FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATLANTA, GA (10/02/2026) — The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia) commends U.S. Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff for voting to advance legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and co-sponsored by Senator Warnock that sought greater transparency and accountability regarding Americans killed or detained, as well as alleged human rights abuses committed by Israeli authorities and illegal settlers in the West Bank.
The Georgia senators joined 45 other senators in supporting S. Res. 852, which would have required the U.S. Department of State to provide Congress with an unclassified report on Israel’s human rights practices and the U.S. government’s response to alleged abuses.
The proposed report would have addressed the killing of Americans in the West Bank, the status of investigations and efforts to hold those responsible accountable, the detention and alleged mistreatment of American citizens by Israeli authorities, the treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli military custody, and whether U.S. assistance has benefited Israeli units implicated in gross human rights violations.
The Senate rejected the motion to advance the resolution by a vote of 47–51. Senators Warnock and Ossoff were among the senators who voted in favor.
“We commend Senators Warnock and Ossoff for standing for transparency and accountability,” said Azka Mahmood, executive director of CAIR-Georgia. “Although the measure failed 51–47, the vote demonstrates that calls for accountability for violence against Americans and Palestinians in the West Bank are getting louder both from American citizens and our representatives.”
CAIR-Georgia believes that calling on the State Department to investigate the murder of nine American citizens and report what it knows should not have been controversial. Their families deserve answers, and constituents deserve to know why their senators supported or opposed this basic demand for accountability.
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CONTACT: Azka Mahmood, CAIR-Georgia Executive Director, [email protected], Tauheedah Shukriyyah Asad, Communications Director CAIR-Georgia, [email protected]