The Friends Committee on National Legislation, Jewish Voice for Peace, the American Friends Service Committee, Defense of Children International, Churches for Middle East Peace and other groups – including Just Foreign Policy – are urging Members of Congress to sign Rep. Betty McCollum’s letter calling on President Obama to act to protect Palestinian children in Israeli military detention.
Your Rep. has spoken up in the past for peace, diplomacy, and human rights. Please help us today by calling your Representative now at (202) 224-3121. Ask to speak to the legislative aide who handles foreign policy. When you speak to a staffer or leave a message, you can say something like:
“I urge Rep. _______ to sign the McCollum letter asking President Obama to appoint an envoy for the protection of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention.”
When you’ve made your call, please report it below.
If you haven’t signed our petition to the House in support of the letter yet, you can do that here.
Human Rights Watch has reported that Israeli security forces are abusing Palestinian children detained in the West Bank. “Israeli security forces are using unnecessary force in arresting and detaining children, in some cases beating them, and holding them in unsafe and abusive conditions,” HRW said.
Minnesota Democratic Representative Betty McCollum is circulating a letter to President Obama, urging him to appoint a Special Envoy for Palestinian Youth to travel to the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel to hear directly from Palestinian youth, human rights and legal experts, NGOs, and Palestinian and Israeli officials, including police and military leaders, about the conditions of children in military detention and what steps can be taken to guarantee the internationally-recognized human rights of these children.
Urge your Representative to support Rep. McCollum’s letter by calling now and signing our petition.
For more information on the “No Way to Treat a Child” campaign, see here.