Kenny Mostern: Summer Lee standing up for the vulnerable

Polls have shown since at least November that a clear majority of Americans support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The most recent data, from research by ISPU and Data for Progress, is stark:

• 63% of the general public support a permanent ceasefire against only 16% opposed.

• 78% of Democrats support a permanent ceasefire against only 11% opposed.

• 50% of Jewish people support a permanent ceasefire against only 34% opposed.

As a Jewish Democrat in Pittsburgh and a small business owner, I have closely watched Rep. Summer Lee respond to her constituents and the country since Oct. 7. Lee understood on Oct. 8 that history did not begin with the attack on Israel that had occurred the day before, and that calls for “Israeli self-defense” were likely to end with an aggressive and disproportionate war on Palestinian civilians including doctors, journalists and children.

She also understood that her Jewish constituents, many of whom had been intimately affected by the Tree of Life attack, were retraumatized and terrified by the events of Oct. 7. Contrary to the opportunist claims of people who want her out of office for unrelated reasons, Lee proceeded with caution, honor and courage. It’s been a hard line to walk, and she’s been ruthlessly attacked for it by a vocal minority.

But now, Lee’s early support for a ceasefire seems prescient. It’s also the mainstream opinion of most Americans. With essentially the entire Palestinian population of Gaza having been forced into the 67-square-kilometer area of Rafah and being told by the Israeli government they need to leave or die, I am grateful to have Lee standing up for millions of vulnerable people. It’s a tragedy there aren’t more members of Congress willing to do the right thing, even when it’s hard.

Nothing about Israel’s actions has at any time been about the hostages, as Israel has rejected all offers to free them, and they will not be freed except as part of a ceasefire deal. The clear intention of the military campaign from the beginning, as stated by members of Knesset and the Netanyahu government has been to clear the Gaza Strip of Palestinians and prepare it for indefinite Israeli occupation in clear violation of international law and at the expense of the historical, multireligious population of the area.

Lee’s major opponent for Congress in the Democratic primary has not only sidestepped questions about why the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) is spending an unprecedented amount of money, likely to be in the eight digits, to defeat her, but has specifically encouraged Republicans to join the Democratic primary in an attempt to stack the primary. Why is someone who is so clearly out of step with the mainstream of her own party claiming to be the person who can bring votes to Democrats in November?

Persident Biden desperately needs the support of Lee and her supporters. He will not get the supporters of right-wing Republican Sam DeMarco, our county’s staunchest supporter of the Israeli onslaught in Palestine, and Bhavini Patel will do nothing to change that.

The election of Lee to the Pennsylvania state House in 2018, and to Congress in 2022, was the victory of a multicultural movement seeking to demonstrate that chain link fences and armed ethnic bunkers are not the means to safety, or to justice. Israel and Palestine desperately need such a movement. In the meantime, we in Pittsburgh are lucky to have Summer Lee and her clear moral voice representing us.

Kenny Mostern of Lawrenceville is a small business owner.