Emergency Alert: Take Action to End Israeli Attacks on Gaza
December 27th, 2008
|
|
As of this writing, Israeli Air Force attacks today on
the occupied Gaza Strip killed an estimated 200 or more
people and injured hundreds more. These Israeli attacks
come on top of a brutal siege of the Gaza Strip, which has
created a humanitarian catastrophe of dire proportions for
Gaza's 1.5 million Palestinian residents by restricting
the provision of food, fuel, medicine, electricity, and
other necessities of life.
While the scope of civilian casualties in today's attacks
is not yet clear, it is unmistakable that Israel carried
out these attacks with F16 fighter jets and missiles
provided by the taxpayers of this country. From 2001-2006,
the United States transferred to Israel more than $200
million worth of spare parts to fly its fleet of F16's. In
July 2008, the United States gave Israel 186 million
gallons of JP-8 aviation jet fuel. Last year, the United
States signed a $1.3 billion contract with Raytheon to
transfer to Israel thousands of TOW, Hellfire, and
"bunker buster" missiles.
In short, Israel's lethal attack today on the Gaza Strip
could not have happened without the active military and
political support of the United States. Therefore, we need
to take action to protest this attack and demand an
immediate cease-fire.
STOP THE ASSAULT ON GAZA!
URGENT ACTION SUGGESTIONS from the U.S. Campaign
to End the Israeli Occupation
1. Take
to the streets and make your opposition public.
We must keep up the protests until there is a
cease-fire and a lifting of the siege of Gaza. We're
calling on everyone to continue to organize
protests in your community. Thousands of people
have already taken to the streets in New York,
Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dearborn,
MI and dozens of other cities to protest Israel's
attacks on the Gaza Strip. We're maintaining a
comprehensive listing of all protests -- more than
100 in at least 30 states and 65 cities so far --
on our website and updating it continuously. Join
a protest near you or organize one
and send us the details. If you know of a protest
not listed on our site, send us all the logistical
details and contact information by clicking
here.
2. Educate and organize people in your community.
We are encouraging everyone to attend public
events in your communities to pass put information
on Israel's atrocities in Gaza and to collect
signatures to end U.S. military aid to Israel.
Download a flyer by clicking
here and a petition by clicking
here and make copies. Also, sign
up as a volunteer organizer to challenge military
aid to Israel by clicking
here and we'll send you an
organizing packet with fact sheets, petitions, and
the postcards below.
3. Get the message out to the media. Call in
to talk radio programs and write letters to the
editors. To download talking points for the media, click
here. To find contact information for
your local media, click
here.
4. Contact your elected representatives and
set up emergency meetings with your Members of
Congress before January 6.
Demand from the President, your
Representative, and Senators an unconditional,
immediate cease-fire; full humanitarian access to
Gaza and a lifting of Israel's siege; and
accountability for Israel's misuse of U.S. weapons
to kill Palestinian civilians. Send your letter
today by clicking
here.
Congress is scheduled to go back into session
on Jan. 6th. Until then, many Members of Congress
are in their home districts. Assemble a delegation
of concerned constituents and request an immediate
meeting with them. For contact information, click
here. For tips on how to arrange a
meeting, click
here.
In these meetings, ask your Members of Congress to
send a public letter to Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice and make a public statement with
the political demands above. To download a sample
letter to give to your Members of Congress, click
here. Also give them a copy of our open
letter to President Elect-Obama signed by more
than 250 organizations entitled "We
Need a Change in Israel/Palestine Policy" to
show them that there is growing and widespread
opposition to our country's policy of support for
Israel's human rights abuses of Palestinians.
Download a PDF copy of the letter by clicking
here. If you can take the lead in
arranging an emergency meeting with your Members
of Congress, please fill out this brief form by clicking
here.
5. Step Up the Pressure on the New
Administration and Congress. Sign our open
letter to President Elect-Obama by clicking
here. This open letter will be
published as a full-page ad on Inauguration Day.
Add your individual and organizational
endorsements to it today by clicking
here. Then spread the word by copying
and pasting the flash graphic below into your
email signature, blog, social networking site, or
webpage and join our Facebook
group and forward it to all your
friends.
Join us in Washington, DC on January 20 for
Inauguration Day to say "Yes We Can…End
U.S. Military Aid to Israel!" Sign up to
help us pass out information and collect
signatures by clicking
here.
And join us again in Washington, DC for a
Grassroots Advocacy Training and Lobby Day on
February 1-2 with Interfaith Peace-Builders. Gain
the skills you need to change U.S. policy toward
Palestine/Israel to support human rights,
international law, and equality, and express your
concerns directly to your Members of Congress.
Space is filling up fast. For more information and
to register, click
here.
|
|
|