We the future of the United States, are watching in horror as Israel is conducting an extermination of the Palestinian people, infrastructure and culture.

However, a year after Oct. 7 and ongoing intense protests, our calls have fallen on the deaf ears of our politicians, so hear us now – we do not stand with the government of Israel.

As evidenced by the sweeping pro-Palestinian boycotts and other protests by the American people, more specifically its youth, there is clear opposition by America’s future leaders to our nation’s continued support of Israel.

The immediate and sharp response of our nation’s police and military in removing these protestors shows their impact has been widely felt across the country, as they are seen as a threat to the idea that we are a nation in support of war crimes.

Polls show this as well – according to the Pew Research Center, views on Israel, Palestine, and America’s involvement with them show a sharp contrast between older and younger adults on the issue.

Young Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 have a 33% chance to sympathize with Palestinians more than Israelis, more than three times as likely as Americans over 65 at 9%.

Sympathy for Israelis runs low at only 14% among adults aged 18 and 29, less than half of the support for Palestinians.

That low sympathy continues to persist despite Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people in Israel.

This divide in sympathy can be explained, in part, by the disproportionate number of people killed in response to Oct. 7 – at least 41,000 people according to Palestinian health authorities as of Oct. 1.

The claim that we as a country stand with Israel seems like an attempt to dismiss young Americans as a loud minority rather than a serious opposition to the crimes being committed in the West Bank.

This was made obvious on Sept. 30, after an Israeli pager attack killed 37 and injured nearly 3,000 people in Lebanon, U.S Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin reaffirmed the United States’ support for Israel’s right to self-defense in a meeting with Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant.

It isn’t just words of support that our government is sending to Israel, however. Since Israel’s conception in 1948, the United States has sent Israel over 300 billion dollars worth of aid when adjusted for inflation – most of which has been military supplies.

But why might our government remain so steadfast in giving support to Israel? Perhaps it has something to do with groups like The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which publicly boasts on its website about lobbying members of Congress in favor of Israel.

This becomes evident when you look at the numbers politicians such as Richie Torres, Robert Menendez and Hakeem Jeffries have each received over a million dollars from pro-Israeli groups.

How can we trust these people to act in our interests when their pockets are lined with Israeli blood money?

In contrast, there are progressive groups like the Jewish Voice for Peace that consist of Jewish Americans who speak more to the beliefs of the youth and their supporters who advocate against Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and for peace in the region.

This clearly shows a disconnect between policymakers and the rising youth movement in the country as an organization like AIPAC coerces politicians who accept funding from them to vote essentially on their behalf instead of on behalf of the constituents they are meant to be serving.

The United States has no interest in listening to the voices of the people; they have more interest in working for the interests of a lobbying committee directly proposing policy to aid a foreign government with no regard for Americans.

It’s our job as the future of this country to contact our elected officials, vote, and continually let it be known that we will not stand for Israel’s crimes.

Our voices are loud, the data is clear, the time is now – on the first anniversary of Oct. 7, the government of the United States must cease funding the genocide of Palestinians and commit to peace, lest they lose the future.