Brit Tzedek v'Shalom
Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace
Action Alert
Action Alert - Completed 7/24/2003
[POSTED: July 14th, 2003]
BUILD CREDIBILITY IN THE ROAD MAP
PLEASE ACT NOW: Fax, call, or email President Bush and Secretary of State Powell by Friday, July 18, urging them to press the Government of Israel to take steps to build credibility into the Road Map process.
Dear Brit Tzedek members and supporters,
We are encouraged that the Road Map process is still in motion. We very much support the Bush Administration's confidence-building measures in the Abbas government, and toward Prime Minister Sharon's newly-stated recognition that the occupation must end.
However, we are currently at a very delicate moment in this process. The newly-created government of the Palestinian Authority has taken important steps in bringing about a temporary halt to terrorism on the part of the major Palestinian armed groups through a negotiated cease-fire. The reputation of the Abbas government is now staked on the Palestinian side also receiving concrete benefit from the Road Map process.
The issue of prisoner release is at the forefront of the Palestinian agenda as their identified need to win support for the new government and the cease-fire. Between six and eight thousand Palestinians are in Israeli prisons, almost all arrested in the last two years. The Israeli government release of a few hundred is perceived as a token, and does not achieve what is needed for confidence-building among the Palestinian population.
We call on the Bush Administration to urge Israel to take bolder steps in significant prisoner releases, dismantling of settler outposts, and substantial reductions in restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement within the West Bank and Gaza, in order to build confidence among the Palestinian population that the Road Map process is a credible one.
We also note with great concern that the construction of the so-called "separation wall" or "security fence" that the Israeli government is building on newly-confiscated Palestinian lands, often beyond the 1967 borders and inside the West Bank, is only exacerbating the situation. Every new land confiscation greatly harms the credibility of the Road Map process in the eyes of the Palestinian population and therefore certainly does not enhance Israel's security. The construction of the wall is still in its early stages, so it is not too late to stop the extremely negative impact of this project.
A sample letter for faxing or emailing and talking points for a telephone call can be found below. (A fax or telephone call is preferable.)
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 us an email at advocacy@btvshalom.org, so that we can gauge the impact of our action alerts.
L'Shalom,
Diane Balser and Steve Masters
Chair and Co-Chair of the Advocacy/Public Policy Committee
Background:
• Resources on the Road Map can be found on the Brit Tzedek v'Shalom website: [click to read]
Information on the "wall" can be found at the Israeli web sites of B'Tselem and Gush Shalom: • www.btselem.org
• www.gush-shalom.org
Suggested Talking Points for Phone Call
White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111
State Department Bureau of Public Affairs Comment Line: 202-647-6575
- You are a Jewish American.
- You applaud the President's efforts to date to bring a resolution to the Israeli-Palestian conflict by pursuing his Road Map, which have lead to Palestinian Prime Minister Abbas' successful negotiation of a cease-fire on the part of the major Palestian armed groups, and to Prime Minister Sharon's public disavowal of the desire to continue the occupation.
- You ask the President to press the Sharon Administration to take immediate bold steps to build confidence in the Road Map process by major Palestinian prisoner releases, dismantling of new settler outposts and not letting additional ones to be built, and substantial reduction in restrictions on Palestinian travel in the West Bank and Gaza
- You ask the President to press the Sharon Administration to place a halt on construction of the "separation wall" which will greatly negatively impact the Road Map process.
Sample Fax/Email Message (faxing is the most effective)
Below is a brief sample message you can send; feel free and encouraged to personalize it.
| Subject [for e-mails]:Build Credibility in the Road Map | |
| President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 president@whitehouse.gov Fax: 202-456-6218 |
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Mr. President: As a Jewish American, I very much support your efforts to bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the Road Map. I support the measures that you have taken towards confidence-building in the Abbas government and for its actions in engineering a cease-fire, and in bringing about the newly-stated position of Prime Minister Sharon in opposition to the continuation of the occupation. The Road Map represents the best chance for peace for the Israelis and Palestinians. Already it has achieved a cease-fire on the part of the major Palestinian armed groups. However, this cease-fire is still fragile--in order to be able to maintain it, and build upon it, trust in the process must be built. The Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza must see that the Road Map process is bringing material improvement. For this reason, I respectfully request you to bring all your influence to bear on the Sharon government to take immediate steps: to release large numbers of Palestinian prisoners, to fully dismantle new settler outposts and prevent additional ones from being built, and to substantially reduce restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement in the West Bank and Gaza. In addition, I urge you to convince the Sharon Administration that a halt to building the "separation wall" is in the best interests of peace. A peaceful solution to the crisis in the Middle East is crucial not only to the well-being of Israelis and Palestinians, but also ultimately to the United States and the whole world, now more than ever. Continued vigorous pursuit of the Road Map will be a major contribution towards achieving this goal of peace. 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 |
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Emails to Secretary of State Powell must be sent by pasting them into the response page of the State Department website. They cannot be sent directly from your email program. To send him an email message, go to:
http://contact-us.state.gov/
Then click on "Send a Message to the Secretary of State" near the bottom of the page. Although many people reported successfully sending messages to the Secretary of State via this web form, some have reported problems using it. In the latter case, we encourage you to send a fax.