WASHINGTON: Anti-Palestinian amendments were quashed Monday in the Senate and, for now, have come to an end.
The amendments that would have made it illegal for US budget funds to be used to resettle Gazans in the US was withdrawn before it could be brought to a vote.
Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, who, as Senate minority whip, is the second-most important Republican in the Senate, put the bill forward.
High-ranking Senate leaders spoke out in opposition to Sen. Kyl’s amendments, including the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. John Kerry and the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Sen. Patrick Leahy.
In a passionate speech on the floor of the Senate yesterday opposing the measure, which would have prevented Palestinians from Gaza from seeking refuge in the United States, Sen. Leahy said:
“I have to think back — I read about my family 150 years (ago) or so when they came to Vermont, on my father’s side, the Irish. I’m sure if we had a law like this in place, it is questionable whether they could have come in. The Irish were fighting to keep their land. If they were fighting to keep their rights, fighting for the ability to vote, and they live(d) in what is now the republic of Ireland, they were considered terrorists.”
Aside from barring Palestinian refugees from Gaza entering the US, it was feared that if passed the bill would have set a precedent of discrimination against refugees on the basis of nationality, ethnicity, or religion. No other nationality has been singled out under current law.
Sen. Judd Gregg, R-New Hampshire, responded to it by saying: “This blanket approach that nobody can enter the country is really over the top and far too broad a brush to paint on the entire population of an area,” said Sen. Judd Gregg, R-New Hampshire.
The amendment would have added a binding law to the bill to the effect that “None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be made available to resettle Palestinians from Gaza into the United States.”
Another amendment aimed to insert a certification requirement into US aid going to Palestinians, which was redundant because US law states clearly that no funds can go to Hamas.
The Israeli organization, Peace Now, was one of the first to report on Sen. Kyl’s activities.
Amnesty International also came out against the bill, urging its members to sign a petition against the bill, stating: “Gaza refugees have endured massive hardships, and were turned away from Israel and Egypt when fleeing their war-torn homes. This amendment serves no good purpose other than to discriminate against innocent refugees needing a safe haven.”
Some observers on the Hill suggested the amendment was a reaction to several conspiracy theory stories circulating online saying the Obama administration was planning to resettle large numbers of Gazans inside the US.
“John Kyl, has become the self-appointed Arab hatchet man,” said Jim Zogby, president of the Washington-based Arab American Institute. “There is something almost bizarre regarding the length that Kyl will go to spread his anti-Arab animus.”
Meanwhile over in Congress, a gathering of House Republicans led by Rep. Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., along with Reps. Boehner, R-Ohio, Cantor, R-Virginia, Pence,R-Indiana, and McCotter, R-Mich., called on Senate colleagues to amend a House bill that would bar funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the Palestinian Authority.
They made the call with the knowledge that doing so would kill the bill, and despite the fact that the breakdown of the proposed $900 million in funds for the Palestinians still remains unknown.
The press release issued by Ros-Lehtinen stated: “The administration should withdraw its pledge to provide $900 million in bonus funding to the Palestinian Authority and Gaza reconstruction . . . some of the funds will be going through UNRWA at a time when this UN agency is partnering with banks targeted by the US for their roles in financing violent militants.
“Another UNRWA partner is the Arab Bank, which is under investigation for financing Palestinian militants and suicide bombers responsible for the deaths of Israelis and Americans in Israel,” said Ros-Lehtinen.
