Rep. Foushee’s actions—traveling to Israel with a congressional delegation organized by AIPAC—betray all of us, the people she was elected to represent.
Now the people of North Carolina’s fourth district know the truth. Last week, on the same day that the Israeli Defense Forces leveled Al Shifa Hospital—destroying the largest hospital in Gaza and killing hundreds of doctors, nurses, aid workers, and children as they looked for refuge from bombardment—the INDY reported that Congresswoman Valerie Foushee, the voice of our district in Washington, traveled to Israel with a congressional delegation organized by AIPAC.
While there, Rep. Foushee met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an unabashed war criminal who even longstanding supporters of Israel call an “obstacle to peace.” The fact that Rep. Foushee would sit across from a man orchestrating a genocide in real time is a complete betrayal of public trust. Her listening to him claim a “remarkable minimization of civilian casualties,” mere days after 12 Palestinians drowned trying to reach aid parcels airdropped into the sea is so sickening that I find it hard to process.
Foushee’s decision to join this delegation is a slap in the face—not only to her constituents, the vast majority of whom vehemently disapprove of Israel’s ongoing siege—but to her predecessor, Congressman David Price, a principled critic of Israel who served our district conscientiously for 25 years. Her blatant disregard for his legacy of peacemaking is disrespectful at best. Our district is crying out for an end to this war and a safe return of all hostages, which Netanyahu himself is currently preventing. Foushee’s actions betray all of us, the people she was elected to represent.
Foushee’s actions shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, after all her number one funder has been AIPAC, an organization Price slammed on the eve of his retirement for their “stranglehold” on the Democratic Party. Foushee, in stark contrast, accepted over $2 million in funding from the organization—and her legislative priorities reflect it. Now we know the price of her silence.
But this is not on Foushee alone. It’s on every “progressive” leader in the Triangle who endorsed her, and explained away these donations as if those of us calling them out were fringe, radical, or crazy. Complicity is a collective effort. And tens of thousands of Palestinians are dead because of it.
It is not fringe to stand against the unabashed murder of children. It is not radical to refuse to say a military has a “right” to raze a hospital. It is not crazy to be a mother hearing the cries of starving babies and screaming out from the mountaintops, to anyone who will listen, that this cannot continue.
Some have claimed that critics of the Biden administration’s stance on Israel are peddling a “pro-Trump” agenda. They say we’re sinking Biden’s ticket. But the reality is, the calls for permanent ceasefire, for an end to occupation, for a safe return of all hostages, for the delivery of life saving and immediate aid, aren’t coming from Trump supporters. They’re coming from Muslims like me; from our Arab and Palestinian neighbors who have lost loved ones, been forced off their land, had their farms burned by settlers, have lost all contact with their families not knowing if they’re dead or alive. They’re coming from young people, Black organizers, Jewish organizers, and North Carolinians across the political spectrum who believe Palestinians and Israelis alike deserve to live in peace. All we ask is that our government stop funding these atrocities with our own tax dollars.
Rep. Foushee, I ask you as a mother, as a neighbor, as a fellow public servant: where is your conscience?
Nida Allam is a Durham County Commissioner. Allam ran against Valerie Foushee for North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District seat in 2022.
Letter: Rep. Foushee, Where is Your Conscience?
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Now the people of North Carolina’s fourth district know the truth. Last week, on the same day that the Israeli Defense Forces leveled Al Shifa Hospital—destroying the largest hospital in Gaza and killing hundreds of doctors, nurses, aid workers, and children as they looked for refuge from bombardment—the INDY reported that Congresswoman Valerie Foushee, the voice of our district in Washington, traveled to Israel with a congressional delegation organized by AIPAC.
While there, Rep. Foushee met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an unabashed war criminal who even longstanding supporters of Israel call an “obstacle to peace.” The fact that Rep. Foushee would sit across from a man orchestrating a genocide in real time is a complete betrayal of public trust. Her listening to him claim a “remarkable minimization of civilian casualties,” mere days after 12 Palestinians drowned trying to reach aid parcels airdropped into the sea is so sickening that I find it hard to process.
Foushee’s decision to join this delegation is a slap in the face—not only to her constituents, the vast majority of whom vehemently disapprove of Israel’s ongoing siege—but to her predecessor, Congressman David Price, a principled critic of Israel who served our district conscientiously for 25 years. Her blatant disregard for his legacy of peacemaking is disrespectful at best. Our district is crying out for an end to this war and a safe return of all hostages, which Netanyahu himself is currently preventing. Foushee’s actions betray all of us, the people she was elected to represent.
Foushee’s actions shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, after all her number one funder has been AIPAC, an organization Price slammed on the eve of his retirement for their “stranglehold” on the Democratic Party. Foushee, in stark contrast, accepted over $2 million in funding from the organization—and her legislative priorities reflect it. Now we know the price of her silence.
But this is not on Foushee alone. It’s on every “progressive” leader in the Triangle who endorsed her, and explained away these donations as if those of us calling them out were fringe, radical, or crazy. Complicity is a collective effort. And tens of thousands of Palestinians are dead because of it.
It is not fringe to stand against the unabashed murder of children. It is not radical to refuse to say a military has a “right” to raze a hospital. It is not crazy to be a mother hearing the cries of starving babies and screaming out from the mountaintops, to anyone who will listen, that this cannot continue.
Some have claimed that critics of the Biden administration’s stance on Israel are peddling a “pro-Trump” agenda. They say we’re sinking Biden’s ticket. But the reality is, the calls for permanent ceasefire, for an end to occupation, for a safe return of all hostages, for the delivery of life saving and immediate aid, aren’t coming from Trump supporters. They’re coming from Muslims like me; from our Arab and Palestinian neighbors who have lost loved ones, been forced off their land, had their farms burned by settlers, have lost all contact with their families not knowing if they’re dead or alive. They’re coming from young people, Black organizers, Jewish organizers, and North Carolinians across the political spectrum who believe Palestinians and Israelis alike deserve to live in peace. All we ask is that our government stop funding these atrocities with our own tax dollars.
Rep. Foushee, I ask you as a mother, as a neighbor, as a fellow public servant: where is your conscience?
Nida Allam is a Durham County Commissioner. Allam ran against Valerie Foushee for North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District seat in 2022.
Comment on this story at backtalk@indyweek.com.