CAIR ACTION ALERT #329
CONGRESS SEEKS $200 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL MILITARY AID FOR ISRAEL
Your tax dollars would reward Israeli aggression
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/22/2002) - CAIR is calling on members of the Muslim
community and other people of conscience to contact President Bush and
state representatives to ask that they not support an effort in Congress
going over the president's head to gain an additional $200 million in aid
for Israel's military.
That aid, if approved, would in effect be a reward for the recent
aggression against Palestinian civilians. The congressional effort came to
light today in a Washington Post article, "Supporters Consider How to
Increase Military Aid for Israel."
SEE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2002Apr21.html
The call for additional aid comes as former President Jimmy Carter said
that a possible REDUCTION in American taxpayer aid to Israel could be used
as pressure to achieve peace in the region. Carter wrote Sunday in the New
York Times:
"[Ariel Sharon's] rejection of all peace agreements that included Israeli
withdrawal from Arab lands, his invasion of Lebanon, his provocative visit
to the Temple Mount, the destruction of villages and homes, the arrests of
thousands of Palestinians and his open defiance of President George W.
Bush's demand that he comply with international law have all been
orchestrated to accomplish his ultimate goals: to establish Israeli
settlements as widely as possible throughout occupied territories and to
deny Palestinians a cohesive political existence...
"There are two existing factors that offer success to United States
persuasion. One is the legal requirement that American weapons are to be
used by Israel only for defensive purposes, a premise certainly being
violated in the recent destruction of Jenin and other villages...The other
persuasive factor is approximately $10 million daily in American aid to
Israel...The existing situation is tragic and likely to get worse. Normal
diplomatic efforts have failed. It is time for the United States, as the
sole recognized intermediary, to consider more forceful action for peace..."
SEE: America Can Persuade Israel to Make a Just Peace
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/21/opinion/21CART.html
The 2002 foreign aid program provides Israel with more than $2 billion in
military aid and some $730 million in financial assistance. This is nearly
one-fifth of total U.S. foreign aid. Israel has been the largest annual
recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since 1976 and the largest cumulative
recipient of assistance since World War II, according to government
statistics. (AFP, 4/21/2002)
"It is unconscionable that Congress would consider rewarding Israel with
American tax dollars for its ongoing atrocities in the Occupied
Territories. America is sending relief aid to the devastated Palestinian
refugee camp in Jenin. Taxpayers should not be forced to send more weapons
to those who caused that devastation," said CAIR Governmental Affairs
Director Jason Erb. Erb noted that recent polls show public broad support
for a reduction in aid to Israel. (Time/CNN Poll, 4/12/2002)
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be polite.)
1) CONTACT President Bush to request that he veto any additional taxpayer
aid to Israel and instead CUT aid to that state and its military.
CONTACT:
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
TEL: 202-456-1414, Press 1
FAX: 202-456-2461
E-MAIL: [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
2) CONTACT your elected representatives to make the same point. To get
contact information for your representative, go to:
http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ or call 202-224-3121. Have your Zip Code ready.
3) CONTACT local and national media outlets to express your concerns.
- PLEASE ANNOUNCE, POST AND DISTRIBUTE -
CONGRESS SEEKS $200 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL MILITARY AID FOR ISRAEL
Your tax dollars would reward Israeli aggression
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/22/2002) - CAIR is calling on members of the Muslim
community and other people of conscience to contact President Bush and
state representatives to ask that they not support an effort in Congress
going over the president's head to gain an additional $200 million in aid
for Israel's military.
That aid, if approved, would in effect be a reward for the recent
aggression against Palestinian civilians. The congressional effort came to
light today in a Washington Post article, "Supporters Consider How to
Increase Military Aid for Israel."
SEE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2002Apr21.html
The call for additional aid comes as former President Jimmy Carter said
that a possible REDUCTION in American taxpayer aid to Israel could be used
as pressure to achieve peace in the region. Carter wrote Sunday in the New
York Times:
"[Ariel Sharon's] rejection of all peace agreements that included Israeli
withdrawal from Arab lands, his invasion of Lebanon, his provocative visit
to the Temple Mount, the destruction of villages and homes, the arrests of
thousands of Palestinians and his open defiance of President George W.
Bush's demand that he comply with international law have all been
orchestrated to accomplish his ultimate goals: to establish Israeli
settlements as widely as possible throughout occupied territories and to
deny Palestinians a cohesive political existence...
"There are two existing factors that offer success to United States
persuasion. One is the legal requirement that American weapons are to be
used by Israel only for defensive purposes, a premise certainly being
violated in the recent destruction of Jenin and other villages...The other
persuasive factor is approximately $10 million daily in American aid to
Israel...The existing situation is tragic and likely to get worse. Normal
diplomatic efforts have failed. It is time for the United States, as the
sole recognized intermediary, to consider more forceful action for peace..."
SEE: America Can Persuade Israel to Make a Just Peace
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/21/opinion/21CART.html
The 2002 foreign aid program provides Israel with more than $2 billion in
military aid and some $730 million in financial assistance. This is nearly
one-fifth of total U.S. foreign aid. Israel has been the largest annual
recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since 1976 and the largest cumulative
recipient of assistance since World War II, according to government
statistics. (AFP, 4/21/2002)
"It is unconscionable that Congress would consider rewarding Israel with
American tax dollars for its ongoing atrocities in the Occupied
Territories. America is sending relief aid to the devastated Palestinian
refugee camp in Jenin. Taxpayers should not be forced to send more weapons
to those who caused that devastation," said CAIR Governmental Affairs
Director Jason Erb. Erb noted that recent polls show public broad support
for a reduction in aid to Israel. (Time/CNN Poll, 4/12/2002)
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be polite.)
1) CONTACT President Bush to request that he veto any additional taxpayer
aid to Israel and instead CUT aid to that state and its military.
CONTACT:
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
TEL: 202-456-1414, Press 1
FAX: 202-456-2461
E-MAIL: [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
2) CONTACT your elected representatives to make the same point. To get
contact information for your representative, go to:
http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ or call 202-224-3121. Have your Zip Code ready.
3) CONTACT local and national media outlets to express your concerns.
- PLEASE ANNOUNCE, POST AND DISTRIBUTE -
