Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees: Interview with Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA)
Interview
"Well, thank you so much for asking. I'm really glad that my cousin and her three kids, including an 18-month- old who's had to spend nights in the bomb shelter have been able to leave Israel. I have one more cousin who is still staying in Tel Aviv for the time being, but so far, despite some air raids and sometime in the bomb shelter, she is safe.
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Yes. Thank you for asking.
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Look, I think President Biden is exactly right. You know, having family there who are still in harm's way, I understand how important it is to make sure that Israel is doing everything it can to defend its people, to root out Hamas, to try and get the hostages, and Hamas should give up the hostages. But the fact of the matter is, we are stronger when we lead with our values and when we protect civilian life, and we have seen from our own efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan that long-term occupation, population-wide kind of military incursions just haven't been actually effective or successful. And I don't think it makes sense for Israel's long-term safety and security.
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You know, I think he should visit when the time is right. I know having worked in many emergency and conflict situations myself, it's always big lift when a bug principal comes. It's important for them to show their support, but it also takes a lot of resources away from the frontlines. And so I know that his team is working on those deliberations right now.
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Yes, the State Department came together really quickly and I'm grateful for everything they've done to help get families like mine out of Israel. There are now flights going. If any American citizen is trying to get out of Israel or Gaza, there's a form they can fill out on the State Department Web site and they should get information very quickly about how to get on those charter flights.
But I've also been hearing from Americans in Gaza about how difficult the situation is and how unable they have been about getting any information. So I led an effort to work with the State Department to try and make sure we're upholding our values of serving Americans wherever they are. I'm glad that this crisis intake form on the State Department Web site now includes Israel and Gaza.
And I'm hopeful by the news that American citizens will be able to leave through the Rafah Crossing gate into Egypt. And we're going to continue working with the administration to get every American who wants to leave out.
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I am very concerned about the situation on the ground. Look, I completely understand having family there still in Israel that urgency that the Israeli military feels in moving quickly. And they should be doing everything they can to try and get the hostages to make sure that they are taking out Hamas. And we are strongest when we lead with our values. And we are seeing immense human suffering in Gaza.
I was very proud that President Biden has been emphasizing the law of war and humanitarian access in all of his conversations with the Israeli government. And that that has led directly to water being turned back on in southern Gaza. And there's still a lot more we'll need to do to make sure that the humanitarian situation there is tenable, as Israel does what they should be doing, which is going to try and get the hostages and taking out Hamas' leadership.
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Look, I think it's important that we get the Rafah Crossing open. And I'm glad that Secretary Blinken has had those conversations with President Sisi, is doing the shuttle diplomacy that is so important in this time. You know, I think this is a really difficult situation, where you want to make sure humanitarian good are getting in. People can get out, while also recognizing that you want to make sure you're doing it in a safe and orderly and humane way, and that you're doing it such a way that it protects against Hamas being able to get out or any sort of war material being able to get in and that is difficult because so many things can be used for multiple purposes.
And so I know that Secretary Blinken and the entire U.S. government is working hard on those negotiations, and I'm hopeful that we will see a breakthrough soon.
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I mean, it's just heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking, it's horrifying. I condemn in the strongest terms Hamas' brutal and inexcusable attack, and I think Israel has the right to do everything it needs to do to protect its citizens and to make sure that something like this can never happen again while upholding the international rule of law and protecting civilians.
And, you know, my heart just goes out to everyone who is grieving. I think about my family and I am so grateful that they are safe. But it could just have easily been them. Shar'ar Hanegev, that community on the border where so many of these atrocities happened, is actually San Diego's sister city. And so I spent a lot of time there. I spent time as a teenager there meeting with folks, meeting with the Israeli Arabs who live nearby.
And it's just so heartbreaking and infuriating, everything that is happening and the atrocities that we're seeing.
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Look, House Democrats are united behind Hakeem Jeffries. We've got 212 votes for him and we have been having both public and private conversations with Republicans about our willingness and openness for a bipartisan way forward. And I'm hopeful that some Republicans will take us up on that because frankly the idea of Jim Jordan as speaker, someone who actively worked with President Trump to undermine the election in 2020, who has done so many other awful things I think is simply untenable.
And this is critical. We need to get a speaker so that we can pass necessary legislation. It is becoming an issue of national security, and I know that we are all eager to have those conversations about what a bipartisan way forward can look like.
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I think that will have to be part of a larger conversation around what kind of bipartisan way forward there is, what kind of coalition it could look like. It would have to involve some rules changes to make sure that we don't just get into this same mess again in a few weeks, but I do think that there's real openness and willingness among House Democrats to have those conversations.
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Thank you.
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