I don’t know if you meant to be sarcastic and I’m not accusing you of this. Anyway there are Arab-American peace organizations. There is the Aram-American Anti-Discrimination Committee http://www.adc.org/. There is the Council on Arab-American Relations http://www.cair.com/, and there are other organizations. The problem is that these organizations, just like the Israel Lobby consisting of AIPAC, don’t have the money that the Israel Lobby has. This is changing though.

BRIT TZEDEK V’SHALOM

A Force To Be Reckoned With

Our growth into a significant political force was clearly evident last week. Brit Tzedek supporters from across the country, together with those of J Street, made well over 4,000 phone calls requesting inclusion of our pro-Israel, pro-peace message in impending House and Senate resolutions on the Israel-Gaza crisis. Collectively our voices changed the status quo.

Typically AIPAC is the initiating force on Israel-related legislation. In this case Congressional staffers initiated and wrote the resolutions, seeking input from AIPAC and the pro-Israel, pro-peace community.

Both resolutions placed all the blame on Hamas for the current situation and did not mention Israel’s blockade as having created a humanitarian crisis. Nevertheless, the demands of the pro-Israel, pro-peace camp were heard and taken seriously.

Brit Tzedek called on Congress to demand an immediate ceasefire, to acknowledge the suffering on both sides, and to demand U.S. leadership in reinvigorating the peace process. All three points were alluded to in both the House and Senate resolutions.

Write your Representative and Senators to let them know that we will be continuing to press them on this issue.

A number of Congressional members also responded to our outreach by writing their own statements. See a list of Congressional statements that reflect a pro-Israel, pro-peace message.

And finally, 24 Democrats in the House of Representatives, many of whom our chapters have developed close relationships with, wrote a letter to the President and the Israeli Ambassador urging them to take immediate steps to relieve the deplorable humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Please thank them.

The bottom line: We, along with our pro-Israel, pro-peace coalition partners, including J Street, American for Peace Now, and the Israel Policy Forum, are advancing the pro-Israel pro-peace movement. Let’s keep moving forward!

BEHIND THE SCENES

Initially, both Sen. Harry Reid (Senate Majority Leader) and Rep. Steny Hoyer (House Majority Leader) had opposed calling for an immediate ceasefire. Nevertheless, the final version calls for “a durable, enforceable, and sustainable ceasefire as soon as possible,” as Brit Tzedek requested. Considering the strong resistance to any call for a ceasefire, the final wording is a reflection of a positive development in Congress.

Secondly, we asked Congress to acknowledge the suffering on both sides. And the final resolution texts included not only a condemnation of the attacks Israel is suffering, but also call for the long-term improvement of daily living conditions for the ordinary people of Gaza and recognizing the humanitarian needs of the residents of Gaza.

Finally, the resolutions recognize the need for “United States Government efforts to promote a just resolutions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a serious and sustained peace process that leads to the creation of a viable and independent Palestinian state living in peace alongside a secure State of Israel.” The inclusion of this statement is highly significant because it highlights the only path forward after a ceasefire is reached to reach a sustainable peace resolution.

Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, The Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace
11 E. Adams Street, Suite 707
Chicago, IL 60603
Phone: (312) 341-1205
Fax: (312) 341-1206
info@btvshalom.org
http://www.btvshalom.org

I never expected Obama to tip his hand, and this is especially so since during the campaign he has been accused of being anti-Israel and everything else that he’s been accused of. I go by what Obama said before he became a U.S. Senator and before his Presidential campaign, where he has been sharply critical of Israel and our government’s Israel-Palestine policy. So when Obama says that “the Israeli-Arab conflict will be a high priority from day one,” I take it that he means that he will be putting pressure on all side including Israel to settle this dispute. When Obama speaks to whomever the next Israeli Prime Minister is, even if it happens to be Netenyahu, I expect that Obama will be telling whomever it is that the U.S. can no longer provide Israel billions of dollars of aid and weaponry while it continues the occupation, refuses to tear down the settlements, and refuses to negotiate in good faith. If Obama tells the Israeli Prime Minister this, he or she will have no choice but to accept that. I see Obama as a very smart person who understands that this crisis will blow up in his face and destroy what he’s trying to do to solve our domestic problems — that it will destroy his administration if it is not solved. As mentioned here before, Obama has been in touch with Jewish peace organizations such as Brit Tzedek V’Shalom and Americans for Peace Now. Of course I don’t know absolutely for sure what Obama will do until he takes over and I could be wrong, but I think that he wants to properly settle this dispute. If he does, there are not going to be many people complaing about that. AIPAC will be isolated, since their only mission and purpose has been for there to be unconditional support for Israel by our government.

The Palestian people on the other hand, are a people without a country, they currently have little economic value to the world in general, other than Isreal (if they woke up), they are under occupation and they cost money!!

Civilians, children, little babies get killed or maimed and the international community don’t seem to care. In the eyes of a lot of people, they are terrorists or as good as! If so many are dying, it’s their fault. It’s disgusting.

Isreal may be very much in the wrong, but I blame the international community even more, for not caring and not pressuring them.

Isreal hasn’t come to terms yet, with what they can do with the Palestinian people. Their choices are limited. They can’t deport them, no Arab country could afford +/- 3 million Palestinians, plus it would be the wrong message to send the world. They can’t exterminate them, it would be a PR nightmare, plus I don’t think they have the stomach for it… thank god! They can’t integrate them into one big Isreal because they would lose their Jewish majority, soon enough. What is left, is the 2 state solution. They should make friends, sooner versus later.

There are a lot of very, very good people in Isreal, but some days, it is very hard, if not, impossible, to like them as a society.

Well the Israeli hardliners are calling this a triumph in one breath because 13 countries abstained but surprisingly Canada voted against it. 33 others and not the arabs league alone voted for the condemnation of Israel’s action.

What is interesting is how the poor Palestinian guy was dismissed immediately by the ugly zionist movements as insignificant which about sums it up and Canada sang the hasbara song sheet verbatim almost.

Dennis Ross though has written pieces published here in Australia calling for us to be more even handed instead of just siding with Israel and today in Haaretz even the hawkish Aluf Benn has an excellent piece about the double standards of Israel with the UN.

In Australia we had been moving away from the US on this but when the attack by Israel started the deputy PM immediately blamed the Palestinians without bothering to discover that the israeli’s had deliberately broken the truce after acknowledging that Hamas wanted to work through diplomacy.

She has never apologised for that racist attack but if Palestinians has slaughtered 900 Israeli’s she would be ranting. So she hates me again. But she has since I told her she was a savage for supporting locking up innocent children in what amount to concentration camps in their strictest definition of prisons for innocent civilians, not those other horrors.

And it is not only the arab world clamouring for US and Israeli blood. Even my very mild mannered librarian is.