Thank you for publishing Senator Bernie Sanders’ appeal “No More Arms Sales to Netanyahu.” His courageous statement reminds us all of what few dare to say for fear of being labeled “anti-Semite.”

As a Jew, Sen. Sanders knows the difference between being anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic, and the genocide that we are watching in Gaza, underwritten by U.S. taxpayer money and conducted with U.S. weapons, demands the cessation of U.S. arms sales to Israel. Sen. Sanders has also described the catastrophic consequences of Israel's disruption of food and medical aid at a time when bombing continues even as the population faces famine and disease. He has written what needs to be done, and I must add that a ceasefire, long demanded by a majority of the American people, must take place with urgent effort at home and in Congress.

A recent mailing from Episcopal (Church) Public Policy Network calls attention to the revival of a bill in the House — H.R. 9495 — that could endanger tax-exempt status for groups supporting Palestinian interests. Episcopalians, like other mainline Christian bodies in the United States, call for Congress to block military sales to Israel. The Episcopal Office of Government Relations offers action alerts on the Episcopal Church website. Now is the time to speak and be heard!

Rev. Bruce Shipman

Groton

Editor’s note: The writer is the former Episcopal chaplain at Yale University.