Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) led 28 Senate Democrats on Sunday in calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Palestinian Hamas terrorists and Israel, even though the Israeli military says that it needs more time to neutralize the threat posted by Hamas.
Ossoff ran for office touting his Jewish identity, giving an interview to the left-wing Israeli daily Haâaretz in December titled, âJon Ossoff Tells Haaretz How His Jewish Upbringing Taught Him to Fight for Justice.â He told interviewer Etan Nechin: â[M]y Jewish upbringing instilled in me a conviction to fight for the marginalized and oppressed, and also to be vigilant where thereâs the risk that authoritarianism may emerge.â
He also defended fellow candidate, Rev. Raphael Warnock, against critics who pointed to Warnockâs history of anti-Israel comments. (Warnock, like Ossoff, went on to win his runoff election in January, handing both Georgia seats to the Democrats.)
But on Sunday, Ossoff led calls by left-wing Senate Democrats for Israelâs effective surrender to Hamas, pushing for a ceasefire while Israel was still being bombarded with hundreds of rockets, with Israeli civilians forced to flee to bomb shelters.
FIRST ON @CNN: Sen. Jon âŠ@ossoffâ© leads a group of 28 members of the Democratic Senate Caucus calling for a cease fire in Israeli- Palestinian conflict. Full list of signatories:
(W/ âŠ@jessicadeanâ© & âŠ@DaniellaMicaelaâ©) pic.twitter.com/cWnBmLr6Ra— Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) May 16, 2021
A Hamas spokesman declared Sunday that any ceasefire at this point would be on the terrorist groupâs terms, not Israelâs.
Israelâs defense minister, Benny Gantz, told soldiers Sunday that while they were making progress, fighting would continue.