PIVOT Statement on Gaza

March 19, 2024

PIVOT’s mission is focused on domestic policies, but sometimes international affairs become inextricably linked to our priorities in the US. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and what happened on October 7 and in Gaza since, has been a great tragedy.  We grieve for the loss of civilian lives, particularly in Gaza, with an incomplete count of  30,000 deaths, mostly women and children, and millions more facing starvation. Not since the American war in Vietnam have civilian populations been bombed at such a tremendous and horrifying scale. We are very aware of the disproportionate burden that innocent civilians carry when their homeland is treated as a war zone.

PIVOT shares the serious critiques that many progressives have to the way the Biden administration has addressed this humanitarian calamity to date. Vice President Harris calling for a limited ceasefire was a step forward, and a full ceasefire with no more targeting of civilians by either side is the most urgent goal. 

However any of us feel about Israel, Palestine, and Gaza, it is important to note that a Trump election victory will give Israel more license to kill civilians, while also being detrimental to women and all people of color in the U.S. and internationally. That is why we are committed to defeating Trump in the 2024 election.