By Rev. Alex Awad

I am a Palestinian American Christian born in Jerusalem. I was only two when my father, a non-combatant, was shot to death in front of our home in 1948 during the first Arab Israeli war. My mother was left with seven children; We were driven from our neighborhood and made refugees. 

Since then, I have watched the destruction of my homeland and the humiliation of my people, still carrying within me the wound of that first loss. When I see thousands of families in Gaza grieving their loved ones, fleeing their homes, and struggling to survive, their suffering is not distant or abstract to me; it echoes the story of my own childhood and family. 

Now a U.S. citizen, I cannot separate my family’s history from questions confronting my adopted country: Why have successive U.S. administrations failed to halt the devastation in Gaza and continued to arm Israel? Why have diplomacy and Congress failed to end the carnage in Gaza, the displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank, and alleged crimes against humanity?

Any serious inquiry must examine the influence of the Zionist lobby in Washington — a network that includes both Jewish and Christian Zionist organizations. Its well-funded advocacy has long narrowed debate and bought nearly unconditional U.S. support for Israel.

In their book The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy, authors John J. Meersheimer and Stephen M. Walt found that a broad pro-Israel coalition exerted exceptional influence over American Middle East policy, sometimes to the detriment of both U.S. and Israeli interests. 

Former conservative presidential adviser Pat Buchanan was blunter when he declared, “Capitol Hill is Israeli-occupied territory” in 1990. 

In the three years since Oct.  7, 2023, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the resulting Palestinian death toll and displacement has intensified American scrutiny of Israel’s conduct and of Washington’s continuing military and diplomatic support. Increasingly, criticism is crossing traditional ideological lines: Conservative media figures such as Tucker Carlson, Candace Owensmand Megyn Kelly are joining liberal and progressive voices in questioning this aspect of U.S. policy. 

Similar concerns were raised in Congress by lawmakers with markedly diverse political outlooks, including Rep. Thomas Massie, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Sen. Bernie Sanders. 

At the grassroots level, opposition has also emerged within American religious communities. Mainline Christian denominations have debated or adopted measures addressing Palestinian rights, Israeli military occupation, divestment and the use of U.S. aid. More recently, some evangelical Christians have begun to question not only Israeli government actions but also Christian Zionist interpretations of the Bible that encouraged churches to remain silent or complicit. Jewish organizations and activists have likewise raised their voices, insisting that alleged abuses by the state of Israel must not be committed in their name. 

Together, these developments show that criticism of Israeli policy and of unconditional U.S. support now extends beyond political and academic circles into the religious communities that have long shaped American public life.

Yet, despite these developments, Palestinian suffering in Gaza and the West Bank continues, exposing a widening gulf between growing public concern and the choices of America’s political leadership. The voices now rising across ideological, religious, and institutional boundaries must become more than ripples of dissent; they must gather into a powerful surge demanding an end to civilian suffering, the restoration of Palestinian civil rights, and a U.S. Middle East policy freed from unconditional allegiance to any foreign government. Only then can the United States pursue a policy grounded not in political pressure or selective morality, but in international law, equal human dignity, and a just and lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

A special event in Eugene will address this issue:

 A nation-wide People’s Tribunal will consider holding the U.S. government accountable for its complicity in the genocide in Gaza. Modeled after grand jury hearings, the tribunal will ask a jury of community members to determine whether there is sufficient evidence of complicity to warrant the indictment of government officials and state actors. 

Livestreaming from Seattle, the watch event will take place 9:45 am to 5 pm, Oct. 10 at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 1685 W. 13th Avenue, with discussion after.

Local sponsors include Veterans for Peace, Unitarians, Friends Church and People for Justice and Peace in Palestine. RSVP to PToct10@proton.me.