Members of the U.S. Congress and other leaders stateside and overseas called for a ceasefire even before the Jewish state had buried its dead from Hamas’s terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7. On April 13, leaders and anti-Israel organizations called for restraint from Israel as missiles and drones were raining down on it.
“I urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East,” stated António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, who “strongly” condemned Iran’s “serious escalation.”
The Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry stated that it “urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to protect the region and its people from the dangers of war.”
Espen Barth Eide, the Norwegian foreign affairs minister, wrote that “further escalation of violence in the Middle East” must be prevented. “I call upon all parties to exercise maximum restraint,” he said.
“It is as important as ever to show restraint to prevent further escalation of an already extremely serious situation in the region,” stated Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, Iceland’s foreign affairs minister.
Rossana Rodriguez, alderwoman of Chicago’s 33rd ward, wrote “Free Palestine” on a personal social media account, which drew a sharp response from the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest, in Chicago.
“We condemn in the strongest terms this Chicago alderwoman’s celebration of Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel. This is the same alderwoman behind the highly controversial ‘ceasefire’ resolution,” the Consulate General wrote. “We see a pattern—not aiming for peace, but for Israel’s destruction. We hope Chicago’s mayor will speak out this time.”
“This is Mayor Brandon Johnson’s hand-picked chair of human relations. She spent months pushing for a resolution Hamas rejected several times while ignoring the plight of those taken hostage 189 days ago,” wrote Raymond Lopez, alderman of Chicago’s 15th Ward. “She is sick and morally unfit for leadership.”
“Israel must show restraint. I fear Netanyahu won’t,” wrote the broadcaster Piers Morgan.
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Washington and co-founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council, wrote that “Biden’s refusal to say no to Israel” dragged “the entire region—and the U.S.—into a larger war. We shouldn’t be here at all. If Biden had pushed for a Gaza ceasefire from the outset, all of this would have been avoided.”
Yonah Lieberman, co-founder of the anti-Israel group IfNotNow, wrote to U.S. President Joe Biden along similar lines.
“If you had called for a ceasefire and used American leverage to force Israel to end its war months ago, than [sic] Israel would not have been emboldened to assassinate the Iranian general two weeks ago, and Iran would not feel pressure to respond,” Lieberman wrote. “Instead you kept giving Israel bombs.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations wrote, even before the missiles and drones had reached Israel, “The matter can be deemed concluded.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) responded to Iran’s post. “You are terrorists. The United States doesn’t take orders from Iran,” he wrote.
Some members of Congress blamed the Biden administration for the attack.
“Joe Biden’s policies have funded Iran’s attack on Israel,” wrote Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). “Under President Trump, Iran was broke. President Biden gifted them billions of dollars and then naively said ‘don’t,’” she added. “‘Don’t’ is not a foreign policy.”
“Iran’s drone strikes against Israel are a direct result of Joe Biden’s weak foreign policy. Less than a month ago, the Biden administration refused to back our ally during the UNSC’s ceasefire vote,” wrote Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), of the United Nations Security Council. “Now more than ever, America must reaffirm our support for Israel.”
