November XX, 2015 His Excellency Mahmoud Abbas President Palestinian National Authority His Excellency Benyamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel Dear President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu: We write in anguish and grief at the latest outbreak of deadly violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank. We appreciate your willingness to engage with Secretary Kerry and…
Latest Update: March 3 12:30 AM If your rep is undeclared or on the fence, give them a call at 1-202-224-3121. When you reach a staffer, you can say something like: I urge Rep./Sen. ___________ to join 60 other Democrats in skipping Netanyahu’s March 3 speech. Please stand with Democrats who support President Obama’s Iran…
We have a historic opportunity right now to help change the game in Washington on U.S. policy towards Israel. Controversy is spreading around Speaker Boehner’s decision to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress on March 3, where Netanyahu is expected to trash Obama’s Iran diplomacy and try to persuade Congress to pass…
Earlier today, a Just Foreign Policy activist delivered a petition to Sen. Ben Cardin’s office in Baltimore calling on him to support diplomacy with Iran by opposing any new sanctions legislation, including the Kirk-Menendez bill. A petition calling for Sen. Cardin to oppose any effort to punish the Palestinians for joining the International Criminal Court…
Last Wednesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon announced that Palestine would become a member of the International Criminal Court on April 1. That same day, Sen. Rand Paul introduced legislation to cut off US aid to the Palestinian Authority— about $400 million a year—if the Palestinians don’t withdraw their application to join the ICC….
Yesterday afternoon, the Middle East Issues Committee of the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted decisively 45-20 to endorse divestment from three companies—Caterpillar, Motorola, and Hewlett-Packard—that play a role in the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The resolution now moves on to the General Assembly where it is expected to be taken up either Thursday or Friday. From…
Sometimes a situation that appears hopeless is actually poised for a new beginning – when the apparent hopelessness reflects acceptance that conventional wisdom has utterly failed to bring about solutions and that solutions require actions that conventional wisdom has blocked. Next week, Presbyterians meeting in Detroit will have a historic opportunity to help change the fundamental dynamics…
It was, without doubt, a world-historical moment last Thursday when AIPAC concededthat its push to sabotage U.S. diplomacy with Iran had been decisively rebuked. As theNew York Times noted, it had been decades since AIPAC lost such a high-profile showdown so decisively. But it seems very unlikely that AIPAC is finished trying to obstruct realistic diplomacy with…
Oxfam has cut ties with celebrity Scarlett Johansson over her refusal to give up her role as a “brand ambassador” for the Israeli company SodaStream, which operates a factory in an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank. As Oxfam stated: [1] Johansson’s role promoting the company SodaStream is incompatible with her role as an…
For seven years, we’ve been urging that the U.S. government resolve its differences with Iran through diplomacy. Now that the Obama Administration is finally making progress some in Congress are trying to blow up the peace train. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is planning to ignore the Administration’s request, and–with the assistance of AIPAC, which…