Europe Marches, US Funds: A Tale of Two Continents
Middle East Eye highlights hundreds of thousands marching across Europe against the war on Gaza, demanding an end to hostilities and demanding humanitarian aid access. Rome saw crowds in the 'hundreds of thousands,' Barcelona over '70,000,' and Dublin protesting 'two years of genocide.' Meanwhile, in Washington, the House of Representatives recently passed a standalone $17.6 billion aid package to
Israel (HR 7217), largely undeterred by such international sentiment. This unwavering American support isn't an act of spontaneous generosity. For instance, Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) received $46,400 from AIPAC in 2023, according to OpenSecrets.org, and subsequently voted 'YES' on HR 7217. One might ponder how many constituents in his district would prefer that $17.6 billion address domestic crises,
rather than fueling a foreign conflict. It appears some opinions are more influential than others when it comes to US foreign policy decisions.