[Peace-discuss] Fw: Tell Congress: Put U.S.--Not Israel's--Interests First

Thu Nov 18 12:41:17 CST 2010

Pls forward widely. --Jenifer

--- On Thu, 11/18/10, US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation <uscampaign at endtheoccupation.org> wrote:


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                        November 18, 2010
                    
                
                        Cantor to Netanyahu: "I've got your back."

                        Is this acceptable? 
                        
                                                         Dear Jenifer,
                        Rep. Eric Cantor, about to be Majority Leader in the next Congress, undermined the Executive Branch's authority last week by conducting his own diplomacy with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  
                        After meeting with Netanyahu in New York, Cantor released a statement pledging "that the new Republican majority will serve as a check on the Administration…[making] clear that the Republican majority understands the special relationship between Israel and the United States."
                        Now Cantor has caught heat from the press and is trying to recant.  However, there is no question that Rep. Cantor is dead-serious.
                        The irony is, Cantor needn't worry. According to media reports, the United States and Israel are near agreement on a non-renewable, 90-day, partial Israeli settlement freeze in the occupied Palestinian West Bank – excluding occupied East Jerusalem.  The so-called "freeze" would also exclude public buildings and infrastructure for settlers.
                        In return, the Obama Administration would provide Israel with 20 stealth fighter jets, valued at $3 billion, in addition to the $30 billion in military aid already pledged by the United States for 2009-2018.
                        "Negotiations leading to something remotely resembling a just, lasting and comprehensive peace - is simply not on the agenda of either Israel or the U.S.," wrote Phyllis Bennis, a US Campaign steering committee member, in yesterday's Huffington Post.
                        
                            
                                    The new Lockheed-Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for Israel's Air Force -- an additional $3 billion (for 20 fighters).
                                
                            
                        While ordinary Americans struggle to find living-wage jobs, affordable housing and quality healthcare, and politicians contemplate massive cuts in government programs to scale back the out-of-control U.S. deficit and debt, U.S. military aid to Israel remains untouchable.
                        As the US Campaign warned last month, the Obama Administration is resorting to desperate measures to keep these negotiations alive based on a flawed strategy that rewards Israel for only partially and temporarily freezing settlement activities.
                        The fact that all Israeli settlements are illegal is lost. 
                        These days in DC, competition to win the love of AIPAC is out of control.  Hardline "friends" of Israel are celebrating the most recent elections in the U.S., and the vast majority of our elected officials will do anything to ensure they're invited to the party. The Obama Administration certainly isn't immune.
                        Yet, even Obama's approach of bending over backward to placate Israel isn't enough for some House Republicans.

                        
                                    Watch Cantor address AIPAC.
                                
                            
                        It's unacceptable for an elected member of Congress to reassure the head of a foreign government that he and his congressional allies will defend that government against our own.

                        
                        Enough is enough.  If we're going to get the US economy back on track, then we must stop spending $3 billion a year -- and certainly not an additional $3 billion this year -- in military aid to Israel, and bring that wealth home to create 600,000 new jobs.
                        Then, to recover the global credibility we lost during eight years of Bush-era warmaking, unilateralism and unaccountability, we've got to take some principled stands, ending wars and ending U.S. support for illegal occupation.
                        The recent U.S. elections are a blow to those of us who stand for a just peace in the Middle East based on human rights, international law and U.N. resolutions.
                        Peace won't happen until "we the people" stand up and demand it:

                        
                            Tell Congress that when it comes to budget decisions, we expect it to put U.S. interests—not Israel's—first.

                            
                            Join our campaign to End Military Aid to Israel and prioritize human needs over Israel's war machine.

                            
                            Make plans to join our Grassroots Advocacy Training and Lobby Day in March 2011. We'll need all the help we can get.
                        
                        Thanks for standing with us.

                        
                        Yours,

                        
                        Rob Mosrie

                        Executive Director
                        
                        
                        TAKE ACTION:

                        
                        1. Tell Congress that when it comes to budget decisions, we expect it to put U.S. interests—not Israel's—first.
                        2. Join our campaign to End Military Aid to Israel and prioritize human needs over Israel's war machine.
                        3. Make plans to join our  Grassroots Advocacy Training / Lobby Day in March, 2011. We're going to need all the help we can get.
                        
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                        The US Campaign aims to change U.S. policies that sustain Israel's 43-year occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, and that deny equal rights for all.

                        
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                        US CAMPAIGN TO END THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION | PO BOX 21539 | WASHINGTON, DC 20009

                        202-332-0994 | USCAMPAIGN at ENDTHEOCCUPATION.ORG | WWW.ENDTHEOCCUPATION.ORG
                        
                    
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