Brit Tzedek v'Shalom
Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace
Action Alert
Action Alert — Completed 2/15/2004
[POSTED: January 15, 2004]
Revive the Road Map
Dear Members and Supporters,
Significant portions of the Israeli and Palestinian political elites and public have demonstrated their support for the Geneva Accord and for the People's Voice Initiative petition campaign authored by Ami Ayalon and Sari Nusseibeh. Both call for a negotiated two-state settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the current atmosphere, it would make sense for the leadership on both sides to take this opportunity to re-engage in the Road Map process. Instead, the situation is deteriorating.
Both the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority have descended into rhetoric of unilateral action outside the Road Map. Moreover, the actions of both parties are counterproductive to moving in the direction of peace. Despite an encouraging decline in terrorist attacks over the past year, such attacks are still a very real danger on a daily basis to the safety and psychological well-being of the citizens of Israel, and we are concerned that the Palestinian Authority has failed to rein in the terrorist organizations. We are also concerned about the direction the Israeli government is taking. The recent incursions of the Israeli army into Nablus, where it held the inhabitants for 12 days of virtually uninterrupted curfew, left 18 dead, over 250 wounded, and large numbers of homes demolished. The pace of construction of the so-called Separation Fence/Wall on confiscated territory outside of the 1967 borders of Israel -- already cutting off 15% of West Bank lands from the rest of the West Bank -- has increased.
A peaceful resolution is still possible if the Road Map is revived. As American Jews, we have a responsibility to call on the U.S. government to do its part. Therefore, we ask you to contact President Bush and Secretary of State Powell, requesting them to pressure Prime Minister Sharon and Prime Minister Qureia to reverse the current course by immediately re-engaging in the Road Map process by:
- Holding their first face-to-face meeting without any further delay;
- Reconvening the mechanism for security coordination to end violence; and
- Easing the mobility restrictions Israel has placed on residents of the West Bank and immediately halting construction of the separation fence/wall beyond Israel's Green Line borders.
We also ask you to circulate this Action Alert as widely as possible -- please send it to your family, friends, and colleagues, and please repost it to any relevant listservs.
Please let us know that you have responded to this action alert by sending an email to advocacy@btvshalom.org so that we can gauge our impact.
L'Shalom,
Steve Masters and Diane Balser
Chair and Co-Chair of the Advocacy/Public Policy Committee
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Suggested Talking Points for Phone Call White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111 State Department Bureau of Public Affairs Comment Line: 202-647-6575
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Sample Fax Message
Below is a brief sample message you can send; feel free and encouraged to personalize it.
| President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Fax: 202-456-6218 (Office of Public Liaison) Mr. President: As a Jewish American, I have very much supported your efforts to bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the Road Map. However, I am gravely concerned that this process seems to have ground to a halt. Despite the hope raised by the Road Map (as well as recent extra-governmental initiatives such as the Geneva Accord and the Ayalon-Nusseibeh People's Voice initiative), the recent Israeli incursions into Nablus, the continued building of the so-called Separation Fence/Wall outside the Green Line borders of Israel, and the current humanitarian crisis affecting Palestinians in the occupied territories cripple the prospects for peace. On the Palestinian side, no concrete steps have been taken to halt terror attacks against Israeli citizens. I respectfully request that you insist that the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority immediately re-engage in the Road Map process by scheduling the first face to face meeting between Prime Ministers Sharon and Qureia and reconvening the mechanism for security coordination to end violence, and that Israel ease mobility restrictions on West Bank residents and halt construction of the Separation Fence/Wall beyond the Green Line. Your leadership is vitally needed to revive the Road Map. If the opportunity for peace represented by the Road Map is not taken, this will be a tragedy for both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. Sincerely, [SIGN YOUR NAME] cc: Secretary of State Colin Powell U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520 Fax: 202-261-8577 |
Background
Brit Tzedek v'Shalom Geneva Accord page:
btvshalom/geneva
Haaretz Geneva Accord page:
www.haaretz.com
The People's Voice Initiative page
www.mifkad.org.il
Brit Tzedek v'Shalom Separation Fence/Wall page:
www.btvshalom.org/resources
Information on the "Separation Fence/Wall" can also be found at the Israeli web sites of B'Tselem and Gush Shalom:
www.btselem.org
gush-shalom.org -- the wall
gush-shalom.org
To learn about Brit Tzedek v'Shalom's Campaign to Bring the Settlers Home to Israel:
bringthemhome.btvshalom.org