We, the undersigned healthcare workers in Arizona, write to you to address the ongoing crisis in Palestine. Acting on the ethics of our profession, we condemn all violence against civilians and attacks on healthcare, including the violence of the Israeli military occupation of Palestine, the Israeli siege of Gaza, and the Israeli apartheid system. We acknowledge that this is not a “war” between two equal parties, but rather an enormous escalation of colonial violence. We acknowledge the settler colonial dispossession of Palestine by Israel. We also acknowledge that, according to the definition from the United Nations Genocide Convention, Israel’s occupation of Palestine constitutes a genocide:
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
Killing members of the group;
Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Since October 7th, Israel has:
Cut off access to water, food, essential medicines, and fuel to Gazan civilians, which Human Rights Watch has acknowledged is a war crime;
Killed nearly 15,000 Palestinians in Gaza, almost 6,000 of whom were children;
Issued evacuation orders to 23 hospitals in Gaza, which the WHO called a “death sentence for the sick and injured;”
Destroyed or damaged countless Palestinian homes in Gaza;
Forced displacement of over 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza;
Repeatedly attacked healthcare facilities and medical personnel, in an ongoing pattern of illegal military targeting of healthcare;
Made 521 attacks on healthcare in occupied Palestinian territory between October 7th and November 12th alone, according to the World Health Organization;
Bombed Palestinian schools, hospitals, refugee camps, and humanitarian aid along areas dedicated as “safe routes.”
In addition to the material harm inflicted, Israeli officials have made comments demonstrating an "intent to destroy" the Palestinian people:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to reduce Gaza to “rubble”, and told besieged Palestinians to leave Gaza.
Israeli military spokesperson R. Adm. Daniel Hagari stated “the emphasis [of the bombings] is on damage and not on accuracy.”
Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, stated: “We are imposing a complete siege on [Gaza]. No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel – everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly.”
Israel’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eli Cohen, promised that “[a]t the end of this war, not only will Hamas no longer be in Gaza, the territory of Gaza will also decrease.”
According to Save the Children, one child dies every 15 minutes in Gaza. Babies have died in hospitals under fire without supplies or electricity. We recognize that if we do not take steps to end this massacre, we are complicit. This brief pause in fighting, with delivery of inadequate aid, is not enough. 66% of the US public agrees, across party lines, that the U.S. should call for an immediate de-escalation of violence and ceasefire in Gaza. We are aghast that as our government has slashed food stamps and health insurance for millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Arizonans, Senator Sinema supports sending another $14 billion to Israel to continue bombing Palestinian civilians.
We commend the brave leadership of members of Congress who have spoken out for de-escalation and/or ceasefire, including Representative Grijalva. As UN agency leaders and other humanitarian groups call for an immediate ceasefire, the U.S. is the one world superpower standing in the way of de-escalation. As U.S. taxpayers, whose government sends $3.8 billion per year to Israel in military aid, and with an additional $14 billion in aid proposed, we must hold Israel and the U.S. accountable for their actions. The Leahy Law clearly prohibits the U.S. government from using funds to assist foreign security forces that have been credibly implicated in gross violations of human rights (GVHR).
We firmly remind Senator Sinema that her dedication to "protect[ing] innocent lives" must extend to the thousands of Palestinian lives lost and over a million displaced amidst this genocide. In addition, although we appreciate Senator Kelly’s expression of humanitarian concern towards Gaza, the only way to truly address this humanitarian crisis is to take meaningful action.
As healthcare workers of Arizona, we honor our oath to "do no harm" by amplifying the voices of those in Gaza and joining many across the country and around the world in calling for:
An immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza;
An end to US military funding to Israel;
Pressure on Israel to allow adequate humanitarian aid and essential supplies, such as food, water, electricity, fuel, and medical supplies, into Gaza;
Protection for medical facilities and an end to the inhuman evacuation orders.
As a collective of healthcare professionals deeply concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, we seek more than just to voice our concerns. We respectfully request the opportunity to meet with you to discuss these critical issues further.
Our group represents a diverse range of healthcare workers in Arizona who are committed to upholding the ethics of our profession, which includes advocating for the health and well-being of all individuals, regardless of their geographical location. We believe that a face-to-face meeting would allow for a more meaningful and productive exchange of ideas and perspectives. We aim to collaborate with you in identifying practical steps that can be taken at the legislative and policy levels to contribute to a lasting solution.
We are flexible regarding the timing and format of this meeting and are willing to accommodate your schedules. Whether it be a formal meeting or a telephone call, we are open to any opportunity that allows for effective communication.
In closing, we call on you, our senators, to take immediate action for a lasting ceasefire, a definitive end to the siege on Gaza, and an end to military aid to Israel because, as we have detailed above, that aid arms genocide. Every minute we wait is a moment too late.
