We, the undersigned, call on President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Donald J. Trump to support true accountability in U.S. foreign policy by imposing sanctions/calling for sanctions on Israeli officials Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s Minister of Finance, and Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s Minister of National Security, under Executive Order 14115 and the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. 

These individuals have promoted extremist ideologies and supported violence against innocent Palestinian men, women, and children. If the United States refuses to hold these terrorists accountable, we send a clear message to the world: our support for human rights is conditional and political.

President Biden signed Executive Order 14115 earlier this year, allowing sanctions against those responsible for acts of violence, property destruction, and terror against civilians in the West Bank. The Executive Order explicitly enables sanctions against government officials who are complicit in such abuses.

We are outraged by reports that the administration rejected White House officials’ recommendation to impose these necessary sanctions on Smotrich and Ben Gvir. The reason given, that the U.S. “should not sanction elected officials in democratic countries,” sets a perilous precedent. This policy risks undermining the very values we claim to defend: human rights and accountability. No one should be above the law, and those who engage in violence against civilians must face consequences, regardless of their title.

This stance is in brazen rebellion of American values and contradicts the actions taken by previous administrations. In 2005, then-Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, was denied entry into the United States due to his complicity in human rights abuses during the Gujarat riots. The decision to deny Modi a visa, despite his status as an elected leader of an allied country, was a powerful statement that the U.S. does not tolerate egregious violations of human rights, even among friends.

The international community is ready to take action. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has called for sanctions against Smotrich and Ben Gvir, describing them as “sinister.” Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin and Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter also support such sanctions. David Cameron, the former Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom is urging the current government to sanction both Ministers as well. 

The United States must join its allies in taking a stand.

We urge President Biden to impose sanctions on Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, and we call on the Harris and Trump campaigns to signal their support for this critical action. Publicly declaring your commitment to sanctioning these officials would send a clear message that human rights abuses, terrorism, and hate have no place in our foreign policy.

This is an opportunity to set an unwavering example of principled leadership. We call on you to act.