PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — At a time when it was safe for Americans to visit historic sites in the Middle East, Virginia Del. Samuel Rasoul (Rah-sool) and his family visited the Church of the Nativity, Nelson Mandela Square in Ramallah and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
Rasoul, a member of the Democratic Party, was born and reared in Roanoke but his Palestinian parents fled the region after the 1967 War.
“I was born here and grew up in Roanoke, Virginia. And it’s sad to see this genocide playing out in a place of my heritage,” Rasoul said two days before the Israeli bombing of aid workers from World Central Kitchen.
“We’ve seen many extended family and friends who have been killed and lost family members,” Rasoul said. “One of our close friends lost 25 family members in one building as it was demolished. So it’s it’s been a very sad situation. It’s genocide.”
With Norfolk-based warships on station in the Middle East, there is concern Israel’s attack in Syria, which claimed the lives of 2 Iranian generals and five of its other officers, could trigger a wider conflict. A former CIA official told the New York Times Israel is writing checks U.S. forces will have to cash. Rasoul is calling on Virginians to call their lawmakers in Washington
“I think people all around the world, they’re taken aback by the genocide that is happening,” Rasoul said. “And we see many Israelis are standing up against their own government, saying this is not in our name. We should be doing everything that we can to protect human life and working towards the freedom of all hostages.
“Everyone has the right to live in peace, [but] to be funding this genocide with our tax dollars … going towards something where the U.N. special rapporteur last week said this is a genocide, they have said this needs to stop. I think there are just better ways of spending our tax dollars.”
