Santa Barbara Rep. Carbajal Weighs in on Biden’s $105B Aid Request, Rising Tensions over Israel-Hamas War

The war between Hamas and Israel aggravated tensions worldwide and at home, with both Muslims and Jews expressing fear for themselves and their families, even here in Santa Barbara.

In a speech from the Oval Office last Thursday, President Biden marked the increased aggressions in the Indo-Pacific region and in the Middle East, as well as the death of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy in Chicago, a victim of a hate crime. The U.S. is supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia, and now Israel as well, and Biden asked Congress for $105 billion to restock U.S. arms, which have gone to both nations.

Salud Carbajal, who represents parts of the tri counties in Congress, pointed out during an interview on Tuesday that $9.15 billion of the funding request would go toward humanitarian aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Gaza.

“President Biden is working diplomatically and aggressively to get aid moving into Gaza quickly,” Carbajal said. At least three convoys — reportedly 54 trucks in total — have brought water, food, and medicines into Gaza since October 21. These followed a visit to Israel by President Biden on October 18, during which he emphasized to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the need for humanitarian relief for Gaza and to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to open the border. Relief agencies have said the aid is a “drop in the ocean” given the state of siege on Gaza, which once saw 500 truckloads of supplies daily.

Trucking humanitarian supplies into Gaza is clearly complicated by air strikes and missile blasts but getting new U.S. funding through Congress is an impossibility without a Speaker of the House. A third series of votes for Speaker was derailed on Tuesday when House Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota dropped out for a lack of supporters.

Carbajal said that the lack of a Speaker of the House was affecting Congress’s ability to legislate, fund the government, and provide aid worldwide. Echoing Biden’s statement that U.S. attention on terrorism and conflicts far away was vital to national security, Carbajal argued that the infighting among Republicans and inability to govern demonstrated a dysfunction in American democracy.

“What message does that send our allies? We can’t do our nation’s business much less address our commitments to security around the world,” Carbajal said. “The Democrats have offered a path forward. All they have to do is reach out, but they’ve told us they want to solve it on their own.”

In and around Santa Barbara, different groups have coalesced to support Palestinians and Israelis. A remembrance at De la Guerra Plaza was sorrowful, solemn, and peaceful. A tense rally saw opposing groups stationed across State and Las Positas. Students at UC Santa Barbara tore down posters of kidnap victims. A drag queen attempted to organize a march for peace but canceled it when the flak hit too hard. Carbajal’s downtown office itself was the site of a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Tuesday.

“I know tensions are running high,” Carbajal said, “but there’s no place for Islamophobia or anti-Semitism in our country, in our communities, or the Central Coast. I understand that people are affected by the atrocities of what Hamas did and are concerned by the loss of civilian lives as Israel goes after Hamas.

“Let us not forget,” Carbajal emphasized. “Neither Israel nor Gaza started this war. Hamas, a terrorist organization, did. They kidnapped over 200 individuals whom they’re holding hostage. They slaughtered 1,400 people in Israel: children, women, men, old people. And they are now hiding behind civilians. They are an oppressive government to the Palestinian people.”

Carbajal said the Biden administration was doing everything it could to avoid a wider war: “Responding to terror and going after Hamas after what they have done is not incompatible with the humanitarian needs of the people in Gaza. I’m as supportive as the President is for Israel to go after Hamas and root it out, to destroy it. At the same time, Israel must do it in a way that minimizes the loss of civilian life.”