Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Tuesday, Aug 05, 2025

Shireen Abu Akleh: US is no ‘objective observer’, advocates say

Shireen Abu Akleh: US is no ‘objective observer’, advocates say

With US aid flowing to Israel, Palestine rights activists say Washington is ‘complicit’ in Israeli abuses.

The United States needs to “look in the mirror” and reassess its unconditional support for Israel, Palestinian rights advocates say, as calls to condition billions in annual US aid are growing in the aftermath of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing.

The US State Department has urged an “immediate and thorough” investigation into the killing of Abu Akleh, a US citizen, who was shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank this week.

But US-based activists say such statements ignore Washington’s “complicity” in Israeli human rights violations.

“There’s deep, deep hypocrisy and irony to US officials calling for an investigation when what they really need to do is look in the mirror,” said Elias Newman, communications director at IfNotNow, a youth-led, anti-occupation Jewish American group.

“When it comes to hawkish politicians who support unconditional support for the Israeli government, they need to look in the mirror and see that actually, our unconditional funding is a big factor in enabling the Israeli government to act with impunity and carry out these human rights abuses.”

President Joe Biden and his top aides have repeatedly promised not to condition, restrict or reduce US aid to Israel, which totals $3.8bn annually.




Jinan Deena, national organiser for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), noted that Abu Akleh became the second US citizen to be killed by Israeli forces this year, after 78-year-old Omar Assad died after being detained in the West Bank in January.

Deena said Palestinian Americans such as herself do not feel protected by their own government when they travel to visit family in Palestine.

“We are Americans and we are paying taxes, and that money is literally going not just to abuse our families back home and Palestinians back home, but also us now,” Deena told Al Jazeera. “A lot of us are very afraid to go [to Palestine] this year.”


US envoy ‘deeply distressed’


On Friday, Israeli troops stormed Abu Akleh’s funeral procession in Jerusalem and violently assaulted mourners and pallbearers, almost causing them to drop the slain journalist’s coffin.

Footage of the attack prompted an outcry across the world, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying he was “deeply troubled” by the images. “Every family deserves to lay their loved ones to rest in a dignified and unimpeded manner,” he wrote on Twitter.

US envoy to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield also said she was “deeply distressed”.

But Thomas-Greenfield has made it clear – even before the US Senate confirmed her to the post last year – that shielding Israel from criticism at the United Nations would be one of her top priorities.

Israel has been the US’s top ally in the Middle East for decades, with presidents and legislators from both major parties asserting their staunch commitment to the country. In addition to the $3.8bn in US aid that Israel receives annually, this year Washington added another $1bn to “replenish” its Iron Dome missile defence system after a May 2021 Gaza conflict.




Against that backdrop, Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute (AAI), a Washington-based think-tank, said it is clear that Washington is not an impartial player in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“We are not an objective observer here,” Berry told Al Jazeera earlier this week, referring to the US government. “We’re fully engaged in supporting the state of Israel as it commits these abuses.”

In recent years, progressive activists and US lawmakers have tried to restrict aid to Israel or condition it on ending violations against Palestinians, but the push remains largely confined to the left wing of the Democratic Party.

As a candidate in 2020, Biden dismissed the idea of conditioning Israel aid, which was championed by Senator Bernie Sanders during that year’s Democratic primaries, as “bizarre”.

After being elected to the presidency, his top aides, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have pledged that the aid would not be restricted under any circumstances. That position has not changed, even as leading rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, accused Israel of committing apartheid against Palestinians.

“The United States government is complicit and is a perpetrator of Israeli war crimes because of the aid that they give them, the unconditional support, the blank cheques,” Deena told Al Jazeera.

“The US is 100 percent hand in hand with Israel when it comes to these abuses that are happening.”

A Palestinian man rides his bicycle in front of a mural in honour of Abu Akleh, in Gaza City


Legislative efforts


Last year, Democratic Congresswoman Betty McCollum introduced legislation that would ensure that US aid is not used to fund Israel’s human rights abuses.

The proposal has garnered 32 co-sponsors, but it has not moved through the legislative process beyond its formal introduction.

“The killing of any journalist is a tragedy, but the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist reporting on the Israeli government’s occupation of Palestinian lands, is a crime that demands accountability and consequences, not impunity,” McCollum told Al Jazeera in an email on Friday.

“I’ve called for restrictions on US aid to Israel to ensure our tax dollars are not funding blatant human rights abuses – and such restrictions should certainly be applied to this situation if Israeli security forces are found responsible for Shireen’s death.”

Omar Baddar, a Palestinian American political analyst, noted that public opinion polls (PDF) show that imposing conditions on US aid to Israel is popular among Americans, particularly Democrats.

“However, we have a political class that remains dominated by outdated attitudes of never questioning support for Israel, and in a political environment where the Israel lobby continues to influence policy in ways that Americans simply don’t support,” he told Al Jazeera.




Still, Baddar said having progressives calling for accountability for Israeli human rights violations and ensuring that US taxpayer dollars are not used to commit them is a “powerful development”.

“But we have to continue building on it and increasing public pressure until it can be translated into a shift in real policy,” he said.

For her part, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib slammed US aid to Israel after the attack on Abu Akleh’s funeral on Friday.

“This is sickening. Violent racism, enabled by $3.8B in unconditional military US funds,” she wrote on Twitter in response to the footage showing Israeli officers beating pallbearers carrying Abu Akleh’s coffin with batons.

“For the Israeli apartheid [government], Shireen’s life didn’t matter – and her dehumanization continues after death.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Qatar Airways Clears Backlog of Passengers Following Missile Threats
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
×