Why So Few Politicians Are Speaking Up for Palestine

A case study of the first Palestinian American elected to the Virginia State Legislature, Delegate Sam Rasoul, and the backlash he's receiving for speaking up

This week Netanyahu and the Israeli legislature announced a full ground invasion of Gaza in which they will displace the remaining Palestinians under the same old excuse of “eradicating Hamas.” Only a handful of politicians have had the courage to speak up and condemn this genocide and ethnic cleansing. Why?

I want to give you the case study of Delegate Sam Rasoul, a Palestinian American member of the Virginia State Legislature who has been vocal throughout his career on ending Israel’s illegal operations and genocide in Palestine, and ending antisemitism in all its forms. Yet, for these two principled stances, he’s currently facing relentless attacks—not just from Republicans—but from fellow Democrats. Let’s Address This.

The Background

Though I grew up in Illinois, I graduated from law school in Virginia, and in my decade there even ran for Congress—winning the Democratic nomination back in 2020. I know Virginia politics fairly well. And right now, I am watching, mortified, as Virginia Democrats are attacking Delegate Sam Rasoul for his principled stances of ending genocide and ending antisemitism.

Perhaps even more shocking, the Virginia Democrats attacking Sam are themselves silent on his condemnation of antisemitism, and worse, silent on the actual genocide of Palestinians, funded by American dollars. Even now as Netanyahu and the Israeli government announce yet another illegal invasion of Gaza, with a sinister plan to move civilians into concentration camps, there is complete silence from those upset at Delegate Sam Rasoul’s condemnation of Israel’s illegal acts.

It is utter hypocrisy and cowardice.

I thought about writing a detailed piece demonstrating that Delegate Rasoul’s stances—which condemn the Israeli government built on the 130 year old political ideology of zionism—are principled stances every person committed to human rights would agree with. But I don’t even think that is necessary. Instead, I have a better idea.

To illustrate the utter absurdity of the attacks on Delegate Sam Rasoul, I present to you five quotes below. One is from Delegate Rasoul, and the other four are not from Delegate Rasoul. In fact, the other four are from Israeli and Jewish scholars of genocide and/or the Holocaust. As the reader, see if you can distinguish or identify which quote belongs to Delegate Rasoul, and which belong to Jewish scholars?

The Quotes In Question

Quote 1: "Israel will no longer be able to draw on the credit of having been the state that was created after the Holocaust as an answer to the Holocaust. You cannot continue to use this argument following the mass killing of another group. My inescapable conclusion has become that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people."

Quote 2: "An examination of Israel’s policy in the Gaza Strip and its horrific outcomes, together with statements by senior Israeli politicians and military commanders about the goals of the attack, leads to the unequivocal conclusion that Israel is taking coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip. In other words: Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”

Quote 3: ”After 22 months of the most horrific crimes, there is no doubt that Israel is conducting the most evil cleansing in human history as we watch it play out minute by minute. Jews are standing up to this horror to say ‘not in our name.’ This was never about religion, rather a supremacist ideology created to destroy and conquer everything in its way. This is Zionism, which is making the world less safe for Jews.”

Quote 4: "The evidence shows a deliberate and systematic dismantling of Gaza's health and life-sustaining systems - through targeted attacks on hospitals, obstruction of medical aid and evacuations, and the killing and detention of healthcare personnel. Silence in the face of genocide is not an option. We want to stress: confronting genocide is not only the responsibility of legal and political institutions. Confronting it demands urgent action from the global community."

Quote 5: “When Zionism becomes co-extensive with Jewishness, Jewishness is pitted against the diversity that defines democracy, and if I may say so, betrays one of the most important ethical dimensions of the diasporic Jewish tradition: namely, the obligation of co-habitation with those [who are] different… Zionist ideology aspires to appropriate Jewish identity and to impose a nationalist interpretation of Judaism on all Jews. Zionism should be totally rejected.”

Take the 1 Question Poll First

Before revealing who the authors of the above quotes are—note two things.

One, I could list 50 more similar quotes. I stuck to five for the sake of brevity. But to be sure, no shortage of such quotes exist because the global consensus of genocide and Holocaust scholars is that the Israeli government is committing genocide upon the Palestinian people.

Two, do any one of the above quotes condemn Jewish people for being Jewish? The answer of course, is no, none of them do. Because this has never been about condemning Jewish people for being Jewish—which would be antisemitism. It has always been about condemning genocide—which is a principled stance grounded in fact.

With these two points in mind, take the below 1 question poll on which quote you believe is the actual quote of Delegate Sam Rasoul.

Once you make your vote, scroll down below this next image of Delegate Sam Rasoul to reveal the answer.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (left) and Delegate Same Rasoul (right).

• Quote 1 is from Israeli Jewish scholar and former IDF soldier Omer Bartov.

• Quote 2 is from the Israeli Human Rights organization B'Tselem.

• Quote 3 is from Virginia Delegate Sam Rasoul.

• Quote 4 is from the Israeli NGO Physicians for Human Rights-Israel.

• Quote 5 is from globally renowned Jewish historian Judith Butler.

Did you get the right answer? Congrats! But even if you didn’t, congrats! I think you see that the only ‘crime’ Delegate Sam Rasoul is guilty of, is agreeing with Jewish and Israeli scholars that this is genocide, that zionism is not Judaism and can and should be criticized just like any political ideology, and that we must stand together to protect both Palestinian and Jewish humanity. What about this is wrong or problematic?

Finally, I must provide receipts of Delegate Rasoul’s long history of celebrating Jewish people and unapologetically condemning antisemitism. See his inspiring remarks from nearly a decade ago recognizing the profound contribution of Jewish Americans to civil rights in America. Indeed, this is not just an isolated example, but indicative of how Delegate Rasoul has consistently led with his values of justice for all humanity.

Conclusion

Politicians who refuse to speak out against Israel’s genocide reveal much about themselves. And politicians who condemn the public servants who loudly speak out against Israel’s genocide reveal even worse about themselves. The truth is painfully clear—those attacking Sam Rasoul aren’t really outraged by his words. How could they be, when his words align almost exactly with those of Israeli and Jewish scholars, Holocaust experts, and human rights leaders? If quoting Israeli genocide scholars is now grounds for condemnation, then the outrage isn’t about the content—it’s about who is speaking. And in this case, the “offense” is that Sam Rasoul is a Palestinian Muslim daring to tell the truth.

That’s not moral outrage. That’s racism. That’s Islamophobia. That’s bigotry. And worst of all, it’s whitewashing genocide.

Delegate Sam Rasoul should be praised for following the lead of Jewish and Israeli scholars who are risking their careers and reputations to end this mass slaughter. He is doing what any public servant should do—speaking truth to power, defending human life, and rejecting all forms of hate.

Those smearing him are not defending democracy, or Jews, or safety. They are defending an ideology of supremacism that has already brought death to tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians—and untold trauma to Jewish people who refuse to have genocide carried out in their name.

If “Never Again” is to mean anything at all, it must mean never again for anyone. Otherwise, it’s just an empty slogan—a hollow shield for the powerful to hide behind as they commit the very crimes it was meant to prevent.