Washington, D.C. | www.adc.org | October 6, 2024 – Last night we witnessed the most brutal and unrelenting bombardment of Lebanon by Israeli forces. We also witnessed more massacres in Palestine as the genocide continues. At a time when Arabs are being slaughtered, homes destroyed, and entire communities uprooted in Palestine and Lebanon, it is not only callous but deeply immoral for anyone to use the ongoing war and genocide as an opportunity to advance personal or political agendas in Lebanon, and across the region.
These are unprecedented times, and ADC will not stand silently. We unequivocally condemn those who falsely claim to represent us. While these individuals and groups claim to speak on behalf of the community, they do so knowing that their support in the community is negligible, even if it ever existed. The current Biden Administration, as well as the VP Kamala Harris and President Donald Trump campaigns must know that the policies these groups push are not representative of our community and go against the best interest of America and the American people.
We unequivocally condemn those from our community who continue to exploit the blood of Arab people for their political agenda. This includes individuals and organizations from our community that are in lock-step with the Democratic and Republican parties, putting party over community, politics over justice, and overlooking a genocide for access.
Let us be clear about one more thing – any group or individual from within our community that advocates the U.S. Government and Israel to bomb any Arab nation undermines what is best for the U.S. and betrays our shared principles as Arab Americans. The Arab American community strongly opposes using our own tax dollars to terrorize, destroy, and kill our family members and loved ones who are in our ancestral homes.
Rather than focusing on the urgent need to save lives, fringe voices are using this moment of suffering to push their own ambitions. We view this as an unethical affront to the people of Lebanon and Palestine who are enduring unspeakable horrors under relentless attack from Israel not just over the past year, but for the last 76 years.
This is the time for the Arab American community to unite. Now is not the time for political maneuvering. It is time to demand an immediate halt to the genocide and bloodshed by Israel. Now is the time for an arms embargo, an immediate ceasefire, an end to the occupation, and sanctions on the rogue state of Israel.
Political agendas can wait. Human lives cannot.