On March 15, 2021 Rep. Mark Pocan and Rep. Andre Carson led in the sending of a letter to Secretary of State Blinken requesting that the State Department take action to ensure that the Israeli government provide COVID-19 vaccines and facilitate vaccination programs for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza.
On March 15, 2021 Rep. Mark Pocan and Rep. Andre Carson led in the sending of a letter to Secretary of State Blinken requesting that the State Department take action to ensure that the Israeli government provide COVID-19 vaccines and facilitate vaccination programs for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza.
In their letter they noted that while Israel has implemented one of the most successful vaccination programs in the world for Israeli citizens, it has blocked Palestinians from accessing vaccines. This is happening at a time when COVID-19 rates in the West Bank and Gaza have risen significantly. According to the World Health Organization, at the time of the writing of the letter over 200,000 Palestinians had already contracted COVID-19 and over 2,000 Palestinians had died. They also noted Israeli’s moral and legal obligations in to provide for the medical needs of Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation and called on the U.S. government to act.
The letter was also signed by Representatives Ilhan Omar, Betty McCollum, Steve Cohen, James McGovern, Rashida Tlaib, Jan Schakowsky, Raul Grijalva, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Marie Newman, Danny Davis, Donald Beyer Jr., Debbie Dingell, Alan Lowenthal, Ayanna Pressley, Earl Blumenauer, and Bobby Rush.
