ACTION ALERT: Join More than 70 Organizations in Opposing Unfair Legislation
15 February 1998
ACTION ALERT: Join More than 70 Organizations in Opposing Unfair Legislation
15 Feb 2006
Partners for Peace joins more than 70 local and national organizations, including the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the American Friends Service Committee, the Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Jewish Voice for Peace,the Palestinian American Congress, Peace Action, Progressive Democrats of America, and United for Peace and Justice, in opposing House Resolution 4681 (HR4681). HR4681 calls for a series of punitive measures to be taken against the Palestinian people and their elected representatives following the victory of Hamas in the Palestinian Legislative Elections late last month. Please join us in urging congress to act rationally and with due patience by not passing this bill.
- Click here to send an email to your Members of Congress about HR4681.
- See below for an Action Alert on this subject (as well as background information and talking points).
More than 70 local and national organizations have also signed on to a letter to Congress opposing HR4681. Click here to add your organizationto an organizational sign-on letter to Congress.
ACTION ALERT: Congress Threatens Aid to Palestinians
Now is Not the Time to Cut Off Palestinian Aid
February “Washington Wednesday” Action Alert
START DATE: Immediately
END DATE: To be determined
The decisive victory of Hamas at the polls on January 25 in Palestine has prompted an international effort, led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, members of the European Union, the Prime Minister of Israel, and now members of Congress to isolate the Palestinian Authority by cutting off all aid to the Palestinians.
Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Tom Lantos (D-CA) have co-sponsored the Palestinian Democracy Support Act of 2006 (HR4681), which seeks not only to cut off funding to the PA, but to withhold US dues to the UN proportional to the percentage of the UN budget that is spent protecting and advocating for Palestinian human rights, and deny visas to and place travel restrictions on PA representatives, and prohibit the opening of PA offices as well (see below for Background Information).
ACTION REQUESTED
Click here to e-mail your Members of Congress (senators and representatives) to tell them that reevaluating relations with the PA and threatening to cut off aid is not the proper response to Hamas’ victory. Tell them that at this stage, it is best to recognize that the Palestinian people have peacefully exercised their democratic rights and that cool heads should be given time to prevail. This is not the time to cut off aid to the Palestinians, who have endured three years of military occupation.
If you would prefer to call or fax your Member of Congress, contact information can be found at the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation’s Congressional Report Card.
Click here to e-mail your Members of Congress.
TALKING POINTS:
Palestinians should be congratulated, not admonished and threatened with diplomatic isolation and a cut off of aid, for conducting a free and fair, competitive, multi-party legislative election under harsh conditions of Israeli military occupation and besiegement, restrictions on their freedom of movement and ability to campaign freely, and other human rights violations.
The United States professes to promote democracy abroad. Supporting democracy means supporting the results of free and fair elections as an expression of the self-determination of the people who cast ballots, even when the United States and its allies are not pleased with the outcome.
There are indications that Hamas’ participation in the political process is having a moderating influence on its policies. Recently, Hamas has floated the idea of accepting a two-state solution, observed a PA-brokered cease-fire and pledged to maintain it as long as Israel does likewise, and removed calls for the destruction of Israel from its election platform. If the United States were to boycott, sanction, or cut off aid to a Hamas-led PA, it could reverse this trend and exacerbate tensions.
The United States provides virtually no direct assistance to the PA; almost all US aid projects to Palestinians are implemented by non-governmental organizations through contracts awarded and overseen by the US Agency for International Development. These humanitarian programs are important to the social and economic well-being of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories whose ability to earn a livelihood is drastically curtailed by the human rights violations Israel commits through its US-backed military occupation of these areas. Cutting off this humanitarian aid would only cruelly punish people for exercising their right to vote.
Calm heads should prevail at this juncture, and no one’s interests are served by rushing to judgment. Allow the Palestinians time for a cabinet to be formed, for the President of the PA to mediate the situation, and to let pragmatic voices to be heard.
Click here to send an email to your Members of Congress about HR4681 (see below for Background Information).
ORGANIZATIONAL SIGN-ON LETTER OPPOSING HR4681, THE PALESTINIAN ANTI-TERRORISM ACT OF 2006
Click here to add your organization to an organizational sign-on letter to Congress.
TO: House International Relations Committee, Judiciary Committee, and Financial Services Committee
CC: Congressional Representatives
DATE: February 27, 2006
The following organizations strongly oppose H.R.4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, and urge Members of Congress to oppose it as well.
This resolution, introduced after the recent Palestinian legislative election which resulted in a Hamas victory, goes far beyond reiterating the current US ban on direct assistance to the Palestinian Authority; it also calls for many troubling provisions that would punish and isolate the Palestinian people for exercising their right to vote. This unconstructive approach would only perpetuate the status quo of violence, military occupation, and human rights violations rather than promoting dialogue and a just, peaceful resolution to the conflict.
The provisions include restricting US humanitarian aid; designating Palestinian territory as a “terrorist sanctuary” thus triggering restrictions on US exports; prohibiting official Palestinian diplomacy or representation in the United States in a way counter-productive to promoting dialogue and a just peace; reducing US dues to the United Nations because some of its bodies were created by the UN to advocate for Palestinian human rights; and denying Palestinians the ability to receive assistance through international financial institutions.
The United States says that it is committed to promoting democracy. If that is indeed the case, it is inappropriate for Members of Congress to advance legislation that would punish and isolate people through draconian economic and diplomatic measures when the result of an election is not to the liking of the United States.
Signed by,
1. Albany Peace Seekers, Albany, OR
2. American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Washington, DC
3. American Arab Forum, Denville, NJ
4. American Friends Service Committee, Philadelphia, PA
5. Americans Committed to Justice and Truth, Sagle, ID
6. Americans for a Just Peace in the Middle East, Santa Barbara, CA
7. Americans for a Palestinian State, Oakland, CA
8. Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights, Portland, OR
9. Arab/Jewish Peace Alliance, Albuquerque, NM
10. Arab Student Union, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI
11. Bethlehem Association, Media, PA
12. Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights, Boston, MA
13. Boveri Workgroup, Bethesda, MD
14. Bubbes & Zaydes (Grandparents) for Peace in the Middle East, Philadelphia, PA
15. Children of Abraham, Birmingham, AL
16. Citizens for Just Democracy, Amarillo, TX
17. Citizens for Justice in the Middle East, Kansas City, MO
18. Committee for Peace in Israel and Palestine, Wainscott, NY
19. Council for the National Interest, Washington, DC
20. Deir Yassin Remembered, Geneva, NY
21. Dollars and Sins, Princeton, NJ
22. Duval Greens Party, Jacksonville, FL
23. Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Chicago, IL
24. Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Southwest Washington, Vancouver, WA
25. Friends of Middle East Peace, Corvallis, OR
26. Ghost Ranch, Santa Fe, NM
27. Global Exchange, San Francisco, CA
28. Grassroots International, Boston, MA
29. Helena Peace Seekers, Helena, MT
30. Home for Peace and Justice, Saginaw, MI
31. Imagine-Life, Washington, DC
32. Interfaith Community for Palestinian Rights, Austin, TX
33. International Solidarity Movement-Chicago Chapter, Chicago, IL
34. Islamic Education and Information Center, Milpitas, CA
35. Jewish Voice for Peace, Oakland, CA
36. Justice Committee, Congregation of St. Joseph, Cleveland, OH
37. Justice First Foundation, West Kingston, RI
38. LA Petrophysics, La Habra Heights, CA
39. Louisville Committee for Israeli/Palestinian States, Louisville, KY
40. Louisville Committee for Peace in the Middle East, Louisville, KY
41. Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, Madison, WI
42. Maine Peace and Justice in Israel/Palestine, Portland, ME
43. Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Washington, DC
44. Middle East Children’s Alliance, Berkeley, CA
45. Middle East Research and Information Project, Washington, DC
46. MidEast: Just Peace, Cedar, MI
47. National Association of Muslim American Women, Columbus, OH
48. Not in My Name, Evanston, IL
49. Palestinian American Congress, Astoria, NY
50. Palestinians for Peace and Democracy, San Antonio, TX
51. Pakistan Weekly, Berkeley, CA
52. Partners for Peace, Washington, DC
53. Pax Christi USA: National Catholic Peace Movement, Washington, DC
54. Peace Action, Silver Spring, MD
55. Peace Action Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
56. Peace and Social Justice Center of South Central Kansas, Wichita, KS
57. Progressive Democrats of America, Phoenix, AZ
58. Red Wing Alliance for Peace, Red Wing, MN
59. Soft Sound, St. Louis, MO
60. Southern Vermont Tikkun Community, East Dummerston, VT
61. South Kingstown Justice, Peace and Action Group, Narragansett, RI
62. Tikkun, Berkeley, CA
63. Tri-City Peace and Justice, Fremont, CA
64. United for Peace and Justice, New York, NY
65. United for Peace and Justice, Irving, TX
66. Ursulines of Tildonk for Justice and Peace, New York, NY
67. US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, Washington, DC
68. WESPAC Foundation, White Plains, NY
69. Western New York Peace Center, Buffalo, NY
70. Western New York Veterans for Peace, Buffalo, NY
71. Women Against Military Madness, Middle East Committee, Minneapolis, MN
72. Women in Black, Los Angeles, CA
Click here to add your organization to an organizational sign-on letter to Congress.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON HR4681, THE PALESTINIAN ANTI-TERRORISM ACT OF 2006
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation has learned that the House of Representatives will vote on Wednesday, Feb. 15 on S.Con.Res.79, which the Senate passed by unanimous consent on Feb. 1.
This concurrent resolution states that “no United States assistance should be provided directly to the Palestinian Authority if any representative political party holding a majority of parliamentary seats within the Palestinian Authority maintains a position calling for the destruction of Israel.”
This resolution is of little importance and amounts to political grandstanding since the United States already prohibits direct assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in any case. Some Members of Congress, however, have gone much further than this and have used the result of the Palestinian legislative election as a pretext to advance their extreme anti-Palestinian agenda.
Of the several anti-Palestinian resolutions introduced by Members of Congress in the aftermath of the legislative election, the most far-reaching is H.R.4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, introduced by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) on February 1.
The central provision of this resolution would prohibit the United States from providing direct assistance to the PA unless the President certifies that it has fulfilled a long list of subjective and ambiguous conditions. Current law already prohibits the United States from providing direct assistance to the PA unless the President signs a national security waiver, and in fact the United States provides no direct assistance to the PA.
However, this resolution goes far beyond reiterating the current US ban on direct assistance to the PA; it also calls for many troubling provisions that would punish and isolate the Palestinian people for exercising their right to vote, including:
Restricting humanitarian aid. Through its military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel has de-developed the Palestinian economy by destroying infrastructure and agricultural lands; by inhibiting the development of internal trade through walls, checkpoints, roadblocks, closures, and curfews; and by preventing external trade through border closings. US humanitarian assistance, overseen by USAID and implemented by certified non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), is not only essential to preventing the complete collapse of the Palestinian economy under these difficult conditions imposed by Israel; it is also morally necessary since the United States supports these Israeli policies through $3 billion of direct military and economic assistance every year. Even though it contains a waiver for certain humanitarian aid categories, this resolution threatens US assistance to NGO’s in Palestinian territories by putting it in the same category as aid to the PA.
Designating Palestinian territory as a “terrorist sanctuary”. Under the terms of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, this designation would trigger restrictions on US exports to Palestinian territories, effectively gutting the free trade agreement between the United States and the West Bank and Gaza Strip and further crippling the Palestinian economy.
Prohibiting official Palestinian diplomacy or representation in the United States. Restricting Palestinian diplomacy in the United States would be counter-productive to efforts to promote dialogue and a just peace, further eroding the claim of the United States to be an “honest broker”. This resolution would deny visas to PA representatives; restrict the movement of Palestinian diplomats at the UN; and shut down the PLO information office in Washington.
Targeting the UN for supporting Palestinian human rights. The Palestinians have been denied their human rights through Israeli dispossession and military occupation. The United Nations has voted by overwhelming majorities to create bodies like the Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to advocate for the realization of unmet Palestinian human rights. This resolution seeks to defund these bodies by calling on the United States to withhold UN dues in proportion to the percentage of the UN budget that funds these bodies.
Denying Palestinians the ability to receive assistance through international financial institutions. The World Bank has been working with the PA to rehabilitate the Gaza Strip since Israel’s unilateral “disengagement” from it in 2005. Funds are needed urgently to rebuild thousands of homes that Israel destroyed there. The reconstruction of the Gaza Strip could be in jeopardy if this bill is passed. It contains a provision instructing the United States, which has a controlling vote at the World Bank, to vote against such funding.
The United States says that it is committed to promoting democracy. If that is indeed the case, it is inappropriate for Members of Congress to advance legislation that would punish and isolate people through draconian economic and diplomatic measures when the result of an election is not to the liking of the United States.
That is why the following organizations-the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the American Friends Service Committee, the Council for the National Interest, Global Exchange, Jewish Voice for Peace, Middle East Children’s Alliance, Partners for Peace, Pax Christi USA, Peace Action Wisconsin, Progressive Democrats of America, Tikkun, and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation-are joining together in a coordinated national campaign to oppose H.R.4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006.
