“Complicit in Israel’s Crimes Against Humanity”: GOP Introduces Bill To Remove Palestinians From the United States

Amy LewisNov 9, 2023

Minute Read

Republican Ryan Zinke has introduced legislation aiming to ban Palestinians from the U.S. It would pause visas and revoke those issued since the beginning of October.

The Most Anti-Hamas Legislation

Zinke said the purpose of the legislation is to protect Americans from Palestinian terrorists. “I don’t trust the Biden Administration any more than I do the Palestinian Authority to screen who is allowed to come into the United States. This is the most anti-Hamas immigration legislation I have seen and it’s well deserved,” he said.

Bill To Expel Palestinians From the United States

Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.

The title of Zinke’s press release made his motivations incredibly clear: “Zinke Introduces Bill To Expel Palestinians From the United States.” Zinke justified his proposal by citing attacks by Syrians. He did not provide any examples of Palestinian terrorism in the U.S.

Christopher Wray’s Words

FBI Director Christopher Wray said: “On top of the homegrown violent extremists and domestic violent extremist threat, we also cannot and do not discount the possibility that Hamas or another foreign terrorist organization may exploit the current conflict to conduct attacks here on our own soil.”

A Nonexistent Problem

Over the last two decades, the U.S. has only taken in around 2,000 Palestinians. This is despite their community being the largest stateless group in the world. Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said: “Long-standing legal and logistical barriers make it exceedingly challenging for those in Gaza to resettle in the region, let alone resettle in the U.S. The political grandstanding we’ve seen so much of lately is a discriminatory solution searching for a nonexistent problem.”

Anti-Arab Racism and Islamophobia

Zinke’s bill is backed by several members of the House Freedom Caucus. While it’s extremely unlikely that it’ll become law, it is a clear indicator of the far-right’s use of the current situation in Gaza as an excuse to ramp up anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia. Zinke specifically did not differentiate between the terrorist group Hamas and the innocent Palestinian people.

Majorie Taylor Greene’s Racism

Majorie Taylor Greene, to nobody’s surprise, is a co-sponsor of the bill. She recently attempted to censure the only Palestinian American in Congress – Rashida Tlaib – by falsely claiming she’d led an anti-Israel “insurrection.” Greene said: “She’s literally a terrorist in the House of Representatives.”

The Internet’s Response

News of the bill was shared across the internet and people flocked to comment sections to give their views. Overwhelmingly, they were utterly appalled and condemned the GOP for its blatant racism and Islamophobia.

Christian Supremacist Domestic Terrorists

One social media commenter said: “I have a better idea. Let’s introduce a bill to expel Christian supremacist domestic terrorists from the country. We can prove they’ve committed far more violent crimes and atrocities than anyone from Palestine or anywhere else in the world.”

Palestine Is Not Hamas

“Palestine is not Hamas. This is a fine example of ignorance leading to fear and fear leading to hate,” another person wrote. “Half of Palestinians in Gaza are kids who weren’t alive when Hamas took power. People pay no attention to details,” a second replied.

Palestinians Aren’t the Problem

People found it hard to understand Zinke’s stance: “What is the GOP actually doing? Also, Palestinians aren’t the problem. They’re just trying to exist. The problem is Hamas and the government of Israel.”

All About Racism

Plenty of commenters called out the Republican Party’s blatant racism: “Palestinians are victims of Hamas and the GOP wants to… send them back. Got it. Everyone realizes that this is more about their racism than anything else.”

Victims of Israel

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Replying to the aforementioned individual, another person wrote: “Palestinians are victims of Israel. Don’t forget the 75 years of living in their concentration camp. Limiting their access to food, water, and electricity. Regularly culling their population with indiscriminate bombings all the while restricting their freedom of movement with roadblocks and permits which they never grant.”

Decades of Terrorizing Palestinians

Another commenter said: “I am so deeply heartbroken by everything that has been going on in the world. It’s like people think that this started just a few weeks ago. No! Israel has been terrorizing the Palestinian people for decades. Hamas retaliated and the media painted it as if they started the whole thing. You hear all about the hostages Hamas took but nothing about the thousands of imprisoned Palestinians, including children. I’m not condoning what Hamas did, not at all, but I hate that people think it just came out of nowhere. Zinke disgusts me. Sorry for the tangent.”

Crimes Against Humanity

Others criticized both Republicans and Democrats: “Both Republicans and Democrats are fully complicit in Israel’s crimes against humanity. Republicans don’t put any effort into masking it. In fact, they revel in it like the soulless ghouls they are.”

A Dreadful Ruling Class

Continuing, the aforementioned individual said: “Democrats want to have it both ways. They’re against a ceasefire but they ‘work toward’ a humanitarian pause, meaning time for Israel to reload its guns before the killing resumes. They fully fund and support the massacres but they want to make sure Palestinians get ‘humanitarian aid’ so that they can die hydrated and on a semi-full stomach. What a dreadful ruling class.”

Retaking Palestinian Land

Editorial credit: Roman Yanushevsky / Shutterstock.

Another person wrote: “If Israel had any brains, it would make sure Palestinians were settled across places like America as quickly as possible so that, in a couple of generations, they would simply lose their identity and become Americans as with Italians and Irish and the like. By keeping them as this roaming, stateless class of people with no rights, they are not making the ‘problem’ go away – they are just ensuring that there’s always a possibility for the Palestinians to retake their land.”

Republicans Are Useless

Others said Zinke had likely never actually met a Palestinian: “He’s probably never even met a Palestinian. Isn’t there some kind of shutdown that’s rumored to be occurring in three weeks? [Republicans] are so useless.”

Common Ethnicity With Inhuman Terrorists

Another commenter said: “If we’re going to prejudicially ban people from the country based on common ethnicity with inhuman terrorists, every Western European should be prevented from entry and forced out of the country.”