Brit Tzedek v'Shalom
Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace
Action Alert
Action Alert - Completed, 9/19/03
[POSTED: September 16th, 2003]
"Removal" Is No Solution
PLEASE ACT NOW: Fax or call President Bush and Secretary of State Powell by Friday, September 19, urging them:
- to pressure the Israeli government to cancel plans to "remove" Yasser Arafat (by expulsion, deportation, imprisonment or assassination) and to re-engage in the Middle East peace process with renewed commitment to stay the course, and
- to pressure Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to fully cooperate with newly elected Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's efforts to bring an end to Palestinian terrorism.
Since we wrote to you last week, the already-tense situation in Israel has escalated urther. If the peace process is to be salvaged in the short term, then positive action is needed. Unfortunately, the Israeli government's decision to "remove" Palestinian President Yasser Arafat from the West Bank will not only fail to improve the security situation in Israel, it will actually seriously harm it. By throwing the Palestinian political apparatus into disarray, strengthening the political position of Hamas, and delegitimizing the authority of Palestinian leaders to represent the people in the course of negotiations, Israel will make productive movement on the peace process even more difficult.
We urge you to write to President Bush and Secretary of State Powell asking them to reiterate their request to Israeli Prime Minister Sharon to rescind the decision to expel President Arafat from the West Bank and for him to re-engage in the peace process in good faith with Prime Minister Qureia.
A sample letter for faxing and talking points for a telephone call, along with contact numbers, are provided below. (Please note: in light of current White House email policy, emailing is not effective as a means of expressing your views to the President.)
| We also ask you to circulate this Action Alert as widely as possible — please send it to your family, friends, and colleagues, and repost it to any relevant listservs. President Bush must know that this is an issue among American Jews. |
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
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 who supports the President's leadership in the Middle East peace process, and are very much troubled by the disturbing events of the past two weeks.
- You ask the President to bring pressure to bear on Israeli Prime Minister Sharon to:
- rescind the decision to "remove" Palestinian President Arafat from the West Bank, because that would be counterproductive for the peace process and,
- re-engage in the peace process in good faith with the new Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia [koo-RAY-ah]
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) |
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Mr. President: As a Jewish American, I have very much supported your efforts to date to bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The events of the past two week are deeply troubling, and your leadership is needed to not only keep them from degenerating further, but to set the Israelis and Palestinians back on the path to peace. I respectfully request that you bring pressure to bear on Israeli Prime Minister Sharon to rescind the decision to "remove" Palestinian President Arafat from the West Bank, because such an action would be counterproductive for the peace process, and to re-engage in the peace process in good faith with the new Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia. I also respectfully request that you bring pressure to bear on Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to fully cooperate with newly elected Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's efforts to bring an end to Palestinian terrorism. If the Israeli-Palestinian peace process fails, this will be a tragedy for both 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 |
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- To read and sign Brit Tzedek v'Shalom's Call to Bring the Settlers Home to Israel: http://bringthemhome.btvshalom.org/
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