[Peace-discuss] Fw: Can Congress take a step towards Israel/Palestine peace?

[Jenifer Cartwright]

The very least we can do...
 --Jenifer

--- On Tue, 2/10/09, Just Foreign Policy <info at justforeignpolicy.org> wrote:

From: Just Foreign Policy <info at justforeignpolicy.org>
Subject: Can Congress take a step towards Israel/Palestine peace?
To: "Jenifer Cartwright" <jencart13 at yahoo.com>
Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2009, 1:54 PM




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Can Congress take a step towards Israel/Palestine peace?




Dear Jenifer,
 
Could Congress take a step towards truly supporting Israel/Palestine peace? That's the question that's been put on the table by a bipartisan resolution [1] recently introduced by Rep. William Delahunt in support of former Senator Mitchell's diplomacy for peace.

Can you ask your Representative to co-sponsor Rep. Delahunt's resolution?

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/mitchell.html

Politically, Rep. Delahunt's resolution is modest. It congratulates former Senator Mitchell on his appointment as Middle East peace envoy and urges him to work for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. It notes approvingly President Obama's statement that he “was deeply concerned by the loss of Palestinian and Israeli life" and by the "substantial suffering and humanitarian needs in Gaza" and noted that Palestinian civilians "are in need of immediate food, clean water, and basic medical care" and have "faced suffocating poverty for far too long." The resolution also notes Senator Mitchell’s "well-received report on the causes of the second intifada in April 2001" - a report whose most striking feature was its assertion that Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank was a major cause of violence and that violence would likely erupt again if that settlement activity did not cease.

One might expect that such a resolution, carefully crafted to support the positive thrust of announced Administration policy, would have no trouble attracting co-sponsors. But so far Delahunt's resolution has only 31 co-sponsors [2] - a good beginning, but still less than 10% of the House.

If your Representative is not yet a co-sponsor, could you ask him or her to sign on? If your Rep. is already a co-sponsor, could you send a quick thank-you note?

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/mitchell.html

The appointment of Senator Mitchell - widely regarded as a fair mediator - is a good first step. But it's not enough to appoint a fair mediator - it has to be backed up by a just policy. [3] As a step towards a just policy, please ask your Representative to go on the record in support of Senator Mitchell's mission for peace. 

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/mitchell.html

Thank you for taking action for a Just Foreign Policy.

Robert Naiman, Chelsea Mozen, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

Please Support Our Work:
Your financial support allows us to create more opportunities for Americans to advocate for a just foreign policy.
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References:
1) "H.RES.130 : Expressing support for the appointment of former Senator George Mitchell as Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, and for other purposes," http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.RES.130:

2) The list of current co-sponsors of H Res 130 is here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HE00130:@@@P

3) "A Window for Israel/Palestine Peace?" Robert Naiman, Huffington Post, January 26, 2009, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/a-window-for-israelpalest_b_160830.html



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