By Adam Pagnucco.
Even though the war between Israel and Hamas is occurring on the other side of the planet, it has been one of the hardest issues for elected officials and prominent organizations in this county to navigate. County Executive Marc Elrich learned that after writing a letter to President Joe Biden advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza.
On March 8, Elrich wrote the following letter to Biden. It’s lengthy, but I’m reprinting all of it below so that readers understand exactly what he wrote and did not write.
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March 8, 2024
The Honorable Joseph R. Biden
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Biden,
I join with our US Senator Chris Van Hollen, Congressmen Jamie Raskin and David Trone, and other Maryland leaders in urging you to act now to bring relief to Gaza, including facilitating a ceasefire and the immediate return of all the remaining hostages.
I am proud to lead Montgomery County, Maryland – home to many of the most diverse cities in America. It is a place I love and work to strengthen every day. Collectively, we strive to leave our community stronger than how we found it.
Since the day of the attacks by Hamas and as the war continues, our diverse communities have been impacted by what is happening abroad. After the horrific loss of life in Israel on October 7th, I released the following statement, and I continue to stand by these words:
The attacks by Hamas on civilian populations across Israel is the definition of terrorism – terrorism being actions that target civilian populations with the goal of creating such pain and suffering that their governments will change their policies.
But the most likely outcome will not be a just & lasting peace, but rather an intensifying round of escalation and a steeling of some people’s determination to settle this on a battlefield not at the peace table. The pain and suffering of innocent people is a genuine tragedy.
Israel has every right to defend itself and protect its people. If Hamas expected some grand victory from this, they are sorely mistaken. The most likely result will be that their actions will increase the suffering and misery of their own people. This needs to end.
Both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian leadership need to recommit to a two-state solution. Our thoughts are with the lives lost and hurt and we all fervently hope for a quick and peaceful solution.
Since then, we have seen an increase in antisemitic, Islamophobic, and anti-Arab acts. I share the anguish that I have heard from residents about the situation in Israel and Gaza; so many of them have direct and indirect connections to people in Israel and Gaza.
We need an immediate return of all the remaining hostages and a lasting ceasefire, that leads to creation of a framework for a just two-state solution.
I have been focused on fighting intolerance here at home but at this point, I feel compelled to add my voice to the growing calls for a ceasefire. As Congressman Jamie Raskin pointed out in a letter he signed with Jewish colleagues,
“We cannot overstate the urgency of the hostages’ situation in Hamas’s captivity in Gaza, where they have been held for 139 days in dreadful conditions. Recently, we learned that 32 of the 134 remaining hostages are dead. Every day that the remaining living hostages are left to suffer in the tunnels in Gaza without medical attention increases the chances that more will die. The hostages and their families simply cannot wait any longer.
”Likewise, the situation for the civilian population in Gaza is dire and desperate. At least 1.4 million displaced Palestinians in Gaza cannot wait any longer for access to additional humanitarian aid to alleviate widespread hunger, homelessness, and the continuing spread of dangerous diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, bronchitis and pneumonia,”
I also quote my Senator, Chris Van Hollen, who said,
“The horror of the October 7 Hamas terror attacks against Israel cannot, must not, and will not be erased or forgotten. About 1,200 people were brutally murdered, and 240 people were taken hostage. As I have said many times in the aftermath of that heinous attack and those kidnappings, Israel not only has the right but the duty to defend itself and take the actions necessary to prevent any future October 7’s. Never forget and never again.
“I stand steadfastly with the people of Israel in pursuing that objective and securing the release of all the hostages. Given the terrible news of the deaths of as many as one-fifth of the remaining hostages, the urgency of bringing the rest home could not be more clear.
“I also believe that, while it is a just war, a just war must still be fought justly…
“…Nor does the horror of the October 7 attack justify the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza—a catastrophe that began when the Netanyahu government imposed a total siege on the people in that very narrow strip of land, and that has continued as his coalition places unnecessary obstacles in the way of getting vital, desperately needed, lifesaving assistance to innocent civilians there.”
I am proud to have these representatives in the Senate and House of Representatives. They understand – as you do – the complexity and the urgency of this moment.
Your leadership was essential in the previous ceasefires, which brought home more than 100 hostages, and we need your leadership again – many lives are depending on it. Your statements in the State of the Union speech were powerful and insightful, when you acknowledged the imperative to protect civilians, the urgency for an immediate ceasefire and the need for and recognition that a two-state solution is the only way to lasting peace.
I hope that you will be as forceful as needed to bring about the changes that you recognize are necessary. Thank you for your leadership and your commitment.
Sincerely,
Marc Elrich
Montgomery County Executive
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On the same day, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a statement applauding Elrich’s letter. CAIR wrote, “The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed news of Montgomery County joining Howard and Anne Arundel Counties to become the third Maryland county to support a ceasefire in Gaza.”
After questions arose over the past week, Elrich sent a new letter to Council President Andrew Friedson today in which he criticized CAIR but repeated his call for a ceasefire. This letter is reprinted below.
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March 15, 2024
Honorable Andrew Friedson, Council President
County Council
100 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850
Dear Council President Friedson:
I have heard from a number of people, and it’s clear that there is some misunderstanding of a recent letter I sent to President Biden. Despite being far from Montgomery County, the terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, and the ensuing war between Israel and Hamas, has been extraordinarily difficult on our community. As County Executive, I have made every effort to offer comfort where I can to those who are hurting and direct resources where they’re needed to ensure the safety of our more than one million residents — including a recent infusion of more than $300,000 to protect organizations at risk of hate crimes.
In the letter to President Biden, I supported comments by Maryland Congressional leaders, including Senator Chris Van Hollen, Congressman Jamie Raskin, and Congressman David Trone urging relief now to Gaza, including facilitating a ceasefire, and the immediate return of all the remaining hostages. I also wrote that we need a lasting ceasefire that leads to creation of framework for a just two-state solution. My aim in writing this letter was to bring county residents together during this incredibly difficult and often politically polarizing time, and hopefully find some degree of unity amid the divisiveness. However, some of my words have been misinterpreted.
Let me be clear: it is Hamas whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel; whose leaders organized the October 7th massacre that killed 1,200 people that was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. So while negotiations for a return of hostages and a truce have to be conducted with Hamas, it is clear that absent renouncing their charter and accepting the existence of Israel, and laying down their arms, they cannot have a role in negotiations over the creation of a two-state solution to which they are firmly opposed. Finding that solution requires both Palestinians and Israelis to accept that there will be two states, that the status of each is permanent, not transitory, and that each party has the responsibility to ensure their part in providing mutual security.
I am also concerned that CAIR referenced my letter as advocating support for other legislative action, which I did not. While I cannot control what CAIR says, I did not endorse any proposed legislation and it’s frankly hard to be comfortable with CAIR given their leadership’s remarks after October 7th.
In his State of the Union message, President Biden recognized the right of Israel to “go after Hamas” while also acknowledging the imperative to protect civilians, emphasizing the urgency for an immediate ceasefire and recognizing that a two-state solution is the only path to lasting peace. I appreciate President Biden’s views, and I hope that we will see progress soon. As County Executive, I will continue to do my part to ensure that everyone in our county — regardless of race, ethnicity, political ideology, or religious identity — feels welcome, supported, and safe.
Sincerely,
Marc Elrich
County Executive
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So what do you think of this, readers? Did Elrich do the right thing by weighing in on this issue? Or should he have stayed out of it?
Screenshots of the two letters appear below.
