Washington State Dems demand ceasefire in Gaza, end of all military aid to Israel, giving aid to UN Palestinian group

On Sunday, Washington Democrats overwhelmingly passed three resolutions during their state convention which included a call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, restoring funding to The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and a halt to US military aid to Israel.

1,023 delegates participated in the process at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, WA. Anti-Israel activists also gathered outside the location in anticipation of the vote.

Activists, delegates and elected officials wrapped in Palestinian keffiyehs made popular by mass murderer Yassir Arafat, the former chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, a known terrorist group, advocated for the anti-Israel resolutions.

UNRWA was defunded by the US and many other Western countries after revelations that workers from the group participated in the Oct 7 attacks. Videos from the Israeli Defense Forces have shown that the organization’s medical and educational facilities have harbored terrorists, had access to terror tunnels, and have served as launch locations for terrorist rockets as well as storage for weapons.

Earlier this year, the party’s central committee also voted to call for a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas which began on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian terrorists raped, tortured, and murdered over 1,200 people and kidnapped over 250 more. it also voted to refund the UNRWA.

Party Chair Shasti Conrad was previously criticized for issuing a statement calling the infamous Gaza camp at the University of Washington "peaceful" and opposed any actions that would violate activists' "First Amendment rights."

This after Jewish students and faculty were harassed and blocked from walking on campus, Israeli and American flags were stolen and destroyed, antisemitic slurs were used against Jewish students, buildings were vandalized with antisemitic and anti-cop graffiti, and vigils and rallies were held for terrorists.

The vote is a preview of the divide in the Democratic Party regarding the war heading into the national convention in Chicago this summer.

Some Washington Democrats such as Congressman Adam Smith have been staunch supporters of Israel, while progressives such as “Squad” member Pramila Jayapal have been harsh critics of the Jewish state and have even taken the side of Palestinian terrorists against the US ally after dozens of Americans were murdered in the attacks and 5 are still held hostage in Gaza.

In response to the approval of the anti-Israel resolutions by the Washington State Democratic Party, Regina Sassoon Friedland, Seattle Director of the American Jewish Committee said in a statement to The Post Millennial, "The Washington State Democratic Party must remember that resolutions like those passed can serve as a dog whistle to those who demonize Jews in Washington and around the world. In recent months, we've seen the Holocaust Center in Seattle vandalized, Jewish families targeted in their homes, and a statue of George Washington spray painted with 'kill your local colonizer.' The only Jewish nation in the world is defending itself against a U.S.-designated terrorist group, Hamas, which continues to reject ceasefire proposals supported by the United States while using rape and sexual assault as a weapon. As Vice President Kamala Harris stated last week, 'We cannot look away. And we will not remain silent.'"
 

"The only thing standing in the way of a ceasefire, and ultimately a durable, enduring cessation of violence, is Hamas. When it releases the hostages and lays down its arms, progress can be made. Israel is fighting a war of defense, not of retaliation. No nation cooperates more fully and reliably with the U.S. than Israel in strategic planning, intelligence-sharing, military training, and technological development. The enduring commitment of providing U.S. security assistance to Israel is critical."