Congressional advisors create dissent channel to protest Israel’s war in Gaza

A group of congressional advisors launched a public dissent channel where employees can anonymously express their concerns about Israel’s war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

The site’s home page states that the channel is where advisors can “securely and anonymously offer alternative or dissenting opinions to Congress’s policies and actions.”

The New York Times first reported the creation of the website.

Organizers said the page, called Congressional Dissent Channel, was inspired by State Department Internal Dissent Channel, formed in 1971 after the Vietnam War. The State Department channel is a little different. It is a classified internal government system in which authors must include their names when offering dissenting opinions that are published confidentially.

However, the Congressional dissent channel will be public and authors will be able to remain anonymous, whether through videos or memos.

“Despite the clear and growing objections of constituents across the country, the threats that the regional escalation of the war poses to U.S. interests, and the unconscionable Palestinian civilian casualties numbering in the tens of thousands, Congress has refused to use the its influence to condition weapons to restrict human rights and force Israel to mediate an immediate ceasefire,” the group wrote on the website.

The site follows a series of moves by congressional staffers who have protested U.S. military and financial support for Israel amid the war in Gaza. The war has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians since it began in early October, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped another 250.

Some officials, mostly progressive, have repeatedly pushed for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, including at a demonstration in November and another in May. Several officials, however, said they feared reprisals from their offices for publicly discussing their disagreement with Congress’ position.

Last week, dozens of congressional staffers from the group behind the website – Congressional Staff for Ceasefire – walked out of their offices to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress.

The informal group said the Israeli leader’s presence at the Capitol “dishonors the U.S. Capitol and dishonors the American values ​​that Congress swore to uphold.”

More than 200 anonymous officials, including 122 Democratic and Republican members, signed a letter earlier this month calling on Congress to protest or boycott Netanyahu’s visit. It was organized byCongressional Progressive Staff Associationand signed by 230 House and Senate officials.

Although Congress as a whole did not boycott Netanyahu’s speech, several Democratic lawmakers did not attend in protest.

Negotiations on a ceasefire agreement remain ongoing and Egyptian and Hamas officials told the Associated Press on Monday that mediators are still trying to overcome obstacles.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story