[WCUSP] SUSPEND AID to Israel

Mon Nov 13 20:58:05 CST 2006

Called for by US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, Jewish Voice  
for Peace, and others, I am sure.  Add your voice.
Such a nightmare ...
Tura

US Campaign to End the Occupation calls for action:
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1269

Gaza: Stop the Siege, End the War!
Protest Israel's indiscriminate attacks on Palestinian civilians in the  
Gaza Strip

Why: Israeli military forces have killed 77 Palestinians in the Gaza  
Strip since beginning its military offensive on Wednesday, November 1.  
Today, Israel's 12-missle shelling of five homes in the Al-Kafarnah  
neighborhood left 18 civilians dead, including 7 children, 6 women and  
11 members of the same family. Click here to read more. These attacks  
are being carried out with US weapons provided as military aid to  
Israel, in violation of the US Arms Export Control and Foreign  
Assistance Acts.   The US Arms Export Control Acts limits the use of  
US-supplied weapons to self-defense and internal policing and forbids  
their use against civilians.  The Foreign Assistance Act bans all US  
assistance to countries which engage in a systematic pattern of human  
rights violations.   

How:
	• 	Urge your new Members of Congress to hold Israel accountable for  
its violation of US laws and to exert pressure on Israel to end US  
military and economic aid to Israel until and when it abides by  
international law and human rights. Click here to find contact  
information for your Members of Congress.
	• 	Organize a vigil and/or demonstration in front of your city council  
or in front of one of the nine Israeli embassies in the United States.  
Click here to find the closest Israeli embassy.  
	• 	Urge your local media to contact the English-speaking media  
contacts in the Gaza Strip listed below:
                      Dr Mona Elfaraa, Doctor at Al Awda Hospital in  
Beit Hanoun.
                      Tel: +972 599 410 741 and +970 82846602
                       fromgaza.blogspot.com

                      Dr Abu Ala'a, Professor at Gaza University.
                      Tel: + 972 599441766

                      Dr Asad A. Shark, Gaza Strip, + 972 599 322636

                      Dr Ayoub Othman, + 972 599 412 826

                      Yousef Alhelou, Journalist based in Beit Hanoun.
                      Tel: + 972599697254.
                      Email: ydamadan at hotmail.com

	• 	Join the international day of action to Stop the Siege-Stop the War  
against Gaza For more information on the international day of action  
contact, Debby Lerman at debbyl at actcom.co.il or +972-52-457-0704.

Background:
Between 2000 and 2006, Israel has killed 2,300 Gazans, including 300 in  
the past 4 months since Palestinian fighters kidnapped an Israeli  
soldier in a cross-border raid on June 25, 2006.

In the past 8 days, Israel has killed 77 Palestinian civilians in  
northern Gaza. Among those murdered were:
	• 	2 women participating in a non-violent march to release their male  
kin trapped inside of a mosque in Beit Hanoun, Radwa Ibrahim Jaber (48)  
from Jabalia Refugee Camp & Ibtisam Yousef Mas'oud (44) from Jabalia  
Refugee Camp;
	• 	2 paramedics assisting wounded Palestinian civilians in Beit  
Lahiya, Sami Abdullah Abu Sal'a (28) from the town of Jabalia &  
Mohammad Samir Mahmoud (17) from the town of Jabalia;   and
	• 	A 4-year old child, Bara Riyad Mohammad Fayyad from Beith Hanoun,  
who was wounded during the shelling of his home.
Humanitarian Crisis:
Israel's military offensive on Gaza compounds the humanitarian crisis  
crippling Gazan livelihoods. According to the World Bank, "Palestinians  
are currently experiencing the worst economic depression in modern  
history." At present, unemployment is approaching an unprecedented  
level of 40% and as of April 2006, 79% of Gazan households were living  
in poverty. 

The humanitarian crisis is a result of the economic boycott called by  
the European Union and the United States in response to the democratic  
election of Hamas to leadership of the Palestinian Legislative Council  
in January 2006. The boycott effectively suspends $1.3 billion in aid  
annually. Additionally, Israel has withheld $55 million per month in  
tax revenue, totaling close to half a billion dollars to date. 

In addition to an economic boycott, Gazan residents must also contend  
with virtual closure. Palestinian workers from Gaza have not been  
allowed entry to Israel--Gaza's major employment market--since March  
12, 2006. All major entry and exit points have been sealed since June  
25, 2006. 

On June 28, 2006 Israel shelled Gaza's major electric power generator  
which provided 45% of Gaza's electricity, imperiling Palestinian access  
to vaccines, dairy products, fresh foods and clean water.

Hamas has repeatedly called for cease-fire this year, April 7, 2006,    
June 16, 2006, and  July 8, 2006.
The most recent call for a cease-fire came from Hamas spokesperson,  
Ahmed Yousef in an New York Times op-ed on November 1st.
In response to Hamas' repeated calls for calm, Israel has rejected  
calls for a cease-fire and has chosen to continue its indiscriminate  
military attacks instead.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jewish Voice for Peace calls for action:
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/jvfp/ 
campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5866

Tell Congress: Killing of Mideast Civilians Must End
Israeli artillery fire in the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun killed 19  
people and wounded 40. All were civilians.

The United States provides a great deal of the weapons and funding for  
the Israeli military. It does this despite the fact that US law  
prohibits the sale or supply of American arms to human rights violators  
or countries that use them for anything other than defense.

Israel has proven once again that they fail on both these counts, yet  
the arms and money continue to flow.

Gaza has been without reliable electricity, water and food supplies for  
months. Unemployment is epidemic, people are hungry and their health  
care system is severely compromised.

Israel is claiming that their actions are an attempt to stop the Qassam  
rocket fire coming from Gaza. Yet their own leaders have repeatedly  
admitted that the measures they have taken are not likely to achieve  
this result. So, Israel is inflicting immense suffering on all the  
people of Gaza as well as shirking its responsibility to its citizens  
to stop these rockets.

Tell Congress that we expect our government to comply with our own  
laws. Military aid to Israel must be suspended until the siege of Gaza  
is ended. The rocket fire from Gaza must stop, and the only way to stop  
it is to allow the people of Gaza some means to sustain themselves.

Please fill out the form below and send a message to Congress today  
(see URL
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/jvfp/ 
campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5866
or call Congress)

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