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Israel's US Lobby Is Trying to
Reverse the Tide of Public Opinion
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| Israel has a serious public relations problem. It
is a nuclear armed state with the eleventh strongest military in the
world, equipped by the U.S. (at taxpayer expense) with some of its most
modern and lethal weapons. Gaza is not a state. It has no military. But it is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with 1.8 million people living in an area the size of Philadelphia. 43% of its population is under fifteen; 64% under 25.* Israel has blockaded Gaza since 2007, holding its population captive in what has become the world's largest open air prison - deprived of adequate food, housing, electricity, water, sanitation, building materials and other necessities of life. Let your member of Congress know you support an immediate cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israel troops from Gaza and the lifting of the Israeli blockade, and that you oppose House Concurrent Resolution 107. If not prepared to vote against it, they can simply skip the vote. Call toll-free 1-855-68 NO WAR (1-855-686-6927)  Five children have been killed or wounded every hour since July 8th when the Israeli military was unleashed. By comparison, Israel has suffered 46 dead, of whom 43 were soldiers. 215,000 Gazans have been displaced. Homes of 22,200 have been totally destroyed; homes of another 147,000 have been damaged. 130 schools and 22 hospitals and health centers have been shelled or bombed. 194,000 traumitized children exposed to death or injury of family members, or loss of their homes are in urgent need of pyschosocial support. Water, sanitation and power generating plants have been destroyed or damaged.** Let your member of Congress know you support an immediate cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israel troops from Gaza and the lifting of the Israeli blockade, and that you oppose House Concurrent Resolution 107. If not prepared to vote against it, they can simply skip the vote. Call toll-free 1-855-68 NO WAR (1-855-686-6927)  Israel's
occupation is illegal. It's collective punishment of civilians, and
targeting schools and hospitals are war crimes. It's disproportionate
response to rockets launched against it (largely without effect) is a
war crime. As the occupying power of the Gaza Strip, Israel has an obligation and a duty
to protect the civilians under its occupation. Israel denies
Palestinians the right to govern and protect themselves, while
simultaneously invoking the right to self-defense and declaring war on
them.***The American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is Israel's Zionist lobby, fundraiser and cheerleader in the U.S. AIPAC has a problem. Public opinion is turning against Israel's apartheid-like treatment of Palestinians, it's siege of Gaza and the slaughter of Gaza's civilians. AIPAC is now trying to use its considerable lobbying power to push for adoption of H. Con. Res. 107 - a measure that turns reality on its head. 
It
accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields in violation of
international humanitarian law - a classic case of 'blame the victim'. It accuses Hamas of storing its rockets (many of which are homemade) in populated areas. But most of Gaza is heavily populated. Hamas has no bases on which to store arms. Under international law, civilian homes, schools, mosques and health centers may not be targeted unless they are actively used to launch rockets.***
Israel deliberately provoked this war
with Hamas. Without producing a shred of evidence, it accused Hamas of
kidnapping and murdering three settlers near Hebron. Four weeks and
almost 700 lives later, Israel has yet to produce any evidence demonstrating Hamas’s involvement. During ten days of Operation Brother’s Keeper
in the West Bank, Israel arrested approximately 800 Palestinians
without charge or trial, killed nine civilians and raided nearly 1,300
residential, commercial and public buildings. Its military operation
targeted Hamas members released during the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange in 2011. It’s these Israeli provocations that precipitated the Hamas rocket fire.***
Let your member of Congress know you support an immediate cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israel troops from Gaza and the lifting of the Israeli blockade, and that you oppose House Concurrent Resolution 107. If not prepared to vote against it, they can simply skip the vote. Call toll-free 1-855-68 NO WAR (1-855-686-6927)  If you value the work that USLAW does, please support it with a donation in whatever amount you can afford. |
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These are the AIPAC-influenced co-sponsors of H. Con. Res. 107:
[If your member has already signed on, ask them to withdraw their co-sponsorship.]
Rep Bachus, Spencer [AL-6] - 7/25/2014
Rep Bear, Ami [CA-7] - 7/23/2014 Rep Bilirakis, Gus M. [FL-12] - 7/17/2014 Rep Brown, Corrine [FL-5] - 7/25/2014 Rep Capito, Shelley Moore [WV-2] - 7/22/2014 Rep Chabot, Steve [OH-1] - 7/17/2014 Rep Cicilline, David N. [RI-1] - 7/17/2014 Rep Collins, Doug [GA-9] - 7/23/2014 Rep Conaway, K. Michael [TX-11] - 7/23/2014 Rep Connolly, Gerald E. [VA-11] - 7/24/2014 Rep Cook, Paul [CA-8] - 7/17/2014 Rep Cotton, Tom [AR-4] - 7/23/2014 Rep Crenshaw, Ander [FL-4] - 7/23/2014 Rep DeSantis, Ron [FL-6] - 7/23/2014 Rep Deutch, Theodore E. [FL-21] - 7/16/2014 Rep Diaz-Balart, Mario [FL-25] - 7/17/2014 Rep Duffy, Sean P. [WI-7] - 7/17/2014 Rep Fincher, Stephen Lee [TN-8] - 7/24/2014 Rep Frankel, Lois [FL-22] - 7/17/2014 Rep Franks, Trent [AZ-8] - 7/24/2014 Rep Gabbard, Tulsi [HI-2] - 7/17/2014 Rep Gosar, Paul A. [AZ-4] - 7/24/2014 Rep Grayson, Alan [FL-9] - 7/24/2014 Rep Griffin, Tim [AR-2] - 7/24/2014 Rep Hall, Ralph M. [TX-4] - 7/23/2014 Rep Harris, Andy [MD-1] - 7/24/2014 Rep Hastings, Alcee L. [FL-20] - 7/22/2014 Rep Higgins, Brian [NY-26] - 7/23/2014 Rep Hunter, Duncan D. [CA-50] - 7/22/2014 Rep Israel, Steve [NY-3] - 7/23/2014 Rep Johnson, Bill [OH-6] - 7/24/2014 Rep Joyce, David P. [OH-14] - 7/22/2014 |
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