A Lawmaker Who Stood Up for Justice - Brian Baird

Brian Baird describes how Israel and its U.S. lobby assert authority over Congress. He reflects on his visits to Gaza, especially his shock at seeing the American International School in Gaza flattened by Israel using American-made bombs. He describes his efforts to investigate the murder of his constituent Rachel Corrie, as well as his vote on the Goldstone report, denounced by House colleagues who never read the report or visited Gaza. Baird then recommends critical actions voters should take to help elect leaders who will study this issue in a fair and open-minded way.

Brian Baird is a former Democratic U.S. Representative for Washington’s 3rd congressional district, who served from 1999 to 2011. Baird entered politics in1998 for the same reason he went into the field of clinical psychology: to answer the call to service. As a congressman, Baird traveled to Gaza five times, and was deeply disturbed by the destruction wrought by Israel’s relentless attacks on the besieged territory. Rep. Baird called on the U.S. State Department to investigate the death of his constituent, Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old student who was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003. After leaving Congress, Baird served as president of Antioch University’s Seattle campus until 2015, and continues to contribute op-eds to The Seattle Times.

The web-based conference "End US Support for Israeli Apartheid?" considers whether the United States should now cut off aid to Israel, or make any such future assistance conditional on negotiation of a genuine peace settlement, respect for Palestinian human rights, and adherence to international law.

IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep).