Auchincloss: Israel ‘can’t de-escalate’
AUCHINCLOSS ON ISRAEL — Israel’s expected ground invasion of Gaza to root out Hamas’ current leadership is “appropriate given the threat and the nature” of the militant group’s attacks, Rep. Jake Auchincloss told Playbook on Sunday.
The Jewish military veteran’s remarks come as Israel masses troops on the border with Gaza and urges 1 million people to evacuate its northern region. The humanitarian crisis in the enclave is worsening and divisions over Israel’s response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack are deepening here at home. Authorities say least 1,300 Israelis and 2,700 people in Gaza have been killed.
Auchincloss’ more progressive colleagues, including Reps. Jim McGovern and Ayanna Pressley, sent a letter to President Joe Biden late last week urging him to lean on Israel to establish a humanitarian corridor out of Gaza and to reestablish delivery of food, water and electricity to the blockaded strip where civilians, including people from Massachusetts, are stranded. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who offered full-throated support to Israel at a local rally last week, is now joining calls for the country to “minimize civilian harm.”
“Israel can’t de-escalate right now. There are hostages who are still being held by terrorists. Israel needs to destroy the capabilities and the structure of an entity that has as its mission statement to destroy the Israeli state and kill Jews,” Auchincloss, who represents a heavily Jewish district, said.
“But that is not antithetical to humanitarian considerations,” he continued. Israel “can execute an aggressive military operation while having due concern for civilians under the law of armed conflict.”
Here’s more from Playbook’s conversation with Auchincloss, edited for clarity and condensed for length:
Students at your alma mater continue to criticize Israel and held a pro-Palestine rally condemning what they called “genocide” in Gaza. What is your response to that?
I spoke with the Harvard president earlier this week and I asked her to state clearly that Harvard has an antisemitism problem and then to take the initiative to address it. And I offered my support, if and when she did that, in helping to be part of the solution.
An Attleboro synagogue received an emailed bomb threat this weekend. What is your message to residents in your district and Massachusetts?
Moments like this bring out the worst in people, as we saw with these student groups at Harvard and with the antisemitic graffiti and some of the depraved statements we’ve seen from people who should know better. But it also brings out the best in people. And I prefer to emphasize and double down on the best that I’ve seen from people, which is to recognize the pain and suffering of people half a world away and to rally ourselves to their support.
By: Lisa Kashinsky
Source: POLITICO