16 Democrats from the Arizona Legislature push President Joe Biden for Gaza cease-fire

Sixteen Arizona Democratic lawmakers sent a letter Tuesday to President Joe Biden calling for a cease-fire in Gaza to ease the suffering of civilians.

The signers condemned the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed at least 1,400 people and provoked Israel’s military response, noting the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 10,000. The letter also accuses Israel of committing “crimes” under the Geneva Conventions.

State Sen. Anna Hernandez, D-Phoenix, and Rep. Athena Salman, D-Tempe, led the letter-signing effort and held a press conference about the issue on Wednesday with Palestinian supporters.

“In addition to thousands of deaths, there are critical shortages of clean water, drugs, blood, and supplies,” the letter states. The 16 signers told Biden “our government must urge an immediate ceasefire, the unmitigated flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and use its best endeavors to secure the urgent return of the hostages.”

Biden may be open to the message. According to a Tuesday report from Axios, Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Nov. 6 call to agree to a three-day pause in fighting in an effort to encourage Hamas to release more hostages.

Hamas took an estimated 240 hostages, including a few Americans, to Gaza during its Oct. 7 attack.

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Salman, who’s of Palestinian descent, said she has family members who have endured decades of Israel's "human rights violations."

“It was tough to edit the letter because the death toll keeps going up and up,” she told The Arizona Republic, sobbing softly as she spoke. “We’re just joining the millions of voices who urge a cease-fire.”

About half of the estimated 10,000 Gazans killed so far in the Israeli response have been children, according to Gaza officials.

“We are just doing our part and colleagues can join the letter or make their own call for a cease-fire,” Salman said. “Voices will continue to grow until the president does the right thing.”

The signers included six state senators and 10 members of the state House of Representatives.

“I think that there needs to be a cease-fire to stop the bleeding and the death of innocent people, especially children who have nothing to do with the politics of the war,” said one of the signers, Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales, D-Tucson.

Democrats not unified on crisis

The letter also hints at another sign of party division over the crisis, since a majority of the 43 Democrats in the Legislature did not sign the letter. Two Jewish Democrats said they were not offered a chance to sign it.

Six of eight Democrats in leadership positions did not sign the letter, including Senate Minority Leader Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe, and House Minority Leader Lupe Contreras, D-Avondale.

Contreras said he’s been busy with other things in the last few days. That included an ethics complaint against state Rep. Leezah Sun, D-Phoenix for making alleged threats against Tolleson officials. Contreras said he didn’t get a chance to “really look at that letter and weigh it out.”

He declined to comment on party division, except to say he didn’t think the issue would “make or break anyone” in Arizona elections.

The division matches national trends, according to polling from the Associated Press released late Tuesday evening. The poll “also reveals skepticism among Democrats toward Israel, which could present a challenge for President Joe Biden as he tries to balance support for the country’s defense and his party’s shifting priorities.”

Rep. Alma Hernandez, a Tucson Democrat who complained publicly last month that her Democratic colleagues had been too slow to condemn the Hamas attack, said neither she nor her sister, Rep. Consuelo Hernandez, D-Tucson, heard about the letter until contacted by The Arizona Republic.

Salman said she “did my best to call everyone.” She added other lawmakers could still sign on, if they wanted to.

At the press conference Wednesday, Salman said state Sen. Catherine Miranda added her name to the list. Voters should consider who signed the letter when they vote in next year's elections, she said.

The Hernandez sisters aren’t likely to sign the letter, though. Alma Hernandez said that while a “humanitarian pause is needed,” Hamas is the problem.

“I do not support a ceasefire until every innocent hostage has been returned,” she said.

Mohyeddin Abdulaziz, a founder of the Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance in Tucson, said “16 is a good number.” But he added the fact that only 16 lawmakers signed up demonstrates “a serious problem in our politics, and in our lives as Americans, when it comes to Palestine and Israel.”

A Palestinian-American who’s lived in Tucson for 45 years, Abdulaziz questioned the United States’ “blind” support of Israel. He argued that labeling opposition to Israel “antisemitism” has been a “very effective weapon” in protecting Israel.

He knocked Rep. Alma Hernandez, accusing her of trying to “silence every voice” about the horrors in Gaza.

“Hopefully, in the next few days, other representatives will realize their responsibility and follow the steps of these courageous 16 people,” Abdulaziz said. “The letter is very much balanced. It’s not something that I would write, but it seems to be a way to get us on the right path toward contributing a peaceful solution to the conflict.”

Reach the reporter at rstern@arizonarepublic.com or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 16 Arizona Legislature Democrats call on Joe Biden for Gaza cease-fire