Interfaith Peace Initiative
Take Action: Votes on
Military Aid
to Israel Coming Soon. Contact Congress!
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1661
We've just learned that the House and Senate committees which have
jurisdiction over foreign aid will be voting soon on military aid to
The
House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on State, Foreign
Operations, and Related Programs will "mark-up" the foreign aid bill on
July 16 and 17, respectively, which includes the
President's request for $2.55 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF)
for
Since the
Even
though Hamas and
As
the Appropriations Subcommittees prepare to vote on the foreign aid
budget for FY2009, we ask all of our member groups and supporters to get
involved and help us challenge military aid to
Take Action
1.
Send a personal letter to each Member of Congress on these subcommittees.
Each Member of Congress on these subcommittees has already received more
than 6,500 letters opposing military aid to
2.
Have your organization endorse our sign-on letter to these subcommittees.
To date, nearly 350 organizations from 40 states plus
3.
Sign up for an organizing packet to challenge military aid to Israel in
your community. So far, we've sent nearly 250 packets to
volunteer organizers in 40 states. The organizing packets include
postcards, petitions, and fact sheets-everything you need to educate and
organize people in your community to challenge military aid to
4.
Schedule a meeting with your Members of Congress for the August recess.
Representatives and Senators will be in their home districts and states
during August to meet with constituents. This is a perfect opportunity
for you and/or your organization to form a delegation and talk to your
Members of Congress about your opposition to military aid to
For those of you who haven't requested a meeting with your Members of
Congres before, we've got instructions on how to do it
posted here along with some
tips on how to conduct the meeting
posted here. We'll have
additional materials ready for your August recess meetings soon, but in
the meantime sign up to coordinate a meeting and start working on
getting it scheduled by
clicking here.
(With information from the Council for the National Interest in Washington, DC. Friday, February 29, 2008)
On Friday, in Gaza, in response to qassam rocket fire directed at the Israeli settlement Ashkelon. "Shoah" is a Hebrew term for "big disaster" and is often used to describe the Holocaust.
Israeli leaders have been put under pressure to launch a full-scale invasion of Gaza. Vilnai commented on the situation to Israeli Army Radio:
"The more Qassam fire intensifies and the rockets reach a longer range, [the Palestinians] will bring upon themselves a bigger holocaust because we will use all our might to defend ourselves."
The humanitarian crisis continues within the Gaza Strip, where almost 1.5 million Palestinians remain trapped and without basic needs. The Council for the National Interest joins the Palestine Center, Electronic Intifada and other organizations in calling for the security of Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip.
Action requested:
Please call your Members of Congress and remind them that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since the Annapolis summit, and about 5 Israelis have died in the same period. Tell them you realize Qassam rockets must end, but that collective punishment of Gaza's citizens is forbidden under international law. The way to achieve an end to the rockets is through a negotiated agreement. Hamas has repeatedly offered a cease-fire to Israel if it stops its illegal attacks and assassinations in both the West Bank and Gaza. These continue to be ignored in the American press. Ask your Congressmen (1) to stop US backing for Israel's aggression against the Palestinian people, (2) to withhold military aid for Israel until the occupation ends, (3) to stop the spread of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, and (4) to insist that all Palestinian factions are included in negotiations with Israel. A majority of Israelis and Palestinians are committed to a negotiated peace.
Take Action: Oppose $30 Billion Military Aid
Package to
This military aid
package, amounting to $3 billion per year, represents a 25% increase
over the current
The US Campaign to
End the Israeli Occupation opposes this proposed increase in military
aid to
Take action today and send a similar message to your elected officials
by
going to:
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/uscampaign/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=12265.
The U.S. Arms Export
Control Act prohibits foreign countries from using
< weapons against civilians or
civilian infrastructure and limits their use to “legitimate
self-defense” or for “internal security.” The U.S. Foreign Assistance
Act states that "No assistance may be provided under this part [of the
law] to the government of any country which engages in a consistent
pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights”.
Rather than use
U.S. military aid for “legitimate self-defense” or
“internal security”, Israel relies upon it to prosecute its illegal
40-year old foreign military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. “Gross violations of
internationally recognized human rights” against Palestinians living
under
Israel’s illegal military
occupation have been well-documented by numerous Palestinian, Israeli,
U.S., and international human
rights organizations, as well as by the
Thanks in part to
your demand for accountability, the State Department in January 2007
sent a top-secret report to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and
Senator Joe Biden, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
claiming that Israel may have violated the U.S. Arms Export Control Act
by indiscriminately dropping cluster munitions in civilian areas in
Lebanon during last year’s war. A final report with definitive
conclusions has not yet been issued.
The Bush Administration and Congress make a mockery of the rule of law by supporting an increase in military aid to Israel even before the government’s own investigation of Israel’s prior violations of the U.S. Arms Export Control is completed. Please take a moment to contact your elected representatives today and urge them to oppose an increase in military aid to Israel and to sanction Israel by cutting off military aid for its prior violations of U..S. law. Go to: http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/uscampaign/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=12265 to send your message.
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1. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to deny Israel's request for 3,500 MK-84 "general purpose" bombs.
Israel violated agreements with the United States last summer when it blanketed southern Lebanon with US-made cluster bombs after a cease-fire was announced. These have killed or wounded hundreds of civilians, the majority of them children. There was no defensive purpose for this attack on civilian areas, and millions of dollars will be required to remove these bombs so that refugees from the war can return to their homes. Israel continues to use US-made weapons to enforce an illegal occupation of the West Bank and the taking of Palestinian land and water.
The US Arms Control Export Act forbids the sale of US-made weapons to countries for purposes other than legitimate self defense. It states explicitly that "No credits (including participations in credits) may be issued and no guaranties may be extended for any foreign country under this chapter as hereinafter provided, if such country uses defense articles or defense services furnished under this chapter, or any predecessor Act, in substantial violation (either in terms of quantities or in terms of the gravity of the consequences regardless of the quantities involved) of any agreement entered into pursuant to any such Act (i) by using such articles or services for a purpose not authorized under section 2754 of this title..." (which restricts use to legitimate self defense or missions authorized by the United Nations). For more information, see: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/22/usc_sec_22_00002753----000-.html and http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/29/news/israel.php.
Sending new bombs to Israel would violate US laws. YOUR ACTION IS NEEDED NOW!!
2. Please thank Members of Congress who did not sign the Nelson-Ensign letter which sought to limit US dialog with Palestinian leaders.
A list is available at the web site of Churches for Middle East Peace http://www.cmep.org/Alerts/2007March28.htm and is reprinted below. 79 Senators did sign this resolution after the wording was changed to allow contact with Mahmoud Abbas. Though this does not have the force of law, any attempts to forbid negotiation with all parties to this conflict are counterproductive. They send a dangerous message that non-violent political dialog toward peace is unwelcome unless it comes through channels approved by Israel's right-wing lobby in the United States. See http://ga3.org/btvshalom/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=6987599 and http://www.cmep.org/Alerts/2007March20.htm.
Senators who did NOT sign the Nelson-Ensign Letter on the Palestinian Government
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Action Alert:
Tell Bush to Veto Palestinian Sanctions Bill
Today (December 7th), the House of Representatives passed S.2370, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, by Voice Vote (not recorded).
The House's passage of S.2370, which was passed previously by the Senate on June 23, clears the way for the President to sign into law draconian economic and diplomatic sanctions against the Palestinian people for exercising their right to vote in legislative elections held earlier this year.
TAKE ACTION: Contact the White House NOW by phone 202-456-1111, by fax 202-456-2461, and by email comments@whitehouse.gov and ask the President to veto S.2370, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act. Tell the President that the United States should not be sanctioning people for exercising their right to vote.
The US
Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is in the process of trying
to set up a meeting with White House officials to deliver a petition
signed by more than 340 US-based organizations opposing the
Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act and to ask for a veto.
For more details about the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act and the US
Campaign's efforts to oppose it, go to
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1276
From Jewish Voice for Peace:
 |
| One of many targets of s. 2370 |
Only the President's signature remains. Click here to urge the President not to sign this bill into law. Also, you can magnify the impact of this message by calling the White House or faxing directly at the following numbers:
Phone 202-456-1111
Fax 202-456-2461
S 2370 would severely
restrict all funds to the Palestinian people, making humanitarian
aid more difficult and would also severely limit diplomatic contacts
with the duly elected Palestinian government. Since the US has not
given direct aid to the Palestinian Authority in years, this bill
will only stop funds that would not get into the hands of a Hamas-led
PA anyway. It would also severely impact funding for UN programs
designed to help the Palestinian people.
The Palestinian people have faced enormous hardships, even by their standards, in 2006. This bill will only make it worse.
(http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/publish/article_453.shtml)
National Call-In Day for Immediate Cease-Fire
July 25th, 2006
TAKE ACTION:
Contact your Representative and ask them to sign on as a cosponsor to
H.Con.Res.450, calling for an immediate cease-fire in the
BACKGROUND:
Despite mounting civilian casualties on all sides, the
as the
"birth pangs of a new
We need to tell our elected representatives that the
Today, Tuesday, July 25, several national organizations—including the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Council for the National Interest, Partners for Peace, Progressive Democrats of America, United for Peace and Justice, Peace Action, the American Friends Service Committee—Chicago, and Interfaith Peace-Builders—are organizing a national call-in day to Congress to support H.Con.Res.450, introduced by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), which calls upon the United States to pursue an “immediate cessation of violence” and “multi-party negotiations with no preconditions”.
TAKE ACTION:
Contact your Representative and ask them to sign on as a cosponsor to
H.Con.Res.450, calling for an immediate cease-fire in the
List of Current Co-Sponsors of H.Con.Res.450
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Rep Abercrombie, Neil [HI-1] - 7/19/2006 |
Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2] - 7/19/2006 |
|
Rep Cleaver, Emanuel [MO-5] - 7/19/2006 |
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] - 7/19/2006 |
|
Rep Davis, Danny K. [IL-7] - 7/19/2006 |
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] - 7/19/2006 |
|
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 7/19/2006 |
Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22] - 7/19/2006 |
|
Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] - 7/19/2006 |
Rep Kaptur, Marcy [OH-9] - 7/19/2006 |
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Rep Kilpatrick, Carolyn C. [MI-13] - 7/19/2006 |
Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] - 7/19/2006 |
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Rep McCollum, Betty [MN-4] - 7/19/2006 |
Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] - 7/19/2006 |
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Rep Meeks, Gregory W. [NY-6] - 7/19/2006 |
Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8] - 7/19/2006 |
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Rep Rangel, Charles B. [NY-15] - 7/19/2006 |
Rep Rush, Bobby L. [IL-1] - |
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Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [NY-28] - 7/19/2006 |
Rep Solis, Hilda L. [CA-32] - 7/19/2006 |
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Rep Stark, Fortney Pete [CA-13] - 7/19/2006 |
Rep Waters, Maxine [CA-35] - 7/19/2006 |
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Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] - 7/19/2006 |
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Text
of H.Con.Res.450
Calling upon the President to appeal to all sides in the current crisis
in the
HCON 450 IH
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 450
Calling upon the President to appeal to all sides in the current crisis
in the
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 19, 2006
Mr. KUCINICH (for himself, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. LEE, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. FILNER, Mr. STARK, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HONDA, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. WATERS, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. RUSH, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Ms. SOLIS, and Mr. MEEKS of New York) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Calling upon the President to appeal to all sides in the current crisis
in the
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress--
(1) calls upon the President to--
(A) appeal to all sides in the current crisis in the
(B) commit
(C) send a high-level diplomatic mission to the region to facilitate
such multi-party negotiations;
(2) urges such multi-party negotiations to begin as soon as possible, including delegations from the governments of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt; and
(3) supports an international peacekeeping mission to southern
TAKE ACTION:
Contact your Representative and ask them to sign on as a cosponsor to
H.Con.Res.450, calling for an immediate cease-fire in the
ACTION ALERT: Stop Israel's Attacks on Gaza & Lebanon
BACKGROUND: Israel is using weapons supplied by the United States to target Palestinian & Lebanese civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon in violation of the US Arms Export Control Act and the Geneva Conventions.On July 12th, Israel killed 23 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with missiles fired from aircraft and shells fired from tanks. Israel killed 9 members of one family in a missile strike on a house near Gaza City.
On July 12th, Israel launched a massive invasion of Lebanon. Israeli aircraft fired missiles targeting civilian infrastructure, including bridges, roads, a mosque, a community center, and the Beirut International Airport, and the Israeli navy is blockading Lebanon's ports. Israel has killed at least 50 Lebanese civilians and injured more than 100, including entire Lebanese families of 10 and 7 people killed in the villages of Dweir and Baflay.
On June 27th, Israel launched a massive invasion of the Gaza Strip. Israeli aircraft fired missiles targeting civilian infrastructure. In illegal acts of collective punishment, Israel demolished three key bridges, the Gaza Strip's only electricity generation plant, and part of a university, thereby endangering Palestinian human rights to food, water, health, electricity, education, and freedom of movement. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert admitted that the purpose of these measures is to "apply pressure" to the civilian population of the Gaza Strip.
On June 20th, Israeli aircraft fired at least one missile at a car in an extrajudicial assassination attempt on a road between Jabalya and Gaza City. The missile missed its intended target and killed three Palestinian children and wounded 15.
On June 13th, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a van in an extrajudicial assassination of two Palestinians in Gaza City. A second barrage of missiles fired shortly afterward killed nine Palestinian bystanders.
On June 9th, Israel shelled a beach in Beit Lahiya killing 8 civilians and injuring 32. At the site of the killing, Human Rights Watch found evidence of a 155mm artillery shell consistent with those fired from an Israeli M-109 Self-Propelled Artillery.
Israel's human rights violations in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon are being committed with US weapons financed by US tax dollars:
The Israeli air force fighter squadrons are composed of Lockheed Martin F-16I Fighting Falcons and Boeing F-15Is, which fire US-manufactured AMRAAM, Sidewinder, and Sparrow missiles. From 2000-2005, the United States licensed to Israel at least $1.062 billion of spare parts, engines, and missiles for its F-15 and F-16 fighter planes.
From 2000-2005, the United States licensed to the Israeli navy more than $572 million worth of patrol boat, ship, and submarine components and spare parts, torpedoes, and sonar equipment.
From 2000-2005, the United States licensed to Israel more than $348 million worth of tanks, components, and spare parts.
From 2000-2005, the United States licensed to Israel $69,163 worth of M-109 spare parts and 155mm artillery shells.
(Statistics for US weapons licensed to Israel are compiled from the State Department's annual report to Congress pursuant to Sec. 655 of the Foreign Assistance Act. For more information, click here: http://pmddtc.state.gov/
Israel's summer of killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip is a clear reminder that Israel remains the occupying power of the Gaza Strip despite last year's "unilateral disengagement". Living under military occupation, the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip are "protected persons" under the terms of the Geneva Conventions. Israel's targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon is a violation of the Geneva Conventions and constitutes war crimes.
In addition, by using US-supplied weapons to commit these atrocities, Israel is violating the terms of the US Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act. The Arms Export Control Act restricts the use of US weapons to legitimate self-defense and internal policing; US weapons cannot be used to attack civilians in offensive operations. The Foreign Assistance Act prohibits US aid of any kind to a country with a pattern of gross human rights violations.
TAKE ACTION: Hold Israel to account for its killing of civilians and destruction of civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
1. Contact the White House, State Department, and your Members of Congress to demand that Israel is held accountable for its violations of the US Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act and urge that military aid to Israel be cut off as required by law. Click here to send an email: http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/uscampaign/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=4460
2. Write a letter to the editor or op-ed for your local newspaper and call your local talk radio stations to protest Israel's atrocities in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and highlight US support for these actions. For contact information for your local media, click here: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/
Below is a template for a letter to the editor:
Letters to the editor should be short, punchy,
and clear. They MUST refer to actual coverage of that particular paper, either
naming a particular article or referring to trends (as below). Be sure the text
of the letter does in fact respond to the particular article or trend you
reference. Be sure to include full name, address, contact phone numbers and (for
some, not for others) name of the organization.
BE SURE THAT LETTERS ARE ALL DIFFERENT, AND DO
NOT LOOK LIKE CARBON COPIES OF EACH OTHER!
TEMPLATE: USE THIS AS A GUIDE, NOT A CARBON COPY!
* Ask WHY DOESN'T [NAME THE NEWSPAPER] ACKNOWLEDGE or DOWNPLAYS or MINIMIZES
THE FACT THAT or DOES NOT EMPHASIZE THAT
a) ISRAEL IS ATTACKING CIVILIANS or
b) ISRAEL IS DESTROYING NON-MILITARY INFRASTRUCTURE or
c) ISRAEL'S RESPONSE IS DISPROPORTIONATE
* Add YOUR READERS SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO MORE INFORMATION, INCLUDING
a) THAT THE VICTIMS INCLUDE X, AGE XX, Y, AGE XX, AND Z, AGE XX or
b) THAT DESTROYING THE ELECTRICAL PLANT MEANS
1) 860,000 CIVILIANS WITHOUT POWER, MANY WITHOUT WATER or
2) HOSPITALS DEPENDING ON LAST WEEK OF FUEL FOR GENERATORS or
3) THE UN SAYS GAZA FACES A HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE or
4) ISRAEL AND U.S. HAD ALREADY IMPOSED A SEVERE BOYCOTT ON GAZA
CAUSING HUGE HUMANITARIAN CRISES
* EXPRESS CONCERN FOR ISRAELI VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW,
AND THE UNCRITICAL NATURE OF U.S. SUPPORT FOR THOSE VIOLATIONS.
* ASK [THE NEWSPAPER] TO BE MORE BALANCED IN ITS COVERAGE.
MODEL LETTER:
To the Editors:
I am mystified by the failure of the mainstream media to acknowledge that Israeli military actions in the Gaza and southern Lebanon are targeting civilians and other non-military targets. The destruction being wrought on the Palestinian people, and now the Lebanese, has largely been ignored while all attacks - whether on soldiers or civilians - carried out by a Palestinian militant receives significant attention.
The silence of the vast
majority of the mainstream media and political leadership in the USA regarding
Israel's actions and the blind-eye taken toward Israel's continual failure to
respect the United Nations' resolutions to withdraw from the Occupied
Territories, makes a mockery of any concern regarding human rights and
international law.
I ask that [THE NAME OF
NEWSPAPER] provide more balanced coverage of the situation in Palestine, and
offer a forum for legitimate debate on the issues at hand. Years after an
atrocity, the people of the world look at themselves and ask '...why were we
silent?' It is not too late to preempt that question.
Sincerely,
3. Make a donation to support humanitarian efforts to reprovision the Gaza Strip with much-needed medical supplies for Palestinian children. The Middle East Children's Alliance and Grassroots International, member organizations of the US Campaign, are accepting tax-deductible donations to send medical supplies. Click here to donate: http://www.mecaforpeace.org/GazaMeds.html or http://www.grassrootsonline.org/
4. Support the efforts of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation to build a national movement to challenge US support for Israel's human rights violations. Click here to donate to our summer fundraising drive: http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1221
