(Photo: Dan Shea)

Senator Ron Wyden had a Town Hall in Multnomah County on November 8, 2024. Two speakers got to ask him questions about Gaza and, whether Wyden would stand up to Israel and whether there were any red lines or anything that Israel would do that would make him stop sending more arms to Israel. Wyden refused to answer the question about red lines but made clear he would continue to fund Israel's wars, blame Hamas for Palestinian civilian deaths, and offer only the vaguest of support for a limited ceasefire and humanitarian aid. It was a pathetic but not surprising performance for Oregon's senior Senator. He condescended to the speakers and acted as if the audience were uninformed children. He acted like the Town Hall was a fabulous venue for interacting with voters, but he wasn't listening. Instead, it highlighted Wyden's lack of transparency and accountability to voters and the emptiness of his touted "Town Halls."  We need and deserve better people in Congress! Below is a transcript and links to videos for both questions.

Transcript of Wyden Town Hall questions on Gaza and Lebanon, Nov 8, 2024

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iSg6wEWIi0

JVP & JPAO @  Wyden's Town Hall Nov 8, 2024 John Linder asks Wyden :"Will you stand up to Israel and say no you are not going to get a blank check”

John Linder:

Why won't you call for an end to the unlimited arming of Israel as it attacks both Gaza and Lebanon because this is not simply an Israeli War it is a US-Israeli War.

If we point to Iranian support don't we say that the Israeli War would not be carried out if it were not for the tens of billions of dollars of aid and the diplomatic support that continues to flow from the United States. [Applause]

So I ask you again will you stand up and say no .... you don't have a blank check you can't simply tear up the peace deals that have been negotiated and say add on another stipulation because we're not going to send you the arms anymore. Thank you

[Applause]

Ron Wyden:

The gentleman makes a number of important points and let me kind of walk through a little bit of my views. A lot of the abuses not all but a significant number of the abuses stem from policies that Hamas advances. 

[Boo]

For example suffering ... folks .. the suffering often comes from people being um put out in front of Hamas facilities and the like and they suffer [Boo] when there's an effort to deal with

Hamas. So the point really is is there a path forward because you're raising legitimate issues and I think we ought to have some version of what's been discussed here recently and I'm going to push forward during the lame duck of a ceasefire, a ceasefire for a period of

time, not wedded how many months, but a period of time for an effort to go forward for longer term solutions to get the hostages out and humanitarian aid in in particular. Now I think that's the next logical step.

I will not when all of these foreign powers are assisting Hamas I'm not going to make every military decision on the floor of the United States Senate. 

I sit on the intelligence committee 

[Audience: You have voted for all the money and weapons to Israel ... shhh]

I sit on the intelligence committee

[Audience:he's committing genocide, do you care about that?] 

I call it the so-called intelligence committee. The point however is that I am somebody who's voted a lot or peace efforts against going to war in Iraq. The Middle East wouldn't even look like it does today if my vote had prevailed. I'm going to continue to look for every possible opportunity to bring people together and address the abuses that you correctly point out. This is not a question of my saying you're off base. You're highlighting a number of Human Rights abuses questions what's the best way to go. 

[Audience: Stop sending money sending money!  Arms embargo! Arms embargo!]

[Moderator: thank you I would like to move on to our next question]

 

- JVP & JPAO @  Wyden's Town Hall Nov 8, 2024 Paul Reid asks the question: “Do you have any red line, for Israel, where you will stop sending military aid and political cover to Israel? 

https://youtu.be/Xk_Xdnrk4ls?si=LAWFeeu0O7UzRG2M

Paul Reid:

Is the funding from the US and the diplomatic cover we are supporting over 60% of the weapon that Israel is using to crush uh mostly occupied people or people that don't have the means to defend themselves. So you have remained you've had a lot of opportunities to uh uh respond to this issue and you've done nothing um in support of Palestinians  and Palestinians have no recourse. Nobody is going to bat for them and just to balance out the narrative because Israel has always controlled the narrative.

Palestinians in Gaza have been under a siege since 2006 where Israel controls the water, food, electricity, [applause] telecommunications. This is not a sovereign nation. These are people that have they're an occupied people. It's ethnic cleansing it's uh an apartheid state in the West Bank and uh as this is going on Palestinians have been trying to defend themselves raise uh awareness about their cause nobody listens.

In 2018/19 there was the great March of Return where Palestinians walked to the wall and peacefully said "we're being crushed here and nobody cares." And what happened the UN was saying Gaza is going to be uninhabitable by 2020.

When 2020 came around surprise surprise it's not habitable. You know many

children show signs of of disease because of the the lack of sanitation, all these things. So in the context of this why are we surprised when you take away a people's peaceful protest from them when they respond with violence.

I'm not condoning violence but I'm saying it's because of politicians like you that refuse to listen to these cries that people respond with violence [applause] and the violence that happened on that day was was so maligned by the Israeli narrative:  there were no mass rapes, there were no beheaded babies, and and the news organizations that that spread these lies have not done due justice to us by explaining what truly happened that day.

Israel employed the Hannibal directive which is a known policy where they say it's better to kill their own people with helicopter gunships rather than allow them to be taken as a hostage.

Israel is not trying to rescue their hostages it is not trying to just get rid of Hamas,

Israel is ethnically cleansing the land. Please students, do your homework study,

the history and what I'm my specific question for you, I've tried to meet with your staff, I've tried to send you letters uh I never get any response.

People feel powerless when our tax dollars are being used to fund a genocide [applause].

My question . . . like there are people that are lighting their their bodies on fire because they feel powerless to change our country which is now supporting the greatest state sponsor of terrorism in the world.

So my question for you and I want to specific answer and if you can answer as many uh ways as possible.  I want to know if you have ANY red line for Israel?  Is there anything that Israel can do that would make you say, "Huh okay I will stop sending uh military aid."

That's not even saying trying to to uh to attack Israel, well I'm not even going there, I'm saying is there anything that you would do to uh is there anything that Israel could do that would make you say uh "I will stop sending uh military aid and diplomatic cover" and the diplomatic cover is actually a greater uh support to Israel um at this time .

And my second question is uh would you be willing to meet with a faith community uh a group of representatives in this town to talk about the issue.

[Applause]

Ron Wyden:

The gentleman makes a lot of points and particularly started with something about, you know, was I accessible, was I Iistening, and the like. I think, and I'm pretty sure of this, we are having over the last whatever it is 90 minutes or so the only open to all town hall meeting in the country this morning [laugh] and the reason we're doing it is because I wanted to hear from you.

And it's not like I just made this up this is number, eleven hundred and one, sir. Only town hall meeting in America.

Reid:  Please answer the question!

Wyden: 

 I'm going to but you asked about being heard and speech and I just wanted to put this in context is you're asking a question the only town hall meeting as far as I can tell and I'm going to give you the best answer I can possibly give you.

I already said and I think the answer is to have an immediate ceasefire of a period of time and trying to walk back these horrible policies. 

[Audience interruptions] 

That's what I'm for 

[Audience: What's your red line? What's your red line? What's your red line?] 

Well that is my policy I don't 

[Reid: no what can Israel do that you will say no this is unjust]

Before we get red lines I want to correct the part of your statement that's just factually wrong Israel was attacked on October 7th and innocent people at a festival 

[Audience: How many Palestinians have been killed?]

[Moderator:Thank you we're going to move on to our last question]

[Audience: Answer the question! Answer we're going to move on to our last question, I'll stop. Answer the question answer the question... What's your red line Senator?]

[Audience: Senator are going to ..?.] 

Wyden: 

Innocent people on October 7th [Audience innocent people today!]

okay I'd like to finish this here's an important point. 

On October 7th innocent people were specific

[Reid: I asked you a specific question I want to know right ...]

Wyden: But what you stated was factually wrong and I'm going to have to correct it if I'm going to get a chance to talk at all and what is perhaps most ominous is the people

who perpetrated those horrors on October 7th said we're going to do it again and again and again. Their words not mine so we've got to find a path forward and I just gave you what I think it is.

[Audience: So you have no red lines, you have no red lines?]

Moderator: Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

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