|
Dear
All,
(Because
this went out late Thursday afternoon, just as we learned Israel had begun a
ground invasion of Gaza, many of you may have called but were unable to get
through. Please call the White House today, between 9am and 5pm eastern time, at
the number provided in this message.)
Peace Action has long worked for
peace, disarmament and addressing the root causes of war and violence. As we
know from experience, far too often U.S. military aid and weapons transfers to
undemocratic and human rights abusing governments, or to one or more sides
engaged in violent conflict, fuels that very conflict, rather than providing
defense, security or stability.
U.S. taxpayers fund over $3 billion in
military aid to Israel annually, enabling continuation of the illegal occupation
of Palestine and armed conflict with the Palestinians, as we see now, once
again, in the awful violence in Gaza. Peace Action advocates nonviolent
solutions to conflict, and as such calls for a ceasefire by Israel and Hamas to
end the current conflict. Additionally, the U.S should suspend transfers of
weapons, crowd control devices, and military training to Israel in response to
Israel's human rights abuses of Palestinians in order to help end what The
Washington Post called a “deeply asymmetrical conflict.”
We also agree
with Amnesty International’s call for “…the UN to immediately impose a
comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, Hamas and Palestinian armed groups with
the aim of preventing further serious violations of international humanitarian
law and human rights by the parties to the conflict. Pending such an embargo,
all states must immediately suspend all transfers of military equipment,
assistance and munitions to the parties, which have failed to properly
investigate violations committed in previous conflicts or bring those
responsible to justice.”
Please take action for peace in Palestine and
Israel. Call the White House comment line at 202.456.1111 and demand a ceasefire and
suspension of U.S. weapons and military aid to Israel.
Peace,
Salaam, Shalom,
Kevin
Martin
Executive Director
Peace Action
|
No comments:
Post a Comment