After the “ceasefire” announcement for Gaza and Huffman’s brief Orwellian tribute to President Biden’s “work for peace”, Huffman lapsed into silence on the issue of Israel. No response to Trump’s announcement to ethnically-cleanse Gaza of Palestinian residents. No response to the kidnapping and illegal detention of a Palestinian legal resident Mahmoud Khalil, who was living in New York and kidnapped by Trump’s fascist goons and now is held in a detention center in Louisiana. Congressman Huffman has had nothing to say about these developments.
Mahmoud Khalil is the first dissident, and Trump promises, not the last, to be “disappeared” by Trump’s emerging police state.
Silence like a cancer grows.
While his constituents demand that Trump’s extremism be confronted head-on, Huffman chooses to do what he does best. Remain as quiet as possible on the issue of Palestine and Palestinian rights and on this issue at least, let Trump be Trump.
I think I can understand why.
First, to the issue of Trump’s promise to ethnically-cleanse Gaza of Palestinians and “own” it as part of the United States, we must remember that it has been the policy of President Biden, with the full support of Congressman Huffman, to make it possible for Israel to destroy Gaza. This is the government Huffman supported, so Trump’s pronouncement and Huffman’s silence must be seen in that context. Contrast Huffman’s non-response to Rep. Al Green, who has proven to be part of Trump’s active opposition. Green promised to bring articles of impeachment in response to Trump’s advocacy of a war crime. It follows however that Huffman will be silent on Trump’s intended war crimes in Gaza as he was on Biden’s.
It will be noted that weeks after Trump’s original February 4th announcement in a meeting with Netanyahu, and after repeating it several times since, clearly indicating that Palestinians will be removed from Gaza and never allowed to return, Trump now says that “nobody is expelling Palestinians”. No matter. U.S. policy may be muddled, but Israeli policy is not, and plans are being made to expel Palestinians. Huffman may eventually say he opposes this but given his history he will be sure to underwrite this war crime with our tax dollars. Huffman’s talk, when he even does that, is often betrayed by his actions.
Second, to the issue of the kidnapping and illegal detention of Mahmoud Khalil, Huffman remains deliberately silent.
From an action alert from Amnesty International:
On 9 March US immigration authorities unlawfully arrested and arbitrarily detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and student organizer who recently graduated from Columbia University. He is a lawful permanent resident in the USA. Mahmoud was targeted for his role in student protests at Columbia University, where he was exercising his rights to freedom of expression and peacefully assembly. He has not been charged with a crime. He is being held in a detention center and authorities have informed him that they have “revoked” his permanent residency status and placed him in deportation proceedings. We demand authorities release Mahmoud immediately and respect his rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and due process.
A letter was penned by Rep. Rashida Tlaib demanding Khalil’s immediate release and distributed to all members of the Progressive Caucus of which for some reason Huffman is a part. He refused to sign it. He wasn’t alone. Only 14 members of the House signed the letter.
This is a test case for the Trump regime, and Congressman Huffman, by his silence, his refusal to call for Khalil’s immediate release, makes Congressman Huffman a silent partner to Trump’s extremism and attack on our civil liberties. Huffman is showing the same indifference to a Palestinian held by Trump as he has for the thousands of Palestinians who are held captive by the Israeli regime.
We know better. We know that Trump will follow-up with more illegal detentions, not only of immigrants, but very likely of citizens. Not only of those who protest Israeli policies but even the very mild-mannered protests at Tesla dealerships, which he calls “illegal”. We will remember how it all started, those political leaders who spoke up, and who remained silent.
Dare to disturb the sound of silence. Call Huffman’s office now and tell them that silence is NOT an option.
Important Update. Congressman Huffman has signed onto a letter that was signed by over 100 members of the House expressing grave concern regarding the case of Mahmoud Khalil. This is a welcome development. In an upcoming post, I will comment more on this move and the response of other members of the House.
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