Summary
- Congressman
Ro Khanna spoke at ArabCon in Dearborn Saturday. - Advocated
recognition of a Palestinian state without Hamas. - Emphasized
protecting Israel’s security alongside Palestinian statehood.
At the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s
national conference, ArabCon, political analyst Cenk Uygur conducted an
interview with Khanna, a progressive Democrat.
According to a news release from his office, Khanna and 47
other members of Congress wrote to President Donald Trump and Secretary of
State Marco Rubio on Friday, pleading with the United States to formally
recognize a Palestinian state. Khanna “took the lead” on the letter,
according to Uygur. The congressman stated that he ought to include more
Democrats than 47 in the letter.
“How can you be a Democrat in the Congress and not
believe that it is time for the United States to recognize Palestinian
aspirations at a time when Ben-Gvir, Smotrich and Netanyahu are annexing the
West Bank and erasing Palestinian identity,”
he said, leading to claps and
cheers from the crowd. He was referring to Israel’s minister of national
security, finance minister and prime minister.
A number of Western nations, including France, the United
Kingdom, Canada, and others, have lately declared or affirmed their recognition
of a Palestinian state.
U.S.-born journalist Doron Levin, who resides
in Metro Detroit and was born in Israel, told The News that Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not seized any land in Gaza or the West Bank.
The notion of Palestinian self-determination has been “long
recognized” by the United States, he continued.
Khanna also discussed his cooperation with Republicans in
the House on foreign policy and the Epstein files during the Saturday morning
discussion at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center. The lecture was
attended by more than a hundred people, some of them wore keffiyehs around
their necks or on their shoulders. Khanna supported the First Amendment as
well.
“What’s going on in our university campuses, with
people who are criticizing foreign policy and then getting harassed, that’s not
standing up for free speech,”
he said.
“It’s what we’ve been preaching for the last 30
years,”
he said.
“Now there’s a letter actually saying, ‘Let’s, let’s
actually do it.’ And suddenly people are saying, ‘No, no, no, no, no.'”
He noted that
“that’s the irony.”
“This is the policy that’s been the policy of
Reagan,”
he said.
“It’s been the policy of Bush.”
ArabCon is a chance for members of the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) to network with individuals from over the
nation and gain knowledge about various issues and themes, according to Abed
Ayoub, the ADC’s national executive director.
Burhan Ghanayem, a Palestinian American and retired research
scientist, traveled from North Carolina to attend the seminar.
Although the Palestinian state is being recognized, he
claimed that “in reality, there is no place to have a Palestinian
state.” He mentioned that Israel is occupying Gaza and that Israel has
settled a large portion of the West Bank, where he hails from. He went to the
West Bank recently.
What has Khanna previously proposed in Congress on Gaza
policy?
He has advocated for formal US recognition of a Palestinian
state, and called for an end to the war in Gaza due to the humanitarian crisis
and hunger from the blockades.
Khanna has sponsored or supported letters and resolutions
calling for a ceasefire in Gaza to stop the violence and allow humanitarian aid
to civilians.
He believes it is inappropriate to continue providing
unconditional military assistance to Israel and has urged the administration to
consider whether our assistance to Israel is being used in a way that results
in civilian casualties.
In discussions regarding US support for Israel’s
self-defense against Hamas, Khanna has stated support for civilian casualties
to be minimized and for essential humanitarian supplies like food, water, and
fuel to be supplied to everyone in Gaza.
