THIS WEEK, WASHINGTONâS top Israel lobby is rallying its supporters to go to Capitol Hill and falsely claim to lawmakers that people arenât starving in Gaza and Israel isnât blocking aid shipments, according to talking points obtained by the American Prospect.
Israel has led a brutal siege on Gaza since Oct. 7, when Hamas killed 1,139 Israelis and kidnapped more than 200. More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed, 2 million have been internally displaced, and hundreds of thousands are at imminent risk of famine, according to the United Nations.
The powerful lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, is working to maintain support for Israelâs war, amid increased protests and public outcry. This week, AIPAC convened in Maryland for its annual policy conference, which it uses to marshal its donors and supporters to serve as a grassroots lobbying army in the halls of Congress.
The Prospect obtained a copy of AIPACâs talking points for supporters heading to the Hill â and they are extreme, to say the least. The documents instruct supporters to claim that âreports that people are starving in Gaza are false,â and say that âIsrael is not blocking the delivery of aid to Gaza.â
The AIPAC talking points additionally claim that Hamas wants people to believe Gazans are starving in order to âexert pressureâ on Israel, and argues the âUnited States must not fall into Hamasâ trap.â
These claims from AIPAC are false. Gazans are starving on a massive, unprecedented scale. According to the United Nations, 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza â almost the entire population of the region â are facing âcrisis or worse levels of food insecurity.â Half a million of those included in that figure face âcatastrophicâ levels of food insecurity.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) â a leading food security analysis and advocacy group â classifies the Gaza Strip as being in Phase 4 âEmergencyâ status food insecurity, with a high risk of imminent famine conditions.