Included, above, a special report by Christian Sorensen on U.S. arms sales to Israel.
Tribunal organizers today sent this call:
Due to the horrific events in Gaza, we call on all United States citizens to engage in nonviolent action to blockade weapons manufacturers violating the Leahy Law(Section 362 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code) which prohibits the U.S. Government from using funds for assistance to units of foreign security forces where there is credible information implicating that unit (Israeli Defense Forces/IDF) in the commission of gross violations of human rights. The actions taken by the IDF in Gaza are clearly in violation of human rights and no credible exemption under the Leahy Law applies. Israel has taken no corrective steps to remediate civilian deaths and U.S. military aid is not in support of disaster relief.
Accordingly, since the State Department, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Congress, and President Biden have all refused to abide by the Leahy Law, we ask citizens to join us in taking nonviolent action to end the atrocities occurring daily in Gaza. U.S. tax dollars are funding these war crimes and U.S. weapons makers are providing the arsenal. Raise awareness and end the carnage by confronting these Merchants of Death with nonviolent action.
Josh Paul, Director of Congressional and Public Affairs for the State Department’s Bureau of Political and Military Affairs, resigned his post on October 18, 2023 because he objected to the U.S. shipping further weapons to Israel. In an interview published in Time magazine on October 19th, Paul said: “Because Israel receives foreign military financing it is subject to the Leahy laws, which require the vetting of units that receive that assistance to ensure they’re not engaged in gross violations of human rights. I think the process to do that for Israel specifically, within the department, is broken and politicized and has not been able to meet the requirements of the law.”