full Veterans Call for Ceasefire Press Conference transcript
5:56PM Nov 9, 2023
Speakers:
Keywords:
veterans
ceasefire
war
congresswoman
palestinians
stand
hamas
day
peace
palestinian
served
lasting peace
violence
killed
israeli military
palestine
children
calling
world
military
On the eve of the day I would like to start by thanking my colleagues Congresswoman Ramirez and Congresswoman Sommer Lee and about face to face for joining us today for joining the righteous, anti war push for peace and for a ceasefire now, every Veterans Day, I think of the brave people in St. Louis who serve. I think of my own family members. From my grandfather who served in World War Two to my aunts and uncles, who served in Vietnam and Afghanistan and my own husband who served and was deployed as well. And I think about all of the others I don't know who served on the eve of the day that our country honors you. were honoring, also the pain and the trauma that you live with. Today, we have the privilege of hearing the personal stories and perspectives of the veterans standing here today as people who have been directly involved in wars, as people who have witnessed the horrors of conflict, as people who bear the physical and emotional scars, that war leaves in its wake. Their perspective on a ceasefire is incredibly valuable. veterans know the true cost of war. The lives lost, the family shattered, and the community scarred. They know the devastation and the pain that we are seeing now in Gaza and in Israel. They themselves can often relate to those around the world who are subjected to this violence, even here in America. Some may question our patriotism because we are questioning in this war. But there is nothing more patriotic than wanting our country to stand up for our professor values. In the words of Reverend Dr. Polly Murray. I want to see America be what she says she is. And I consider it part of my responsibility to do that. We have all heard the phrase that history repeats itself, yet too often. As a society we fail to recognize the repetition of war. The veterans that we will hear from today are here, not only because they know the impacts of war, but they know that with without action and without a true anti war movement. war will continue generation after generation. It's time to change the pattern of history to build a world where peace is valued over war, where we reconcile conflicts through peaceful negotiation where we choose to take the path of love and humanity over death and destruction. Regardless of how hard that choice may be. I thank the veterans here today for many things. Standing up speaking out the risks that they're taking. But I specifically want to thank them for making that choice. But choosing to put choosing love for choosing humanity for choosing to demand a ceasefire now, thank you all. And now I'm gonna call up. Lau Jeremy Rubin, former Marine Officer
Thank you, Congresswoman. Thanks, everyone. Brittany, everyone else who helped organize this event. When Israel was in Egypt land, Let my people go and press so hard they could not stand. Let my people go. Go down Moses, way down in Egypt land. Tell old Pharaoh to let my people go. Since childhood, I've heard these words from one Passover Seder to the next bellowed by the legendary singer and actor Paul Robeson. My great uncle and aunt have hosted the Seder for decades and they have always gone out of their way to connect our people's story of oppression and liberation to that of others. When ropes and perform the famous slave so 1965 he was drawing a line from the Jewish freedom struggle to the black freedom struggle. But it wasn't until I joined the Marines not long after 911 and helped enforce the military occupation of Afghanistan in 2010. That I came to real realize the wider importance of that spiritual and how much I had failed to learn its deepest lesson. When I developed lethal targeting packages for strangers on a safe intelligence watch floor, I knew I wasn't playing the part of Moses. When I accompanied my Marines on ARM foot patrols where we menacingly paste to the fields of frightened farmers. I knew I wasn't on the side of liberation and the more I possibly participated in the violent policing of desert hamlets, the more I felt like another Pharaoh. Today I stand here with every fiber in my being to insist that the ongoing bloodshed in Gaza and the West Bank will not bring anyone emancipation. Certainly not the Palestinians, who have already endured more death and destruction in the past month than most war torn torn people suffer after year long operations, but not the Israelis either. Who are only fueling the flames of resentment and rage that brought both Israel and Palestine to this awful crossroads in the first place. After 20 years of fighting our own war on terror, and after hundreds of 1000s Dead have we still not learned it's it's impossible to kill one's way to safety, to freedom. Too many lives have already been lost. Too many people subjugated and humiliated not just the past month, but for years and decades from Gaza City. to Hebron to East Jerusalem, Jerusalem ceasefire now.
Now we call up Congresswoman Delia Ramirez.
Good afternoon when I started this, I am Congresswoman Delia Catalina Ramirez and I have the honor to represent Illinois Third Congressional District. These have been hard days. The hostages held by Hamas are still not home with their families. Over 11,000 Gazans are dead and even more are wounded or missing. And this week, my colleagues have chosen to censure those or that one Palestinian Congresswoman because she there because she dares to dissent. Choosing hope right now is an act of resistance. I am hopeful because I am reminded we are not alone in calling for what is right. We are not alone in our fight. So I want to start by recognizing the courage of everyone here today. upholding our shared humanity and calling for a ceasefire. Thank you to my friends and colleagues Congresswoman Cory bush and Congresswoman summerly. I especially want to thank the veterans, those who served our communities, those who risked our lives for a war that has left them asking themselves Why were we sunk there. Those who are advocating for peace right now. I've had the honor responsibility to serve in the Veteran Affairs Committee and during my time in the committee, I've heard over and over and over again, how crucial it is that we listen and we follow the lead of our veterans. And I agree. They are here to let us know loud and clear that we have to change the years of failed foreign policy. They are here to show us through their lived experiences that our current core course will not lead us to long lasting peace. We know that a true and lasting peace for both Israelis and Palestinians can only achieve through the recognition of our interdependence and a commitment to diplomacy. We must reject a doctrine that only some lives are worth protecting, and recognizing that the lives at the futures and the collective safety of Israelis and Palestinians is intertwined. The solutions we put forward and support should affirm our shared humanity and reject all forms of dehumanization, scapegoating and collective punishment. As a nation we must use our influence and the power as world leaders to affirm our commitment to human rights, international law and the escalation. I serve in a committee who every single hearing says that they want to do everything they can to take a stand for their veterans. Or here I am standing with veterans. today. We are preparing ourselves to celebrate their contributions their sacrifices. But we should also be listening to their pain, listening to their voices. And we like it or not. We must acknowledge that we have a choice in this moment. Do we listen to our veterans or do we continue to bomb ourselves and then say that's what's going to bring us to peace? There's dissonance in that. And I am proud and honored to join my colleagues, human rights advocates, veterans and the whole world who is calling in this precise moment for us to cease fire now. Let's hear our veterans. Let's do what our veterans are calling us to do. And with that, I'd like to call Brittany Ramos about us. Afro Latina combat veteran and former Army Captain
struggle. Give it a minute. My name is Brittany Ramos Barrows. I'm a former army captain and combat veteran who deployed to a war in Afghanistan believe believing that I was going to eradicate the threat as politicians like to say and improve security both for Afghans and for my own people here in the United States. What I actually did was participate in a war that killed 10s of 1000s of people and further destabilize a country that continues to suffer today. 20 years of bombing and killing and none of us is any safer. In fact, by our own governments measures every single place that the United States and NATO carried out so called global war on terror operations. We have made things worse instead of better. Today, it's so obvious to me that the politicians who resist ceasefire, in the name of security know nothing about war. Because anyone who has any humanity left in them and that's actually confronted the utter horror and absolute carnage, of shock waves rippling through their bodies as mothers scream as dust settles around mangled bodies, knows how absurd it is to believe that security can be created through violence. But trauma and destruction and destabilization caused by war are antithetical to security. I won't speak to you about morality. Because if you aren't already calling for a ceasefire, with more than 10,000 killed, mothers, fathers, children, then you either don't care about the thing, sanctity of life, or you don't believe that Palestinians are human beings. So let pragmatism guide you there is no military solution to this violence. We cannot bomb our way to peace. We cannot kill our way to safety. Neither can Israel. Those who say a ceasefire only helps Hamas subscribe to a short sighted military strategy that has been empirically disproven repeatedly and never not once been successful or effective. If you manage to eliminate all of Hamas, what then? The root cause of this violence is an illegal occupation and routine human rights abuses. that have gone on for decades. If those root causes are not addressed, another group more determined, more motivated to do what Hamas did, will emerge and the violence will continue. This weekend, politicians will be shaking our hands and thanking us for our service, all while continuing to fail us. They continue to ignore the will of the American people who want a ceasefire. They continue to ignore the will of veterans who are sick of being set to kill and die in wars that make politicians and war profiteer donors richer. If you actually respect us, if you actually want peace and safety if you actually believe in the values of human rights and justice that this country professes to uphold. And the values that I was told I was signing up to fight for when I joined the military. You will join us in calling for a ceasefire now cease fire now. Next, we have Congresswoman summerly.
Good afternoon. I'm Summer Lee. And I'm proud to represent the top Congressional District of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Allegheny County was Morley counties of Pennsylvania. And I'm proud to stand here today with my courageous sisters in service, Congresswoman Cory bush and Congresswoman Danielle roominess and almost a dozen and counting colleagues for their clear eyed pursuit of peace to about face and all the proud veterans we have here. He can speak more truly than anybody about the realities of war and why we must do everything humanly possible as a congress and as a country to avoid it to move toward a just and lasting peace and to demand a ceasefire right now. This Saturday will be my first Veterans Day as a congresswoman and as we reflect on the sacrifices that these veterans standing beside and with us today, and so many others have made we're once again watching our nation in our nation's leader throws itself 10 toes deep into yet another catastrophic war that has no visible endpoint or strategy, but the cost had been made abundantly clear. To every one of us here since Hamas murdered 1400 Innocent Israelis one month ago. Nobody has questioned that Hamas must be held accountable. But let's be clear, it is innocent Palestinian civilians that are paying the price for crimes that they did not commit Israeli airstrikes. The ground invasion and forced starvation and dehydration has caused over 10,000 innocent Palestinian lives, including more than 4300 children. Reports from the Israeli military indicate
well that that pass
is DC it happens.
Reports from the Israeli military indicate that they have successfully targeted just 60 Plus Hamas operatives, that means that the Israeli military has had a civilian casualty rate of 99% 99% of the people who have been killed were civilians. They were mothers and fathers, grandparents and hospital workers and peacekeepers. And teachers and community members and babies. People who are seeking refuge in churches and mosques and schools. People being transported are near ambulances. We can't afford to make the same mistakes that we made after 911 entering to endless wars for decades with no success. And all we have to show for it was an even more unstable Middle East and a loss of four and a half million lives including 7000 service members. There will always be people who find profit, or excuse me who find warmongering, profitable, profitable, whether it be political, politically or financially, but that's not what the majority of people in this country and our world wants. They want a just and lasting peace in Palestine and Israel. They are demanding that our country change its course and unconditionally supporting a war that has largely been on Palestinian children. We the People are not the fringe. We the People are the majority. We are the UN the Amnesty International Doctors Without Borders, veterans and the Pope, clergy and rabbis and Imams and government leaders around the world and millions of everyday people who have called for a ceasefire to end this humanitarian catastrophe and work towards a just and lasting peace. Now more than ever, we need to listen to the people who are closest to the pain. That mean that means listening to the Palestinians on the ground, who cry for us to protect their innocent lives to the Israelis protesting the Netanyahu government for its war mongering to the only Palestinian woman in Congress, instead of silencing her and burying her perspective. And to these veterans who know better than anybody what war entails and who are telling us that we must demand a ceasefire. We have to listen to them when they recount the atrocities of war atrocities that they don't want anybody else to live through. We are the nation's pro peace movement, all of us who seek to build the future where defense means investing in our communities healthcare, and housing and education and jobs, not lining the pockets of defense contractors who seek the profit off of our veterans suffering, and we are the majority building that future starts right now. By demanding a ceasefire. To end the cycle of endless violence that has no military solution. Peace is attainable if we don't fall for the facade of war and destruction as a solution and a pathway to peace. Thank you so much. To our veterans who welcomed me here today and who bravely came to stand with us clear eyes from the fog of war to demands a ceasefire right now. And thank you so much to the countless people across this country in this world who have stood up and the face of so much risk and threats to their own safety and livelihood to join us in our calls for peace. Our next person will be Ramon mahiya. I'm sorry, I don't want to mispronounce that. But I'm gonna let you say your name clearly for the people here and this is a former Marine
My name is Ramon Mahir. In 2003 I participated in the US invasion of Iraq. I witnessed the Havoc us bullets and bombs waged on people in the land effects spell to this day. We were told that our actions were to free the Iraqi people from tyranny. But all I saw was the enormous human social, economic and environmental toll that war and occupation brought. Hundreds of 1000s of Iraqis were killed in an illegal war began with lies by millions more were maimed and injured. The reverberating effects of war continued to kill and sick and countless people to this day. I live with the knowledge that my actions contributed to the destruction of life, as a result of which has led to the people of Iraq having the highest quote the highest rate of genetic damage of any population ever studied. And the years after leaving the Marines, as I attempted to process my experience, and while part of the Muslim community became close with a number of Palestinian families, they accepted me into their home into their community. Palestinians have experienced relentless attacks by one of the world's most advanced military systems rely on US arms and protected by us diplomacy. According to UN report, quote, waging disproportionate destruction and violence against civilians as part of a deliberate policy by the Israeli military and quote, These are the actions being perpetrated now against the people of Gaza against innocent civilians. And children as they are pulled from the rubble of us funded us built Israeli dropped bombs. In 2018, I had the opportunity to travel to Palestine as part of a delegation to hold conversations with learn from and build with Palestinian grassroots groups from various sectors of society, beautiful people who are steadfast in their commitment to resist against all odds, the face of oppression. The daily struggles and dehumanizing treatment of Palestinians endured the hands of Israeli soldiers is infallible. The situation unfolding and in around Gaza is part of a long and uninterrupted history of violence, the root of which Israelis brutal occupation and military siege. We employ unconscious forces everywhere to apply pressure on all fronts to remind us elected leaders of their responsibility to act and to loudly and unrelentingly echo the international call for a ceasefire now, long live a free Palestine. I'd like to introduce my friend, Crystal tubules. Army combat veteran.
Position many will start now they have many pistol tools. I'm Oglala Lakota Northern Cheyenne, from Northern Cheyenne territory in southeastern Montana. Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. I'm a veteran and former sergeant in the US Army. But as a Native American as a Oglala woman as a Cheyenne woman. I know exactly what is happening in Palestine. It is the exact same thing that happened to my people here on these lands. happening in real time. The dehumanization, the land theft, the massacres, and then the invisible isation of an entire people. At least 11,000 human lives are gone. 4300 of those children gone. The images. The stories that I see every day are all too familiar to me. They resemble the stories I heard from my grandparents while growing up. As an anti war veteran, I know that the US is complicit in this. We've experienced that. Our taxpayer dollars, paper death, paper destruction, paper violence. They say that where you spend your money is what you value. We need to think about that. In moments like this though, we have to remember that the decisions that we make define us as human beings. This is the moment that needs to bring out the best in us. So as a veteran and as an original steward of these lands that we are all standing on I implore the people who are put here to actually represent us to make the right decision and to demand a ceasefire now, yeah.
I'd like to bring up my my sister Aarthi Walker.
Thank you everyone. My name is Aarthi Walker by Dakota. I am an Indian American daughter of immigrants. A US Army veteran who served from 2000 to 2006. I first want to say as I'm standing here, and Representative Rasheeda Talib is not here with us but I want to say that veterans stand with you so yes to the 22 cowardly Democrats who voted on the censure, veterans stand with Rashida and we stand with Palestinians and we stand with Cory bush and summer Lee and Delia Dominus. Thank you. During my military service, I was deployed to Dover Air Force Base, which is largest mortuary in the Department of Defense. When I was deployed there I assisted in the autopsies of soldiers killed in action in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The horrors of the war that I witnessed there changed me forever. And joining the military wasn't a choice. Because the only option available to me available to me as the daughter of somebody who was child abuse and sexually abused was the school to military pipeline. Just like the school to prison pipeline or the school to prison Nexus is the only option available to others. People that die in war, do not die natural deaths. During my deployment at Dover, I saw bodies with heads blown off. Scales completely burnt intestines coming out of heads. rotting flesh turn green and blue and bullets in every imaginable place, and bodies so badly traumatized that there was nothing remaining to identify them. As a result of what I bore witness to at Dover Delaware, I receive a disability from the VA for anxiety and depression. And what that tells me is that our government does and can recognize the horrors of war. Our government does recognize and does understand how war destroys not just the people directly experiencing it, but also destroys the souls of those who commit those atrocities. So the question I have for the congress people is if you care about the trauma that veterans face, as you should Why do you not care about the trauma that Palestinians are facing too? I have seen videos of a child in Palestine screaming that they had to carry a headless body of another child screaming because they realize their mother was under the rubble because of her hair, and they said I know her hair. And that's the only thing they could see of her. That is trauma that they will never recover from. Over 11,000 civilians have been killed 70% of those that are killed are women and children. People are now dying out of starvation, the life the lack of life saving medical equipment, or medicine, and the United States is directly funding and enabling these horrors to any representatives who have yet to sign on to the ceasefire resolution, including my own cowardly representative Danny Davis from Illinois, you are being put on notice. Do not show up to Veterans Day marches. Do not shake hands with veterans and say that you support veterans if you do not support a ceasefire. What do veterans one veterans want it? Now? What are veterans want? Do we want it now? What do we want it now thank you?
I think that the most important voices you've already heard and there are more here. We wish we could give the mic to every single veteran standing here. But as we open up for we have time for maybe one or two questions and when we point to you make sure you say your name and your outlet. But before I before we switch to that I want us before questions are thrown out. us to think about the dignity of the veterans that are standing here and let's give them the respect that is so
deserved before we start with questions, because this is a moment that we want to highlight as members of Congress, we want to highlight them. We want their voices to be known and told they're standing up saying ceasefire now they're standing up saying I'm putting myself on the line and at risk because this country should listen. And so as we open up for questions I'm asking for the respect for our veterans because the pancake meal tomorrow or Saturday is not that's not the it means great. I hope y'all get your pancake man. But let's respect them as we go forward with these questions. So I know you'd like to say yeah, Nicholas
NyQuil with Politico. Israel is saying that they will do for our humanitarian causes each day. Is that enough or do you want so
I will give my answer and if any of you would like to chime in, please. I would like for somebody to to come for no. Four hours. We get a break. The idea that we get a break for four hours a break so that we can have food