Brit Tzedek v'Shalom
Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace
Action Alert
Action Alert -- Completed 3/30/03
[POSTED: March 15th, 2003]
SUPPORT WHITE HOUSE RELEASE OF ROAD MAP
ACTION REQUESTED: Fax, email, mail, or call President George Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell urging them to move ahead with release of the 'Road Map' and to strongly pursue its implementation.
Dear Brit Tzedek members and supporters,
The White House pledged yesterday that it will deliver the Madrid Quartet road map as soon as the new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas is confirmed. Hundreds of us wrote to the White House and to Secretary of State Colin Powell over the course of the last week urging that the administration take this action. Since that time, the administration reversed an earlier decision to delay the road map once more until after the resolution of the conflict with Iraq.
Let's confirm our earlier action by writing the administration and the State Department to express our support for this symbolically important step toward peace between Israel and Palestine. It is crucial that President Bush hear that there is a significant base of support in the United States for strenuously pursuing the road map for a permanent two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The White House's surprising announcement is an attempt to reduce U.S. isolation in the international community by acceding to the desires of the United Nations, the European Union, and Russia to move forward towards the establishment of a Palestinian state by 2005. The text of President Bush's statement can be found on the State Department website at: www.state.gov
President Bush will be under great pressure from the Israeli government as well as its supporters in the American Jewish community to delay implementation of those portions of the road map that ask for action on the part of Israel. They will no doubt insist on an end to all terror and improved security before Israel is required to take any of the steps called for by the road map, including halting all settlement activity and withdrawal of troops from heavily populated Palestinian areas.
We ask you to FAX, EMAIL, MAIL or CALL the President and Secretary of State Powell supporting the release of the road map and urging them to make sure that both the Israelis and the Palestinians are called upon to implement the initial steps required by the road map. Without that, the Quartet road map will end up in the historical dustbin of the Mitchell and Tenet agreements.
A sample letter follows.
We also ask you to circulate this Action Alert as widely as possible. These initiatives only work when we all pull together to spread them as widely as we can.
Please let us know that you have responded to this action alert by cc'ing your email message to advocacy@btvshalom.org or by sending us an email to let us know that you have faxed or written the President and the Secretary of State.
L'Shalom,
Diane Balser and Steve Masters
Chair and Co-Chair of the Advocacy/Public Policy Committee
Below is a brief sample message you can send; feel free to personalize it.
| Subject [for e-mails]: Release the Road Map
President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 president@whitehouse.gov Fax: 202-456-2461 White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111 Mr. President: As a Jewish American, I was heartened to hear your March 14 statement reaffirming your commitment to a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and of your plan to release the Road Map upon the confirmation of the new Palestinian prime minister. I applaud the leadership you are taking in this matter and urge--despite the many critical foreign policy issues on today's agenda--that the release of, and action on, the Road Map be given a very high priority. I also respectfully request that in the implementation of the road map, all influence be brought to bear on both parties--both the Palestinian Authority and the government of Israel--to swiftly and simultaneously move ahead with the necessary first steps of this road map, which are respectively the total renunciation of terror and the freezing of all settlement activity. A peaceful solution to the crisis in the Middle East is crucial not only to the well-being of the Israelis and the Palestinians, but also ultimately to the United States and the whole world, now more than ever. Your release of the road map at this time is a vital, concrete step in making this a reality. Sincerely, [SIGN YOUR NAME]
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| Note: Sending an email message to Secretary of State Colin Powell: Emails to Secretary of State Powell must be sent out separately pasted into the response page of the State Department website; it cannot be done as a regular cc within your email program. To send him an email message, go to: contact-us.state.gov Then click on "Send a Message to the Secretary of State" at the middle bottom of the page State Department website contact information page. Although many people reported successfully sending messages to the Secretary of State via this web form, some people have reported problems with submitting messages via this web form. In the latter case, we encourage you to send a fax. |