Urgent
Action Needed March 27, 2001 To: Officers, Rabbis, Key Contacts From: Richard B. Stone, Chairman Betty Ehrenberg, Director, International and Communal Affairs RE:
The Crisis in the Middle East The response
of the Palestinian Authority to compromises offered at the negotiating
table by Israel last summer was to engage in a deliberate and orchestrated
campaign of violence. Arafat has released over 100 known terrorists from
Palestinian prisons, including those who have killed American citizens in
bus bombings, and has permitted the military arm of the PLO, the Tanzim,
to attack Israelis. There have been more than 6,000 such attacks since
October 2000 – an average of 30 incidents a day. These attacks now
include the use of rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles. The
official Palestinian television service daily incites the population to
violence against Israelis. This use of
violence by the Palestinians against Israel as a means to achieve
political gain contravenes every agreement the PA signed with Israel over
the past seven years. This campaign of violence also violates the
commitments made by the Palestinians to the United States and undermines
any possible chance for peace. There can be no negotiations until Arafat
stops the violence. The United States relationship with the PLO began and grew with its pledge to renounce violence and pursue a negotiated settlement of the conflict. If the Palestinians continue down this path of violence, the United States must make it clear that they have little to gain and a tremendous amount to lose, including ties with the U.S. Immediate
Action Necessary
Representatives Henry Hyde (R-IL), Tom Lantos (D-CA), Ben Gilman (R-NY), and Gary Ackerman (D-NY) are circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter in the House asking the representatives to send a letter to President Bush expressing their sense of disappointment that the Palestinian Authority is responsible for the violence, has encouraged its continuation, and has done nothing to bring about an end to it. The letter encourages President Bush and the Administration to reassess U.S. relations with the Palestinians. This letter would reaffirm the United States Congress commitment to the special relationship with Israel and send a clear message to the Palestinian leadership that it must abandon this policy of violence. A similar letter is being circulated in the Senate by Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Joe Biden (D-DE). Write or
call your Members of Congress and urge them to stand in strong support of
Israel in her right to take defensive measures against escalating
violence. Israel cannot be expected to negotiate in the face of violence
and terror. Urge your
Representatives and Senators to sign onto the letters that are being
circulated in the House and Senate, asking President Bush to reassess U.S.
relations with the Palestinians. This reassessment would include the
consideration of whether Palestinians involved in violent attacks against
Israelis should be barred from the U.S., whether Palestinian groups which
have organized terrorist attacks should be designated foreign terrorist
organizations under U.S. law, whether the PLO office in Washington should
be allowed to remain open, and other questions. Write to:
Call:
RBS BE
The Institute for Public Affairs of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America is the non-partisan public policy research and advocacy center created to represent and mobilize the world's largest Orthodox Jewish community.
|
520.gif){kind=small}