Missouri HCR 30: Is there a sneaky bit of racism in the language?
HCR 30 declares Missouri’s unequivocal support for Israel. Let's break down the controversial racial undertones.
NEWSLETTERS
STL-PSC
1/25/20245 min read
On January 11, Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher introduced HCR 30, a resolution declaring Missouri’s unequivocal support for Israel. Using biblical language to justify this support—a violation of the separation of church and state—the resolution also describes Palestine without Palestinians including Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
As a multi-faith, multi-racial coalition of Missourians that includes Christians, Muslims, Jews, and other religions... as people who stand for LIFE and not WAR, people who stand for EQUALITY, not SUPREMACY, we unequivocally reject Plocher’s
Our representatives should not use their legislative powers to support a state that is indiscriminately bombing civilians and committing genocide as the legislative session unfolds.
white supremacist,
anti-Palestinian, and
Islamophobic rhetoric.
Testify AGAINST HCR 30
In-person at Jeff City on FEB 6
Plocher is not only out of step with Missouri residents who support equality and justice for all at home and abroad; he also ignores the demands of a majority of Democrats and Independents and a plurality of Republicans nationally who are horrified by the ongoing genocide in Gaza and call for a ceasefire.
The most recent bombardment is only a continuation of the Israeli-imposed 16-year siege of Gaza that has crippled the economy and prevented Gazans from accessing their airways and seaways.
This did NOT start on October 7.
Our representatives should not use their legislative powers to support an apartheid state whose very founding documents privilege the exclusive right of Jews to the land, erasing those who have lived there for centuries.
Ethnonationalism is a racist ideology due to its exclusive favoring of a particular religious or ethnic group. By privileging one group over others, ethnonationalism inherently promotes discrimination and marginalization of minority communities.
This exclusivity eliminates diversity, fosters unequal treatment, and can lead to systemic racism through legal structures that grant preferential rights to the favored group.
Over fifty laws discriminate against Palestinians within Israel, limiting Palestinians’ legal, cultural, religious, and collective rights.
International institutions such as the United Nations have long called Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank illegal. This is to say nothing of the 750,000 Palestinians who lost their homes in 1948 when Israel was declared a state. This “founding” moment was also built upon the destruction of over 400 Palestinian villages, the murder of 15,000 indigenous Palestinians, and decades of land theft.
The war on Palestine started DECADES before October 7.
No other state but Israel receives such exceptional treatment by Missouri. Friends with deadly benefits.
If the Israeli government is so deserving of unconditional support, why must it undertake genocide historically and in the present to justify its existence?
If Israel is the beacon of morality Plocher’s resolution describes, why do its leaders publicly call for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians? In October, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made calls for a genocide, likening the war on Gaza to Jews’ wiping out of the Amaleks in the Bible. Similarly, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that the IDF would “eliminate everything” in Gaza.
Plocher’s resolution is also historically inaccurate. Beyond overlooking the presence of Muslims in Palestine for 1,500 years, the resolution fails to mention that Palestinian Christians have long constituted a sizable minority in the region. If Plocher purports to care about Christian access to the Holy Land, he must support resolutions that allow access for all Christians, not only those in his backyard forgetting the word of their God; to love.
Plocher's friends are not Christ-like. They are called Christian Zionists, weaponizing religion like their fellow Jewish Zionists.
Since Oct. 7, Israel has indiscriminately killed what officials estimate to be well over 30,000 people, with thousands still under the rubble.
This systemic massacre and destruction of a small stretch of land has
maimed mothers, daughters, fathers, and sons.
tortured mothers, daughters, fathers, and sons.
silenced mothers, daughters, fathers, and sons.
deprived mothers, daughters, fathers, and sons.
dehumanized mothers, daughters, fathers, and sons.
Israel has prevented humanitarian aid from reaching Gazans (why?), generating a crisis of starvation of mass proportions. Again, why?
Gazans are facing a shortage of water, a lack of electricity and medical services, and severe psychological trauma.
The dreamers, builders, makers, artists, farmers, bakers, and parents of Palestine have NO water. They have NO food. They have NO electricity. They have NO hospitals to go to.
Behind every bomb dropped on a clinic, pharmacy, and ambulance, is a man behind a machine making a choice. War. Destruction. Death.
Who will rebuild? Who will help millions heal from this trauma?
ethnonationalism
religious nationalism
institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination
this is
Instead of using the legislative session to support a country that is out of favor with many Missouri citizens —and the very Jews that this country claims to “protect”—representatives should devote their time to bolstering much-needed services in the areas of education, health care, and housing.
How could we begin to pay for these services? With the $51.43 million in our Missouri tax dollars that go to the Israeli military each year.
Redirecting these funds could provide:
resources for 6,114 public housing units,
healthcare for 17,896 children,
salaries for 561 elementary school teachers,
solar electricity for 146,433 homes,
debt relief for 1,361 students,
and 44,725,787 N95 respirator masks.
In rejecting this resolution, let us affirm our commitment to justice, equality, and the well-being of all, urging our reps to redirect resources toward essential services rather than supporting oppression.
Presently the State of Israel stands accused of genocide for its indiscriminate killing, abuse of civilians, and wanton destruction of personal property in Gaza.
The International Court of Justice has found these accusations "plausible" and has ordered Israel to immediately halt attacks on Palestinians, halt incitement against Palestinians as a group, and ensure humanitarian aid.
Israel should immediately abide by the ruling.
America should refuse all support for Israel until it abides by the ruling completely.
Missouri should refrain from issuing statements praising a country that thumbs its nose at international humanitarian law. People want to live in a world that has rules that protect people's lives. HCR 30 makes a statement that Missourians do not support international humanitarian law and that Missourians support genocide. This should not be.
South Africa's genocide case against Israel
The majority of people are against war, it's just the select few writing resolutions like this one who are against life.
Testify AGAINST HCR 30
In-person at Jeff City on FEB 6
