Hello, my name is Viviana Sanchez. I am a citizen of Milwaukee. I am a concerned citizen. There is a crisis going on and I need my elected officials to step up and do the correct thing of calling for a ceasefire on Palestine.

The Israeli government has declared a genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza, with no regard for the lives of civilians or Israeli hostages. 

The Israeli government has shut off all electricity to Gaza. Hospitals cannot save lives, the internet will collapse, people will have no phones to communicate with the outside world. Gaza will be plunged into darkness as Israel turns its neighborhoods to rubble. Still worse, Israel has openly stated an intention to commit mass atrocities and even genocide, with Prime Minister Netanyahu saying the Israeli response will “reverberate for generations.” All with the full throated support of the U.S. 

On Friday, the Israeli military called for all civilians of Gaza City - 1.1. Million people - to relocate south within 24 hours, as it amassed tanks for an expected ground invasion. The UN said evacuating everyone was impossible with power supplies cut and food and water in the Palestinian enclave running short after Israel placed Gaza under total siege, and said it would have “devastating humanitarian consequences.”

It is absolutely urgent that Biden and Congress demand a de-escalation and call for a ceasefire, and demand that humanitarian assistance be allowed into the Gaza Strip. We must also not exacerbate and fuel violence by further arming the Israeli government as it commits mass atrocities. There is only one way to end violence and that is to address the root causes of everything happening: 75 years of Israeli military occupation and apartheid, and end U.S. complicity in this systemic oppression.

The people of this nation are paying attention to what their elected officials are doing. We will not forget the actions, or inactions, taken. We will remember come Election Day.