U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is facing pressure from hundreds of her former staffers who are pushing her to “demand an immediate cease-fire” and de-escalation in the Israel-Hamas war, while an estimated 200 Israeli hostages are still captive in Gaza.
A letter signed by hundreds of ex-staffers from Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign comes after protesters chanting for a ceasefire were arrested as they tried to enter the senator’s Boston office on Wednesday. Also, progressive House reps introduced a cease-fire resolution earlier this week, which was backed by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.
The former Warren staffers in their letter, posted online late Thursday night, urged the senator to publicly call for a cease-fire and to introduce a cease-fire resolution in the Senate.
“We were horrified by the Hamas attack on October 7, and we are devastated for those who are dying as the Israeli army continues to commit unconscionable horrors in Gaza,” the former staffers wrote. “Through our grief, we implore you to take action.
“You must demand an immediate cease-fire in Palestine and the return of Israeli hostages, and take concrete steps to end Israeli occupation,” they added. “A child is killed every 15 minutes in Gaza — if you continue to be silent, you are complicit in this genocide.”
The ex-staffers in the letter ripped Israel, calling the major U.S. ally “increasingly fascist” that commits war crimes and enforces “brutal apartheid.”
Warren’s office did not immediately respond to comment on Friday. Warren was in Lowell for an Infrastructure Day event on Friday, and she only took one question regarding the Israel-Hamas war — which was about an American family trapped in Gaza.
“Senator Markey and I are working really around the clock with the State Department to do everything we can to get this family out of Gaza, and get American citizens out of the region who are trapped there and want to be able to leave,” Warren told reporters.
“We need for all of the hostages to be released,” she said. “We need humanitarian aid into Gaza. We need to get that humanitarian aid coordinator open. We’ve got a lot that needs to happen and it needs to happen fast to protect lives. That’s what matters here.”
The former staffers are also pushing for Warren to advocate for de-escalation in the region, and that the U.S. end unconditional military aid to Israel.
Her 2020 workers wrote that Warren is not living up to her campaign promises.
“We spent months, some of us years, fighting for you because we believed you shared our dream for the world to be a place in which every human being can live in dignity,” the ex-staffers wrote. “Your lack of moral clarity in the face of the genocide of Palestinians is a direct contradiction of the values your campaign stood for.
“One of your last calls to action for us at the end of your presidential campaign was to ‘always choose to fight righteous fights,’ ” they added. “We call on you to live up to your own words by demanding an immediate cease-fire, advocating for de-escalation, and addressing the root causes of the violence of the past 13 days — 75 years of brutal apartheid and occupation.”
Sun reporter Melanie Gilbert contributed to this report.
