Urgent Action Needed

August 27, 2001

To: Officers, Rabbis, Key Contacts
From: Richard B. Stone, Chairman
Betty Ehrenberg, Director, International and Communal Affairs
RE: McConnell/Feinstein Amendment to Impose Sanctions on PLO

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Urge Senators to co-sponsor McConnell/Feinstein Amendment

Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) have announced their intention to offer an amendment to the fiscal year 2002 Foreign Aid Appropriations Bill requiring the President to impose sanctions on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) if he determines that they have failed to comply with their commitments to renounce terrorism and end the violence. In a letter to colleagues to bolster support for their amendment, McConnell and Feinstein wrote: "The time has come for the United States to send a clear message to PLO Chairman Yassir Arafat that he must rein in Palestinians who commit such acts and end the violence which has caused so much suffering."

Similar to the language contained in the House Foreign Aid Bill that was recently passed in the House, the amendment provides the President with a menu of sanctions, including: downgrading the Palestinian office in the United States, designating the PLO and its constituent groups as foreign terrorist organizations, or restricting non-humanitarian assistance to the West Bank and Gaza. Senate floor action is expected when Senators return from recess after Labor Day. 

Urgent Action Necessary

Urge Senators to become co-sponsors of the McConnell/Feinstein Amendment. To co-sponsor the amendment, ask your Senators to have their staff contact either Sam Edelen in Senator McConnell's office at (202) 224-5968 or Michael Schiffer in Senator Feinstein's office at (202) 224-3841. Please call us at (212) 613-8124 with any questions you may have. Use the talking points below in your calls or correspondence to your Senators.

Talking Points

• The PLO and PA choose paths of violence: For nearly eleven months, the PLO and PA have been perpetrating violent attacks against Israel. In nearly 7,000 terrorist attacks, the PLO have killed 154 Israelis, 75% of them civilians. Arafat's own factions, including the Tanzim and Force 17, have been at the forefront of the planning and execution of terrorist attacks against Israeli military personnel and civilians. 
• The Palestinian Authority violates commitments: The Palestinian use of violence against Israel as a political tool is in contravention of every agreement signed with Israel during the past eight years. It also violates commitments that the Palestinians made to the United States as well as violates its role as a credible partner to peace negotiations. There can be no negotiations until Arafat quells the violence and rearrests the terrorists released from Palestinian jails in October, many of whom were responsible for the deaths of American citizens. He must prevent planned terrorist attacks and end the ongoing incitement by the official Palestinian-controlled media and Palestinian officials. 
• The United States should reassess its relationship with the Palestinians: The U.S. relationship with the PLO began and grew only because of the PLO's pledge to renounce violence and pursue a negotiated settlement of the conflict. As the Palestinians continue down this path of terror and violence, the United States must make it absolutely clear that the PA will have a tremendous amount to lose, including ties with the United States.

In order to reach your Senators, call (202) 224-3121. Ask for the offices of your Senators.

Or write to:
Senator ____________
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Provisions for imposing sanctions on the PLO and PA have been passed by the House. It is now crucial that we make sure that they be included as an amendment to the fiscal year 2002 Foreign Aid Appropriations Bill by the Senate. Urge your Senators today to become co-sponsors of the McConnell/Feinstein amendment.

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