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Background:
The Presidential election campaign has heated up in ways that are
quite unprecedented eight months before a general election. The
vitriol and partisanship in that campaign has had repercussions in
congressional campaigns and hence within Congress itself. Democrats
are beginning to believe that they may have the chance of regaining
control of one or both houses of Congress. Legislative initiatives
are weighed carefully by Republicans and Democrats for their
political/electoral impact, and resolutions are often introduced that
have little actual effect but may “play” well at home. Yesterday, one
such resolution in support of the
U.S.
troops in Iraq gave evidence of the partisanship and the differences
between parties. Though designed with “support the troops” language
that most Members would feel the need to support (and ultimately, 327
did, with 93 opposed and 7 voting present), it became nevertheless the
platform for the parties to air their increasing differences on the
way the war in Iraq is going.
In this political
atmosphere, it is not surprising that there have been resolutions
introduced supporting Israel’s building of its separation barrier.
However, on this issue the political parties are not sparring as they
are on Iraq policy. Instead, since most in Congress remain strong
supporters of
Israel,
election-year resolutions demonstrating such support are common and
often bi-partisan. The most serious of these resolutions so far is
H.Con.Res.371 introduced by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), “Supporting
the construction by Israel of a security fence to prevent Palestinian
terrorist attacks and condemning the decision by the United Nations
General Assembly to request the International Court of Justice to
render an opinion on the legality of the security fence.”
It has garnered
108 co-sponsors as of this writing. To see a list of co-sponsors, go
to
http://thomas.loc.gov, search for
“H.Con.Res.371,” click on “Bill Summary & Status,” and then click on
“Cosponsors.”
CMEP continues
to believe that if
Israel continues
to build a separation barrier in the West Bank, this will ultimately
destroy hopes for long-term Israeli security and peace with its Arab
neighbors. Unless Israel were to build solely on land
recognized by the international community to be its own (on or within
the Green Line), the Israeli government must be persuaded to cease
construction and dismantle the separation barrier. All congressional
legislative efforts to endorse current construction of the barrier
must be resisted by Representatives and Senators. Instead, Congress
should find legislative means to encourage a halt to the construction,
and, at a minimum, should ensure that U.S. funds are not used for
these purposes.
We, therefore,
remain adamantly opposed to resolutions such as the Pence Resolution
which give carte blanche approval to Israel’s decision to
construct a separation barrier wherever it decides.
From March 5 to
8, approximately 150 church
Middle East
advocates gathered in
Washington as part
of a very successful Ecumenical Advocacy Days. (To see the
CMEP-prepared “Background and Advocacy Tips” from the meeting, go to
www.cmep.org/alerts/advocacytips.htm
) After a full weekend of excellent plenaries and workshops, our
advocates “hit the Hill” on Monday, March 8, taking their message to
offices of Senators and Representatives. Their efforts were aimed at
getting Congress to think seriously about the consequences of the
separation barrier and to support efforts which would end construction
of the barrier on Palestinian lands. Reports from advocates and from
Capitol Hill staff alike have indicated that in many cases these
meetings were helpful. The advocacy that we ask of you now is to
augment much of what your church colleagues began here on March 8.
ACTION:
Email or fax a short letter to your Representative. Be sure to
include your return address and other contact information. Stress
your church affiliation and that you are a constituent. If the
Representative is a co-sponsor of the Pence Resolution, write of your
“disappointment” that she/he has co-sponsored a resolution that will,
in the long-run, hurt Israel’s security and destroy the prospects for
Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.
Whether she/he
has co-sponsored this resolution or not, make the point that: The
separation barrier being built by Israel on Palestinian lands is
destroying the possibility of peace. Israel does have a
legitimate right to protect its citizens, particularly from horrendous
suicide bombings. However, the barrier hurts:
-
long-term
security for Israel;
-
land,
livelihood, and governance for the Palestinians;
-
trust between
the parties; and
-
the possibility
for a negotiated, two-state solution in the future.
Ask that she/he
encourage efforts by the U.S. government to persuade the Israeli
government to end construction of the separation barrier unless it is
built solely on Israeli land.
Phone and fax
numbers and email addresses for your Representative can easily be
found by checking on
www.house.gov. |
