US Senator criticised for not mentioning Gaza in 25 hour speech

US Democratic Senator Cory Booker, who delivered a 25-hour-long speech in protest at President Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy, has come under fire for not mentioning Israel’s brutal war on Gaza or Trump’s attacks on pro-Palestinian protesters a single time. 

The New Jersey senator was inspired to do the speech after receiving letters from constituents who had been harmed by Trump’s policies.

However, as many on social media pointed out, nowhere in the 25-hour-long speech did Booker mention many of the Palestinian Americans who have been affected by Trump and, more widely, US policy in supporting Israel as it carried out a genocide in Gaza, killing scores of people every day.

The Trump administration has come under particular fire for its open support for ethnically cleansing Gaza of Palestinians, something Booker failed to mention.

“He spoke for 25 hours and never mentioned Palestine once,” wrote one user of social media site X. 

Craig Mokhiber, a human rights lawyer in the US, took to X to decry Booker for what he characterised as hypocrisy.

“In 25 hours of performative nonsense, lobby-paid shill of the Israeli regime Senator Cory Booker did not have a single word to say about the genocide in Palestine, one funded and defended by the very body he was addressing,” he wrote. 

“Outside the chamber, the slaughter (in Gaza) continued throughout his speech. Booker is not a voice of reason or decency. He is a supporter of genocide and a symbol of the corruption, deception, and decadence of the U.S. Congress,” he added. 

Booker also came under fire for saying he would use his speech in Congress to draw attention to the civil rights abuses of the Trump administration, yet he failed to mention Trump’s crack down on the civil rights of pro-Palestine protesters and scholars.

Since Trump took office, the US government has used its immigration enforcement powers to crack down on international students and scholars at several American universities who had participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations or criticised Israel over its military action in Gaza.

Lat month, Trump began his crack down by using federal immigration forces to literally abduct a Palestinian green card holder, Mahmoud Khalil, from his family home in New York due to his involvement in peaceful pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University.

Since then, dozens of others have been detained and deported or forced to leave the US due to their pro-Palestinian views.

Critics noted that Booker, who wore an Israeli hostage solidarity pin, railed against antisemitism and boasted about the Abraham Accords during his speech, didn’t mention this unprecedented attack on civil rights once. 

“Alas Cory Booker spoke for 25 hrs but couldn’t find time to mention Mahmoud Khalil or any of the other 300+ college students being deported by Trump for pure political speech. Or Trump’s open embrace of ethnic cleansing in Gaza. “Courage” but––per usual––terms and conditions apply”, one person wrote on X. 

Booker is a longstanding supporter of Israel, with him known to be one of the many members of US Congress to be monetarily funded by pro-Israel lobbies. 

In December of last year, Booker caused controversy after posing for photos with Yoav Gallant, after the former Israeli defence minister was charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) with potential war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

Writing on Facebook, US international relations scholar Stephen Zunes was quick to point this out in light of Booker receiving adulation from the liberal media for his anti-Trump speech.

“Folks, I know we are desperate for heroes, for people who recognize the urgency of the moment, and are willing to take even a symbolic stand. We need to work with just about anyone in order to stop Trump,” Zunes began.

“At the same time, I have a hard time getting excited about Sen. Cory Booker, given his support for the likes of Yoav Gallant, indicted by the International Criminal Court for ‘the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.'”