiped out,’ and repeatedly voiced his public support for annexing the West Bank.”
Smotrich’s policies, furthermore, have “significantly compromised the overall health and stability of the West Bank economy,” the letter said. “He has denied tens of thousands of work permits to Palestinian civilians since October 7, preventing workers from returning to their jobs for almost a year in defiance of the Shin Bet’s recommendations. Additionally, he withheld tax revenue from the Palestinian Authority for months, relenting on the same day that an agreement was reached to convert outposts, illegal under Israeli law, into recognized settlements.”
Turning to Ben-Gvir, the 88 letter signers said he has also “played a prominent role in inciting violence against Palestinian civilians, encouraging the construction of illegal outposts, and preventing enforcement against violent settlers. … Over 100 violent settlers attacked the West Bank village of Jit, burning homes and killing a Palestinian man. The perpetrators who attacked Jit reportedly identified themselves as ‘Ben-Gvir’s gang … here to kill you, here to kill Arabs.’
“Ben-Gvir also distributed rifles at political events, prompting serious concern by U.S. officials that U.S.-manufactured weapons could be used in settler attacks against Palestinians by his civilian ‘security squads.’ According to Israel’s Police Chief, Ben-Gvir used his authority as minister to prevent police from protecting humanitarian convoys bound for Gaza, allowing settlers to attack and halt aid. Instead of using the Israeli police force to mitigate violence, Ben-Gvir has taken steps to weaponize the force, refusing to prosecute the destruction of property and extremist attacks in the West Bank.
“Like Smotrich, Ben-Gvir uses dangerous rhetoric publicly at a precarious moment, including calling on Israel to annex the West Bank and encouraging police officers to shoot any ‘terrorist’ even if they do not pose a threat,” the 88 members of Congress said in their appeal to President Biden.
“Given their critical roles in driving policies that promote settler violence, weaken the Palestinian Authority, facilitate de facto and de jure annexation, and destabilize the West Bank, we urge you to sanction Finance Minister Smotrich and National Security Ben-Gvir pursuant to Executive Order 14115.”
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.