Israeli Elections Come and Go, But Israel Remains an Outlaw State
A Palestinian family reacts after Israeli bulldozers demolished their home in the Arab East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, Feb. 5, 2013. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Two Views: Israel’s Parliamentary Elections
Newly elected Israeli Knesset member Yair Lapid (l), leader of the Yesh Atid party, speaks to Naftali Bennett, head of the hard-line national religious party the Jewish Home, during a Feb. 5 reception in Jerusalem marking the opening of the 19th Knesset. (URIEL SINAI/GETTY IMAGES)
Richard H. Curtiss (1927-2013) Devoted His Life to Telling People Stories
Richard Curtiss at work in his Washington Report office. (STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY)
Israeli License to Cheney-Linked Energy Firm on Golan Heights Raises Eyebrows
Then-Vice President Dick Cheney (l) and Likud chairman Benyamin Netanyahu, out of office at the time and serving as the official Israeli opposition leader, at a March 23, 2008 breakfast meeting at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Peace at Last in the Southern Philippines?
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III (r) shares candies with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief Murad Ebrahim during a Feb. 11 visit to the rebels’ stronghold in Sultan Kudarat on the island of Mindanao. (KARLOS MANLUPIG/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Two Palestinian, Israeli Documentaries Depict Evils of Military Occupation
Emad Burnat views his five broken cameras in his documentary of the same name. (PHOTO COURTESY KINO LORBER)
April 2006 Postcard
Downloadable PDF (280 KB)
Cut and paste html (for emailing your Sen. or Rep.:
DEAR SENATOR:
I am writing to you because I believe that the passage of H.R. 4681 and Concurrent Resolution 79 would be bad for both America and the Palestinians. The Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act 4681, introduced after the recent Palestinian legislative election which resulted in a Hamas victory, goes far beyond reiterating the current U.S. 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.
Our support of democracy cannot be conditional on our liking the way that democratic elections turn out. If we cut off aid to Palestinians, we will lose their friendship and they will lose their hope.
How does one deal with the loss of all hope by the Palestinians, and the consequences thereof? Build a wall? Build more settlements? Keep their sales and customs taxes? Bulldoze their property and playgrounds? Assassinate their leaders? That’s the Israeli way.
Stop talking to them? Cut off all aid? Starve them to death? That should not be the American way.
FROM:
Address:
City, State, Zip:
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Palestinians carry bags of donated flour in Gaza City Feb. 28, 2006. (AFP Photo/Mahmud Hams).
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Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) introduced H.R. 4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, in February 2006. Another version of the bill, Concurrent Resolution 79, is also gaining signatures in the Senate. These resolutions could restrict U.S. humanitarian aid to Palestinians; designate Palestinian territory as a “terrorist sanctuary”; trigger restrictions on U.S. exports; and even prohibit Palestinian diplomacy or representation in the U.S.
Cuts in aid will not punish Hamas, they will only punish the Palestinian people. Special Middle East envoy James D. Wolfensohn has warned international donors that Palestinians are on the brink of an economic disaster. This is not the time to walk away from the Palestinian people and add to their misery. It’s time to reach out and help both sides reach a just and lasting peace.
