TAKE ACTION NOW FOR PALESTINIANS!

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   US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation 
April �Washington Wednesday� Action Alert
 Take the Campaign against Anti-Palestinian Legislation to the Media!
Over the last two months, we�ve worked together to tell Congress not to punish and isolate the Palestinian people for voting.  We�ve sent thousands of letters to Members of Congress, more than 300 organizations have endorsed a letter to Members of Congress against the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, and we�ve flooded Congressional offices with phone calls to protest biased witness lists for hearings.
Our efforts are bearing fruit, but we need to redouble our efforts to prevent Congress from imposing harsh economic and diplomatic measures against the Palestinian people.
For this Washington Wednesday, we�re going to try something a little bit different. We�re asking our member organizations and supporters to take the message against anti-Palestinian legislation to the media.
TAKE ACTION

1) Write a 250-word letter to the editor of your local newspaper protesting proposed anti-Palestinian legislation.  We�re providing some talking points below, but please take a few minutes to compose your own letter.  Editors won�t print pre-written letters generated by organizations.  To compose and send a letter to your local paper, click here

2) If you have a bit more time, expand on your letter to the editor and submit a 700-800 word op-ed to your local newspaper.  To find contact information for your local paper�s editorial page editor, click here
3) Call your local talk radio programs to discuss your opposition to anti-Palestinian legislation.  To find contact information for your local radio stations, click here 

4) If you haven�t yet sent a letter to your Member of Congress opposing anti-Palestinian legislation, you can still do so by clicking here 

5) Organizations can still view and endorse the open letter to Congress against HR4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act by clicking here 

SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS:

* There is widespread grassroots opposition to punishing the Palestinian people for voting by imposing harsh sanctions against them, as proposed in HR4681,the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act. This resolution is opposed by the American Friends Service Committee, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Black Voices for Peace, Code Pink Women for Peace, the Green Party of the United States, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Methodist Federation for Social Action, Pax Christ USA, Peace Action, Progressive Democrats of America, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, United for Peace and Justice, and Veterans for Peace.  To add in local groups in your area opposing the resolution, click here
* US humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians would be restricted and some programs would be eliminated under the current version of HR4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act.  Palestinians are already suffering from terrible humanitarian conditions brought about by Israel�s military occupation and siege policies and US support for them.  For example, Israel has shut for most of the year the main transit point for goods between the occupied Gaza Strip and the outside world, resulting in food shortages.  In recent testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, James Wolfensohn, the Quartet�s Special Envoy for the Gaza Disengagement, stated that �I do not believe you can have a million starving Palestinians and have peace.�  Restricting US humanitarian aid would only exacerbate this situation.

* The work of Palestinian diplomats in the United States would be severely curtailed if HR4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, becomes law.  It would shut down the PLO information office in Washington and restrict the movement of the Palestinian delegation to the UN. Current law already prohibits the United States from having any official contact with the Palestinian Authority (PA) as long as it is governed by an organization on the US terrorism list. Maintaining open lines of communication with the PLO, which is not part of the PA government, is therefore even more important than ever.  Shutting down PLO operations in the United States would foreclose all opportunities to dialogue with official Palestinian representatives, further eroding the claim of the United States that it is an �honest broker�.

* 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, such as the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, which would punish and isolate people by imposing draconian economic and diplomatic measures against them when the result of an election is not to the liking of the United States.  

For more talking points and background information on the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, click here
To send a letter to the editor on this issue, click here   

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Mishmish Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 01 November 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1694	Post Options Post Reply Quote Mishmish Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: TAKE ACTION NOW FOR PALESTINIANS! Posted: 05 April 2006 at 12:07pm
	US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation April �Washington Wednesday� Action Alert Take the Campaign against Anti-Palestinian Legislation to the Media! Over the last two months, we�ve worked together to tell Congress not to punish and isolate the Palestinian people for voting. We�ve sent thousands of letters to Members of Congress, more than 300 organizations have endorsed a letter to Members of Congress against the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, and we�ve flooded Congressional offices with phone calls to protest biased witness lists for hearings. Our efforts are bearing fruit, but we need to redouble our efforts to prevent Congress from imposing harsh economic and diplomatic measures against the Palestinian people. For this Washington Wednesday, we�re going to try something a little bit different. We�re asking our member organizations and supporters to take the message against anti-Palestinian legislation to the media. TAKE ACTION 1) Write a 250-word letter to the editor of your local newspaper protesting proposed anti-Palestinian legislation. We�re providing some talking points below, but please take a few minutes to compose your own letter. Editors won�t print pre-written letters generated by organizations. To compose and send a letter to your local paper, click here 2) If you have a bit more time, expand on your letter to the editor and submit a 700-800 word op-ed to your local newspaper. To find contact information for your local paper�s editorial page editor, click here 3) Call your local talk radio programs to discuss your opposition to anti-Palestinian legislation. To find contact information for your local radio stations, click here 4) If you haven�t yet sent a letter to your Member of Congress opposing anti-Palestinian legislation, you can still do so by clicking here 5) Organizations can still view and endorse the open letter to Congress against HR4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act by clicking here SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS: * There is widespread grassroots opposition to punishing the Palestinian people for voting by imposing harsh sanctions against them, as proposed in HR4681,the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act. This resolution is opposed by the American Friends Service Committee, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Black Voices for Peace, Code Pink Women for Peace, the Green Party of the United States, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Methodist Federation for Social Action, Pax Christ USA, Peace Action, Progressive Democrats of America, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, United for Peace and Justice, and Veterans for Peace. To add in local groups in your area opposing the resolution, click here * US humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians would be restricted and some programs would be eliminated under the current version of HR4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act. Palestinians are already suffering from terrible humanitarian conditions brought about by Israel�s military occupation and siege policies and US support for them. For example, Israel has shut for most of the year the main transit point for goods between the occupied Gaza Strip and the outside world, resulting in food shortages. In recent testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, James Wolfensohn, the Quartet�s Special Envoy for the Gaza Disengagement, stated that �I do not believe you can have a million starving Palestinians and have peace.� Restricting US humanitarian aid would only exacerbate this situation. * The work of Palestinian diplomats in the United States would be severely curtailed if HR4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, becomes law. It would shut down the PLO information office in Washington and restrict the movement of the Palestinian delegation to the UN. Current law already prohibits the United States from having any official contact with the Palestinian Authority (PA) as long as it is governed by an organization on the US terrorism list. Maintaining open lines of communication with the PLO, which is not part of the PA government, is therefore even more important than ever. Shutting down PLO operations in the United States would foreclose all opportunities to dialogue with official Palestinian representatives, further eroding the claim of the United States that it is an �honest broker�. * 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, such as the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, which would punish and isolate people by imposing draconian economic and diplomatic measures against them when the result of an election is not to the liking of the United States. For more talking points and background information on the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, click here To send a letter to the editor on this issue, click here
	It is only with the heart that one can see clearly, what is essential is invisible to the eye. (The Little Prince)