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March 12, 2004
To: Officers, Rabbis, Key Contacts
From: Richard B. Stone, Chairman
Betty Ehrenberg, Director, International and Communal Affairs
Re: Congressional Initiatives on the ICJ and Security Fence
The UN General Assembly recently passed a resolution referring the
question of the legality of Israel’s security fence under
international law to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Another blatant attempt by the Palestinians to bypass the
negotiating process and undermine Israel in the international
community, this politicizes the Court and is an abuse of
international law. The recent spectacle that took place in the
Hague clearly illustrates the danger of cynically involving the
Court in highly charged political issues which not only undercuts
the credibility of the ICJ but defeats its purpose.
Two congressional initiatives on the ICJ and Israel security fence
have been recently introduced in the Congress and demand our
support.
Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Hillary
Clinton (D-NY), and Gordon Smith (R-OR), are
circulating a
letter in the Senate defending
Israel’s right to self-defense and urging UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan that he reconsider and withdraw his support for the
ICJ’s involvement in this issue. The letter emphasizes that the GA
resolution was a purely political maneuver intended to embarrass
Israel and that it fails to make any reference to Palestinian acts
of terror, the very cause for the construction of a security fence
in the first place. Forty-nine Senators have so far signed the
letter (see
here).
If your Senators have yet to sign, please ask them to do so
immediately by calling 202-224-3121. Be sure to call and thank
those who have already done so.
Representatives Mike Pence (R-IN) and Shelley Berkley (D-NV) have
introduced
H.Con.Res.371, a resolution which expresses the support of
the Congress for the construction of Israel’s security fence and
condemns the decision by the UN to involve the ICJ in this issue.
The resolution underscores the fact that Israel constructed the
fence in order to provide for the security of Israeli citizens and
notes that other countries in the world, including the United
States, Korea, and India have security fences as well. The
Concurrent Resolution currently has ninety-three cosponsors (see
here).
Please call your Representatives at 202-225-3121 and ask them to
cosponsor and help support this important initiative if they have
not yet done so. Call those who have already signed on to support
this resolution and thank them.
The following
points can be used in your contacts with your elected officials:
Israel’s security fence is a response to the suicide bombings and
other acts of terrorism carried out by Palestinians against
Israeli civilians for more than three years. Israel’s government
has repeatedly indicated that the fence is not an attempt to set
up a de facto political border nor is it intended to be permanent.
It is simply the most effective way Israel can find to protect the
lives of its citizens form violence. If the Palestinians would
stop the terror, the fence would come down.
Bringing the
matter for the security fence before the ICJ is an attempt to use
the Court as a vehicle in the campaign to delegitimize Israel.
This attempt is an abuse of international law and a deliberate
manipulation of the Court by the UN for clearly political
purposes.
The Court’s
involvement with this issue only serves to undermine prospects for
a true peace by attempting to circumvent direct negotiations. The
only effective way to resolve the conflict is through direct
negotiation between the parties, not by attempting to have a third
party impose a settlement.
Urgent Action Necessary
Please call your Senators and urge them to support the Schumer/Hatch/Clinton/Smith
letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Senators can be reached
at 202-224-3121. Call your Representatives at 202-225-3121 and
urge them to support House Concurrent Resolution 371 that supports
Israel’s right to self-defense and condemns the decision by the UN
to request the ICJ to render an opinion on the legality of the
security fence.
Or write to your Senators and Representatives at:
Representative _______________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Tel: 202-224-3121 (Ask for the name of your Representative)
Senator _______________
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Tel: 202-224-3121 (Ask for the name of your Senator)
Please call us at 212-613-8123 if we can be of further assistance.
RBS
BE
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