“This stuff keeps me up late at night,” declared Santa Barbara Congressmember Salud Carbajal, reflecting on the escalating violence enveloping Gaza and the Holy Land. Carbajal had just returned from a five-day trip to the region with five other congressional Democrats that had been organized by J Street, which Carbajal described as a “left-of-center” pro-Israeli lobby group.
Carbajal has been a staunch supporter of Israel’s mission to eradicate Hamas militarily since it launched its now-infamous attack last October 7, leaving 1,200 Israelis dead and taking 240 hostages. He supports it still — insisting that it’s possible to destroy Hamas as a military entity, though not as an ideological force. Of Hamas’s 26 military divisions, Carbajal said, 18 have already been eliminated. He supports Israel’s objective of eliminating the remaining eight, but only if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can outline a credible plan to protect Palestinian civilians in the process.
To date, Carbajal said, that has not happened. In fact, he charged, the Israeli government has yet to devise a workable plan to distribute humanitarian aid in a safely controlled manner. Last week, 116 Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli troops after reportedly stampeding an emergency aid distribution station.