My first Blog: Tulsi Gabbard

donderdag 5 december 2024

Tulsi Gabbard

Summary

Tulsi Gabbard was born mid april 1981 and is the former U.S. Representative for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District. She ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for U.S. President in 2020.

Gabbard was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012 and reelected in 2014, 2016, and 2018. She was the first Samoan American and first Hindu member of the U.S. Congress. She previously served in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 2002 until 2004. Gabbard was deployed in Iraq in 2004 and in Kuwait in 2008 in a Hawaii Army National Guard medical unit.

Representative Gabbard is currently serving on the House Armed Services Committee, and the Financial Services Committee.

Below is former U.S. Representative Gabbard’s voting record and public positions on issues important to the Jewish community.

In August 2019, former Representative Gabbard signed on as a co-sponsor of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s House Resolution H.Res 496, which supports “the right of all Americans right to participate in boycotts in pursuit of civil and human rights at home and broad.” Although the bill does not mention Israel or the Palestinians, it is seen as a bill supporting the anti-Israel BDS movement.

Former Representative Gabbard supported the Iran nuclear deal. She recently expressed her intention to reenter the Iran deal if elected President, as she believes that “while the Iran deal is far from perfect, Iran is in compliance and the deal is working by preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and preventing an all-out war.” She reiterated her support for reentering the agreement with Iran during the first Democratic debate on June 26 as she argued that the U.S. “needs to get back into the Iran nuclear agreement, and we need to negotiate how we can improve it.” She also stated that “there are issues, like their missile development, that need to be addressed”, but that it is possible to simultaneously “prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and preventing us from going to war.”

Former Congresswoman Gabbard supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and in 2017 signed a letter urging President Trump to reaffirm the longstanding, bipartisan commitment to the two-state solution. In the same year, she also cosponsored House Resolution 23 that reaffirmed support for the two-state solution, as well as condemned the boycotts, divestment campaigns, and sanctions that target Israel.

She voted against the bipartisan House Resolution 11 that objected the UN Security Council Resolution 2334 which claimed that Israel’s settlements have no legal validity. She argued that her decision was motivated by the belief that the Israeli settlement activity has harms the prospects for peace.

During the Hamas-riots in Gaza in May 2018, she called on Israel to restrain from using live ammunition.