CNN: US Senator Brian Baird Discovers the Real Gaza, Speaks Up

“If all that happens is that you come to this region and you are led around by the hand to see the things that someone wants you to see, hear the stories that someone wants you to hear, you will not get the full impression of what’s actually going on,” he said. “… If you can’t see these things yourself, you’re left with the official version of events.”

The international community — and particularly the United States — has not done enough, he said, to help the approximately 1.5 million Gaza residents who have been left unable to rebuild after the war because of an Israeli and Egyptian blockade that has been in place since Hamas seized power.

Baird’s outspoken comments have stirred controversy among some Jewish groups. The Republican Jewish Coalition described Baird’s airlift plan for Gaza “disturbing” and “outrageous” and called on President Obama to repudiate the congressman’s comments.

Baird strongly rejects the criticism.

“It’s troubling to me that there is a belief in the American political system today that if you speak out for the rights of the Palestinian people … you are somehow not seen as a loyal American or a friend of Israel,” he said. “I am a strong friend of Israel.”

He said he does not believe Israel’s policies in Gaza are just, and that ultimately “they are going to endanger the security of Israel” and the United States.