Senator Susan Collins (R) Has Received Significant .Contributions from the israeli Lobby and Does Not Listen to Her Constituents.
Tonight the Portland City Council voted unanimously to divest from Israel according to a press release issued by Sarah Almatri of the Maine Coalition for Palestine. The resolution requires that all city funds and investments from companies that are complivit in Israel’s war crimes in Gaza be included in this disinvestment.
Portland is the fourth city in the US and the first on the east coast to adopt a disinvestment resolution sanctioning Israel and any corporate interests complicit in its continued occupatipn of Palestine. Portland’s resolution calls on the city manger to divest from entities known to “provide Israel with weapons..and in Gaza,” operate in and contribute to the expansion of Israel’s illegal settlements,” or “enable or profit from the ongoing occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people”
This landmark divestment vote comes after 11 months of an unrelentig military campaign by Israel on the beseiged enclave. Children make up half of Gaza’s populaiion and have disproportionately borne the brunt of Israel’s attacks. The Palestinian Health Ministry estimates that 70% of the casualities are women and children. Over 70% of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed or rendered uninhabitable, including water and sanitation facilities, hospitals, farms, schools and universities. 96% of the population is at crisis levels of food insecurity and previously, eradicated diseases like Polio are resurging. The International Court of Justice has found Israel’s assault on Palestine to be a “plausible genocide.”
In a UNHR report from May, hundreds of legal scholars published their findings on the question of geneocide. “After reviewing the facts established by indepnnt human rights monitors, journalists and UN agencies, we conclude that Israel’s actions in and regarding Gaza since October 7, 2023, violate the Genocide Convention,”
“Children in Gaza are suffering heart attacks from fear. Generations of families are being decimated by US bombs supplied to Gaza. Senators Collins & King and Rep. Golden accept significant campaign contributions from the Israel lobby and they have refused to listen to their constituents demands. Americans overwhelmingly want a ceasefire and an arms embargo. Divestment sends a clear message that current US policy towards Palestine is morally unacceptable and does not serve the interests of our country.”