“On this Easter, let’s ponder Netanyahu’s indiscriminate bombing of Gaza, which has killed more than 20,000 women and children, and his restriction of humanitarian aid, which has pushed Palestinians to the brink of famine,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) wrote on Sunday.
“But we must also recognize that America is complicit in this tragedy by resupplying Israel with bombs and failing to use America’s leverage to increase aid delivered into Gaza,” the senator added. “Reflecting on the admonition to feed the hungry and assist the stranger, and ‘blessed are the peacemakers,’ let’s push team Biden to do better. More aid. No bombs.”
The senator’s posts on social media drew sharp criticism from Jewish organizations.
Merkley’s “Easter message perpetuating falsehoods about Israel’s actions during the Israel-Hamas War is unacceptable and irresponsible,” stated the American Jewish Committee. “This tweet should be deleted.” (At press time, it remained live, with some 1.2 million views.)
“Now a U.S. senator falsely linking a Christian holiday used to justify centuries of antisemitism to Israel’s ‘indiscriminate bombing’ of Gaza,” stated B’nai B’rith International. “Instead of pushing absurd misinformation, Sen. Merkley should learn why spreading blood libel against Jews is so hateful and dangerous.”
Michal Cotler-Wunsh, Israel’s special envoy for combating antisemitism, also called the senator’s post a “blood libel.”
David Friedman, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel said it is “drivel” that reflected incorrect numbers. “Now if Senator Merkley were some ignorant kid from Harvard getting his info on TikTok, I could understand the disconnect from truth and reality. But he’s a full-blown United States senator for God’s sake,” Friedman said. “No excuse for this libel, especially when made as part of his purported observance of a Christian holy day.”
David Harris, the former CEO of the American Jewish Committee and current vice chair of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, also wrote that the senator had shared an “Easter blood libel.”
“Facts: Humanitarian aid arrives daily in Gaza. Hamas hoards aid, fails to distribute. Israel’s military action is as precise as any in history. Casualty figure comes from Hamas,” Harris stated. “All in a war, senator, started by Hamas, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist group.”
