Global, Politics

Brit Tzedek v'Shalom Action Alert

May 8, 2006May 4, 2018 by John Brown

Brit Tzedek v'Shalom The mission of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace is to educate and mobilize American Jews in support of a negotiated two-state resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote TUESDAY on HR 4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, introduced by Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Tom Lantos (D-CA). Though improvements have been made since its introduction, HR 4681 forfeits the U.S. role in bringing Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table and directing them to a two-state resolution of the conflict. Its sanctions and restrictions weaken moderate pro-peace Palestinians and embolden extremists, tie the President’s hands in dealing with emergency security crises, and drastically cut critical US assistance to the Palestinian people. Call your Representative now!
[Update and background: Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006] While there is no doubt that Hamas must renounce terrorism, recognize Israel, and abide by all previous agreements, this bill prevents the US government from dealing effectively with the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority and risks plunging Palestinian society into an even deeper humanitarian crisis.
For the past three months, Brit Tzedek supporters from across the country have been telling Members of Congress not to support this punitive legislation. The final vote is this week! Call your Representative today!
L’Shalom,
Steve Masters
Chair of Advocacy and Public Policy
Rob Levy
Washington Representative
Hi, this is [YOUR NAME] from [YOUR HOME TOWN]. As a constituent and an American Jew who supports Israel, I urge [YOUR REPRESENTATIVE] to VOTE NO on HR 4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006.
This bill ties the President’s hands in dealing with Hamas, weakens moderate pro-peace Palestinians, and risks creating a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories. This is not in the interests of the United States or Israel.
If possible, I’d like a written response regarding the Representative’s position. Thank you.
After you have called, please let us know at [email protected]

5 thoughts on “Brit Tzedek v'Shalom Action Alert”

Kalman Rushdie says:

May 8, 2006 at 3:58 pm

“While there is no doubt that Hamas must renounce terrorism, recognize Israel, and abide by all previous agreements, this bill prevents the US government from dealing effectively with the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority and risks plunging Palestinian society into an even deeper humanitarian crisis.”
Lets start facing reality: any Palestinian humanitarian crisis is entirely the result of Hamas policies.
Don’t look for ways to “deal effectively” with Hamas. Look for ways to pressure Hamas to change its pro-violence, anti-peace politicies. Anything that helps Hamas maintain its rejectionist stance is a step away from peace and a signal that violence and teror is the correct way to get what you want in the Middle East.

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shamir says:

May 8, 2006 at 10:18 pm

lots of love to rob. this is truly holy work. i support you!

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rdl says:

May 9, 2006 at 12:30 am

thanks for the post, John, and the kind words shamir.
check out the JTA article on Jewish groups opposing the bill: http://jta.org/page_view_breaking_story.asp?intid=2527

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formermuslim says:

May 9, 2006 at 5:17 pm

Isn’t this simply repeating the same mistake US Jews made with Arafat?
For a nation of scholars there is very little learning being done.

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Brian77 says:

May 9, 2006 at 5:29 pm

See news that US is releasing aid to the Palestinians:

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States bowed to pressure from its allies on Tuesday and agreed to support a new program to temporarily funnel additional humanitarian aid directly to the Palestinian people.
A statement by Mideast peacemakers, issued after a day of closed-door diplomatic meetings, did not suggest precisely how much or what kind of aid they would provide. But the agreement seemed to underscore a concern that months of withholding most aid from the Palestinians, part of an effort to pressure the new Hamas-led government toward a more accommodating stance with Israel, was harming the Palestinian people.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the European Union would take the lead in the new effort. The United Nations and Russia, the other partners in the Quartet peacemaking group along with the U.S., also endorsed the program.
“The thrust of this is the international community is still trying to respond to the needs of the Palestinian people,” Rice said.
The U.S. and European Union have cut off much of the aid that had flowed in the past to Palestinian programs to prevent any of it from helping Hamas, the militant Islamic group that has conducted numerous terrorist attacks.

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