Congressman Ami Bera Confronted by Grieving Constituent Whose Family Was Killed in Gaza—Refuses to Answer Questions, Cuts Livestream

At Monday’s town hall hosted by Congressman Ami Bera (CA-6), a Palestinian-American attendee whose Gaza family members were killed by Israeli forces attempted to question Bera about his continued support for U.S. military aid to Israel. Despite having previously met with this individual and being fully aware of their personal loss, Bera refused to respond directly to the question or explain why he co-sponsored the U.S.-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025 (H.R. 1229) afterwards.

Ignoring the individual’s questions, Bera pivoted to other topics like healthcare and voting, treating her relatives’ deaths like a political inconvenience. His staff then cut the livestream feed while the questioner continued, silencing the testimony of someone directly affected by Bera’s foreign policy votes.

The U.S.-Israel Defense Partnership Act, which Rep. Bera co-sponsored in March 2025, expands joint weapons development programs and extends authorization for U.S. arms stockpiles in Israel, supposedly intended to deter Iran. Yet, extensively documented reports show that U.S.-supplied weapons have been used in indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks against civilians in Gaza and Lebanon.

Among these reports:

• BLU-109 "bunker buster" bombs: In October 2023, Israel used 2,000-pound U.S.-made “bunker buster” bombs in an attack on refugees sheltering in tents in Jabaliya refugee camp, killing 195 men, women and children, and wounding over 700 others. (New York Times, TRT World)

• GBU-39 precision-guided bombs: In May 2024, Israel dropped U.S.-made GBU-39 precision-guided bombs on a tent encampment of displaced people in Rafah, killing at least 45 civilians, including children, and injuring many more. (The Guardian)

• White phosphorus munitions: Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented the use of U.S.-produced white phosphorus shells in civilian areas of Gaza and Lebanon, in violation of international law due to their indiscriminate and incendiary nature. (Amnesty International; Human Rights Watch)

• 155mm artillery shells, M825 and M825A1 white phosphorus rounds, and M109 howitzers: Israeli forces have fired U.S.-made heavy artillery extensively into Gaza’s most densely populated areas, including munitions containing white phosphorus—an incendiary agent—causing mass civilian casualties and what humanitarian groups call a mass disabling event marked by widespread, life-altering injuries. (TRT World; Human Rights Watch)

Despite these well-substantiated reports, Bera has continued to support legislation and policies that enable the transfer of U.S. weapons and military technologies to Israel, disregarding accountability mechanisms in U.S. and international humanitarian law, thus violating both.

Other attendees expressed frustration not only with the moral implications of Bera’s legislative decisions, but with the staggering financial cost of supplying such weapons. During a period of widespread economic hardship—when families are struggling to afford groceries, rent and medical care, taxpayers are also footing the bill for bombs. Each year, the U.S. sends approximately $3.8 billion worth of military aid to Israel, with an additional $17.9 billion sent between October 2023 and 2024 alone.

Dr. Umer Waris, a local physician, shared the following statement:

“Many in the local physician community supported Dr. Bera during his congressional races in the belief that we would have a medical and ethical voice in Congress. We have been sorely disappointed at his track record during the ongoing genocide in Gaza despite multiple meetings with his constituents, including Palestinians who have lost loved ones in Gaza imploring him to do otherwise. Dr. Bera has not only remained silent but has actively led legislation in Congress that has funded and armed the policies of starvation, targeting of healthcare facilities, and personnel, and collective punishment of the people of Gaza. He also has been a top recipient of AIPAC contributions. Far from exemplifying the highest ideals and oaths of our profession, Dr. Bera has conducted himself in a manner antithetical to the values of justice, service and human dignity required of us as physicians and healthcare professionals. For that, his legacy and service to the people of Sacramento have been irreparably tarnished.”

As calls for accountability mount – including from renowned global human rights organizations, legal scholars, international courts, and the governments of other countries—constituents demand answers about how and why their own representative’s legislative decisions can shirk accountability as they disparage international law and fundamental human rights. Constituents continue to wonder: Why is our representative enabling war crimes in our name and with our money?