Cori Bush’s State of the Union Guest Is a Palestinian SLU Grad Student

In 150 days, 35 of Dr. Intimaa Salama’s family members have been killed in attacks by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza.

U.S. Representative Cori Bush (D-St. Louis) has invited Salama, a Palestinian dentist and graduate student at Saint Louis University, as her honored guest to the State of the Union address Thursday.

“The ongoing violence in Gaza is an international crisis and it directly impacts people from St. Louis to the Middle East and everywhere in between,” Bush said in a press release Wednesday.

Salama has been directly impacted by the violence in Gaza, Bush said in the release. Her house was first bombed at the beginning of the conflict, forcing her family to seek shelter in the south of Gaza in Rafah. She was then devastated by the killing of 35 family members, including her grandmother, two of her brothers and their families, and three of her uncles with their families.

“This is an incalculable loss, one that she is not shouldering alone. In St. Louis and around the country, there are thousands of families who have lost their loved ones in the atrocities against Palestinian and Israeli civilians,” Bush said.

Bush has repeatedly urged Congress and President Joe Biden to take action to implement a ceasefire in the region. Last week , Bush, alongside Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) sent a letter to Biden urging him to oppose any invasion by Israeli forces or further bombardment in Rafah, and to facilitate an immediate, lasting ceasefire.

“The United States is fueling this war, but we could just as easily stop it,” Bush said. “The bombs are being dropped half a world away but we see the impacts at home. It is my hope that by uplifting Intimaa’s experiences and by giving her the opportunity to share her story directly on the national and local stage, we can illustrate and humanize for President Biden and our community members the devastating harm that fueling this violence and bloodshed has on all of us.”

Since October 7, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to National Public Radio. This number may be higher as the health ministry in Gaza struggles to locate and count the deaths and thousands remain unaccounted for. The conflict began after Hamas militants attacked Israel in October, killing around 1,200 people.

“We are more than statistics in the toll of this genocide; we have names, families, and aspirations that persist despite the turmoil surrounding us,” Salama said in the statement by Bush’s office. “My call is for a ceasefire and for a future where our children’s joy and laughter overshadow the echoes of wars, ensuring that we are all treated with the dignity and respect that every human being deserves.”

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