Palestinian Americans meet US lawmakers as Trump seeks $2.8bn for Israel

Organisers say more than 300 constituents met with House and Senate members from 26 states to demand US policy shift.

Laila El-Haddad speaks in front of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, the United States [Joseph Stepansky/Al Jazeera]

Washington, DC – Palestinian Americans have held a day of advocacy at the United States Capitol under the spectre of a new $2.8bn arms transfer to Israel reportedly approved by the administration of US President Donald Trump.

The Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action) group, which organised Tuesday’s event, said more than 300 constituents from across the country met with the offices of more than 100 US lawmakers. They advocated on behalf of a slate of legislative initiatives related to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, surging Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank, and efforts to use immigration law to stifle Palestinian advocacy in the US.

list 1 of 3 UN Chief condemns Gaza destruction, West Bank settlements

list 2 of 3 Trump: ‘My honour to settle eight wars’ including ‘war in Gaza’

list 3 of 3 Erdogan slams Israel’s ‘genocidal mindset’ in blistering UN address

Jenna Escheik, a 19-year-old meeting with lawmakers and staffers from Virginia, including Democratic Senator Tim Kaine and Republican Representative Rob Wittman, said she was planning to speak with “some very challenging and interesting people”.

“I think the main point that we’re trying to get across to every single office is that we’re all proud to be American, and we all have our taxpayer dollars that we just don’t want to see going to wars,” said Eschiek, who is originally from outside of Ramallah in the West Bank.

Yaseen Shaikh, a 22-year-old who travelled with a delegation from Cleveland, Ohio, said he will be meeting with the offices of Republican Senator Jon Husted, who faces a competitive midterm race against former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, as well as the state’s other Republican Senator, Bernie Moreno.

Both Republican senators have consistently voted against legislative efforts to limit arms sales to Israel.

“As I stand among my peers here, among people who I stand on their shoulders, I can only feel hopeful and optimistic that we will make a difference and that change will come,” Shaikh told Al Jazeera.

“We just have to be vehicles for that,” he said.

Palestinian rights ‘catching up’ with lawmakers

Successive presidential administrations, as well as Congress, have for decades resisted calls to condition US military aid to Israel, including throughout Israel’s latest war in Gaza, which will reach its three-year mark early next month.

To date, nearly 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, with nearly 1,400 killed since a “ceasefire” agreement went into effect in October 2025.

Last week, US media widely reported the Trump administration approved a US taxpayer-funded $2.8bn military package to Israel, which included 907kg (2,000-pound) MK-84 bombs known to have already caused widespread civilian devastation in the Palestinian enclave.

The package reportedly included 20,000 of those munitions, as well as 20,000 BLU-117s, a close variant.

Several Democrats have vowed to block the transfer, with the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Gregory Meeks, using his leverage last week to at least slow congressional clearance.

Osama Abu Irshaid, AJP Action’s executive director, said the new weapons package runs counter to public opinion polls, which have regularly found majority support for conditioning at least some weapons to Israel, as well as surging support for Palestinian rights.

Abu Irshaid said the polls underscore a new political reality for lawmakers.

“I think now we are functioning within this context, where what happens in Palestine, the genocide that took place and continues to take place, what the terrorist settlers are doing in the West Bank, what the US and Israel are doing in the Middle East is catching up with us here,” Irshaid said, “and we’re paying a price”.

Jenna Escheik was among the Palestinian Americans meeting with US lawmakers in Washington, DC [Joseph Stepansky/Al Jazeera]

While entrenched support for arming Israel has persisted among some segments of the Democratic Party, advocates have hailed what they see as a historic shift in recent months.

In July of last year, 26 Democrats in the Senate voted to block some arms transfers to Israel, the first time in history a majority of Democratic lawmakers in the chamber did so. In April, similar resolutions gained a record 40 votes in the Senate, all Democrats, but ultimately failed to pass in the 100-member chamber.

The so-called Block the Bombs Act in the House, which calls for a partial arms embargo against Israel, reached 81 co-sponsors as of August.

Twenty-two Democratic senators also introduced a resolution last week to force the US Department of State to conduct an investigation into the violence committed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, in which at least nine US citizens have been killed in recent years.

Abu Irshaid was optimistic that headway could also be made among Republicans, who have been reckoning with an internal divide over US support for Israel, with exceedingly few members of the party currently willing to vote to limit aid.

A December poll by the IMEU Policy Project found a majority of Republicans under 45 said they would prefer to support a presidential candidate in 2028 who “supports reducing taxpayer-funded weapons to Israel”.

“I think what we’re seeing now is that the dam within the Republican Party is cracking,” Abu Irshaid said.

“But the question is, ‘What is after Donald Trump when Donald Trump no longer owns the Republican Party, owns the MAGA movement?’ I think that’s when you will see more cracks taking place.”

Advocates on Tuesday also focused on what they called the Trump administration’s practice of using immigration law to stifle pro-Palestine advocacy.

Among their policy priorities, those meeting with lawmakers sought to reform language in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which the Trump administration has cited in efforts to deport individuals whose presence in the US the administration deems to have “adverse foreign policy consequences”.

Among those speaking at the US Capitol on Tuesday was Salah Sarsour , the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, who was detained by ICE in April and released in June. His legal team has charged that the three-decade US resident was targeted based on a coerced confession when Sarsour was detained by Israeli forces as a young man.

Sarsour, who continues to face deportation proceedings, said the ICE detention reminded him of being held in Israeli detention.

“Those criminals that [detained me], they still exist,” he said. “The same criminals that destroy Gaza, they killed tens of [thousands] of children and women, and men and family members.”

Leqaa Kordia , who was among those targeted by immigration enforcement agents following a wave of pro-Palestine protests that swept US campuses in 2024, also recounted the “dehumanisation” of her 368 days in ICE detention.

“And then it hit me that…the same system that threw me in an ICE jail is the same system that funds and arms the military prisons in Israel,” said Kordia, who, like Sarsour, still faces deportation proceedings.

“The same dehumanisation logic that allowed a guard to humiliate me allows the Israeli soldier to kidnap Palestinians and throw them into the shadows,” she told those gathered.

“The same power that keeps my case in limbo is the same power that sends billions of US tax dollars in bombs and weapons to fuel the Palestinian genocide.”

组织者称，超过 300 名选民与来自 26 个州的众议院和参议院议员会面，要求美国改变政策。

莱拉·哈达德在美国华盛顿特区国会大厦前发表讲话。[约瑟夫·斯捷潘斯基/半岛电视台]

华盛顿特区——据报道，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普政府已批准向以色列转让价值 28 亿美元的新武器，巴勒斯坦裔美国人在美国国会大厦举行了一天的游说活动。

组织周二活动的“美国巴勒斯坦正义行动”（AJP Action）组织表示，来自全国各地的300多名成员与100多位美国国会议员的办公室进行了会面。他们就一系列与以色列在加沙的种族灭绝战争、以色列在被占领的西岸地区日益猖獗的定居者暴力以及利用移民法压制巴勒斯坦人在美国的活动相关的立法提案进行了游说。

联合国秘书长谴责加沙地带的破坏和西岸定居点的破坏（共3条，第1条）

特朗普的三项声明之二：“我很荣幸能解决八场战争”，其中包括“加沙战争”。

埃尔多安在联合国发表措辞激烈的讲话，抨击以色列的“种族灭绝心态”（共3篇，此为第3篇）。

19 岁的 Jenna Escheik 与弗吉尼亚州的立法者和工作人员会面，其中包括民主党参议员 Tim Kaine 和共和党众议员 Rob Wittman。她说，她计划与“一些极具挑战性和趣味性的人”交谈。

“我认为我们试图向每个办公室传达的主要观点是，我们都为自己是美国人而感到自豪，我们都用纳税人的钱来打仗，我们不想看到这些钱被用于战争，”埃斯切克说道，他原本来自约旦河西岸拉马拉郊外。

来自俄亥俄州克利夫兰的 22 岁青年亚辛·谢赫 (Yaseen Shaikh) 随代表团出访，他表示将拜访共和党参议员乔恩·赫斯特 (Jon Husted) 的办公室。赫斯特将在中期选举中与前民主党参议员谢罗德·布朗 (Sherrod Brown) 展开激烈角逐。此外，他还将拜访该州的另一位共和党参议员伯尼·莫雷诺 (Bernie Moreno)。

这两位共和党参议员一直投票反对限制对以色列武器销售的立法努力。

“当我站在我的同辈中间，站在我所仰赖的肩膀上时，我只能感到充满希望和乐观，相信我们会有所作为，改变终将到来，”谢赫告诉半岛电视台。

“我们只需要成为实现这一目标的载体，”他说。

巴勒斯坦人的权利正在“迎头赶上”立法者

几十年来，历届美国总统政府和国会都拒绝将美国对以色列的军事援助与援助挂钩的呼吁，包括在以色列最近一次加沙战争期间，这场战争将于下月初迎来三年纪念日。

截至目前，自 2023 年 10 月 7 日以来，加沙已有近 74,000 名巴勒斯坦人丧生；自 2025 年 10 月“停火”协议生效以来，已有近 1,400 人丧生。

上周，美国媒体广泛报道，特朗普政府批准了一项由美国纳税人资助的28亿美元对以色列的军事援助计划，其中包括907公斤（2000磅）的MK-84炸弹，已知这些炸弹已经在巴勒斯坦飞地造成广泛的平民伤亡。

据报道，该包裹内包含 20,000 枚此类弹药，以及 20,000 枚 BLU-117 型弹药，这是一种与其非常相似的变种。

几位民主党人誓言要阻止此次转让，众议院外交事务委员会资深成员格雷戈里·米克斯上周利用其影响力，至少延缓了国会的批准进程。

AJP行动执行主任奥萨马·阿布·伊尔沙伊德表示，新的武器方案与民意调查结果相悖，民意调查经常发现，大多数人支持至少将部分武器与以色列挂钩，同时对巴勒斯坦人权利的支持也在激增。

阿布·伊尔沙伊德表示，民调结果凸显了立法者面临的新的政治现实。

“我认为我们现在正身处这样的背景下，巴勒斯坦发生的事情，曾经发生并仍在发生的种族灭绝，西岸恐怖分子定居者的所作所为，美国和以色列在中东的所作所为，都正在影响到我们，”伊尔沙伊德说，“我们正在为此付出代价。”

珍娜·埃舍克是与美国国会议员在华盛顿特区会面的巴勒斯坦裔美国人之一。[约瑟夫·斯捷潘斯基/半岛电视台]

尽管民主党内某些群体仍然根深蒂固地支持武装以色列，但支持者们称赞近几个月来出现了他们认为的历史性转变。

去年7月，参议院26名民主党议员投票阻止向以色列转让部分武器，这是历史上首次有多数民主党议员在参议院采取此类行动。今年4月，类似的决议在参议院获得了创纪录的40票，全部由民主党议员投下，但最终未能在拥有100个席位的参议院获得通过。

众议院所谓的《阻止炸弹法案》呼吁对以色列实施部分武器禁运，截至 8 月，该法案已获得 81 位共同提案人。

上周，22 名民主党参议员还提出了一项决议，要求美国国务院对以色列军队和定居者在西岸犯下的暴力行为进行调查，近年来至少有 9 名美国公民在西岸丧生。

阿布·伊尔沙伊德乐观地认为，共和党人也可以取得进展。共和党内部一直存在着对美国支持以色列问题的分歧，目前只有极少数党员愿意投票限制援助。

IMEU政策项目12月的一项民意调查发现，45岁以下的共和党人中大多数人表示，他们更愿意在2028年支持一位“支持减少纳税人资助的对以色列武器”的总统候选人。

“我认为我们现在看到的是，共和党内部的堤坝正在出现裂缝，”阿布·伊尔沙伊德说。

“但问题是，‘当唐纳德·特朗普不再掌控共和党，不再掌控MAGA运动时，之后会发生什么？’我认为那时你会看到更多的裂痕出现。”

周二，倡导者们还重点关注了他们所称的特朗普政府利用移民法压制亲巴勒斯坦倡导活动的做法。

在他们的政策优先事项中，与立法者会面的人士寻求改革 1952 年《移民和国籍法》中的措辞，特朗普政府曾援引该法，试图驱逐那些被政府认为在美国的存在会造成“不利外交政策后果”的人。

周二在美国国会大厦发表讲话的人士中，包括密尔沃基伊斯兰协会主席萨拉赫·萨尔苏尔。他于今年4月被美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）拘留，6月获释。他的律师团队指控，这位在美国居住了30年的居民是因为年轻时被以色列军队拘留期间被迫认罪而遭到针对。

萨尔苏尔目前仍面临遣返程序，他表示，美国移民及海关执法局的拘留让他想起了在以色列被拘留的经历。

“那些拘留我的罪犯，他们仍然存在，”他说。“就是那些摧毁加沙的罪犯，他们杀害了成千上万的儿童、妇女、男人和他们的家人。”

莱卡·科尔迪亚 (Leqaa Kordia) 是 2024 年席卷美国校园的亲巴勒斯坦抗议浪潮中被移民执法人员盯上的人之一，她也讲述了自己在 ICE 拘留所 368 天里遭受的“非人待遇”。

“然后我突然意识到……把我关进美国移民及海关执法局监狱的那个系统，正是为以色列军事监狱提供资金和武器的那个系统，”科尔迪亚说道。和萨尔苏尔一样，他仍然面临着被驱逐出境的程序。

她对聚集的人们说：“正是这种非人化的逻辑，使得一名警卫可以羞辱我，也使得以色列士兵可以绑架巴勒斯坦人并将他们扔进阴影中。”

“让我的案件悬而未决的同一股势力，正是将数十亿美元的美国税款用于购买炸弹和武器，以助长巴勒斯坦种族灭绝的同一股势力。”