By P.C. Staff
The JACL on Thursday issued a statement urging the White House to suspend American military funding to Israel that “enables the continued violation of international humanitarian laws, including the Geneva Conventions, and U.S. law including the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 22 U.S.C. §2378-1.”
The nation’s oldest Asian American civil rights organization cited Resolution 1, which passed at its 2024 national convention, as the basis for the appeal. In part, it reads: “ … we call for the United States government to continue to work with our allies in the region to pressure the Israeli government and Hamas to release all hostages, negotiate a ceasefire, and establish an enduring peace agreement. We denounce and call for an end of the U.S. government’s funding of the Israeli military where it is in violation of international humanitarian laws or the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and call for the increase and assurance of the free flow of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza.” (The entire resolution may be read here. )
With regard to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, JACL stated that it “expressly prohibits the assistance or the exportation of military weapons to countries that directly or indirectly restrict the transportation or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance.”
The JACL also stated that “Israel’s persistent attacks on Hamas have severely impacted Gaza’s health, food, power, and other critical infrastructure, hindering aid efforts while increasing humanitarian needs,” and noted that nearly 300 aid workers had been killed since hostilities began in Gaza.
To read the entirety of JACL’s statement, visit this link.
