Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Call Your Congressman About HR 4681

I received this email today regarding a bill I posted about back in January:


Urgent Action Alert:

Alert: An important bill in the U.S. House of Representatives (HR 4681) that would keep American taxpayers' dollars out of the hands of Palestinian-Arab terrorists and restrict the movement of PLO members in the United States was sidetracked today. This is one of the most important pieces of legislation in years: A bill with real teeth in it to penalize terrorists and those who support them. Details about the bill and the issue are below.

Action: Call members of the House Judiciary Committee (numbers below), where the bill was unexpectedly sent today, and tell them NOT TO WATER DOWN THE BILL. Also, call your own personal House member (numbers below for those in the Philadelphia area, plus a link to find out who your House member is) and ask them to support the bill.

CALL TODAY AND TELL THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TO VOTE FOR HR 4681 THE WAY IT IS, AND NOT TO ADD ANY AMENDMENTS TO IT.
Contact the House Judiciary Committee today through the Capitol switchboard at 1-800-355-3588 or directly at 202-225-3951.
IF YOUR HOUSE MEMBER IS NOT LISTED AT THE END OF THIS EMAIL, PLEASE GO TO http://www.house.gov/ TO GET THEIR NAME AND CONTACT INFO.

Also PLEASE FORWARD THIS ACTION ALERT TO EVERYONE ON ALL OF YOUR EMAIL LISTS.

Thank you.

BACKGROUND:
March 31, 2006
JINSA Report #561

Don't "Weep for Palestinian Suffering"

Western governments are coming to grips with the reality of the Hamas victory. On the plus side:

  • Canada's government was the first to suspend assistance to and order no contact with the Hamas Cabinet.

  • The U.S. government told its diplomats and contractors to sever contact with Palestinian ministries and forbade contact with all Hamas-appointed officials whether the officials themselves are or are not Hamas members. This expands the original American position.

  • UN Ambassador John Bolton announced that Washington would redefine the role of Maj. Gen. Keith Dayton, as liaison to the PA for security matters. Gen. Dayton has been asked to end all contact with Palestinian security forces reporting to any member of the Hamas Cabinet.

  • The Quartet said aid would "inevitably" be affected and called on the Hamas "to commit to the principles of non-violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations... Future assistance to any new government would be reviewed by donors against that government's commitment to the principles."
But the full Canadian position is instructive. Ottawa said the Palestinian people should not be penalized over the actions of Hamas and will continue to provide $22 million in annual humanitarian aid through various UN and non-governmental agencies. Washington and the Quartet, too, will continue to finance humanitarian projects and are considering how to move projects from the PA to NGOs in order that they continue to receive money.

There is, in this, an unwillingness to grasp that Hamas was the CHOICE of Palestinian voters in open competition (not a "democratic election," but a competitive choice). They knew what they were doing and knew what they were risking and Hamas is what they picked. How can Western donors defend rejecting Hamas for being the choice of "the people", but not penalize the people who made the choice?

"I weep for the Palestinians' suffering," President Bush said yesterday. "They've been ruled for years by a disappointing government, but we can't fund a nation that seeks to destroy its neighbor."

Yes, Mr. Bush, the Palestinians have been poorly led and for years it was possible to say they had no hand in the lousy leadership that beggared the people and took them to an unnecessary and particularly brutal terrorist war; lousy leadership that devoured its young, teaching them that death was preferable to life; rotten leadership that stole the treasure and the soul of the people. We funded them all that time while they tried to destroy Israel. But that was then and this is now. "The people" picked this government and should not be allowed to expect that the civilized world will feed, house and shelter them while Hamas picks up its check from Iran and uses it to enhance its terrorist capabilities.

The incredibly important Palestinian anti-terrorism bill was supposed to have been voted on today, but in a surprise move was moved by the House leadership off the list for voting. Instead, the House Judiciary Committee has claimed authority over the bill and will hold a "mark-up" session tomorrow, Wed., May 10, to discuss possible amendments to it.

CALL TODAY AND TELL THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TO VOTE FOR HR 4681 THE WAY IT IS, AND NOT TO ADD ANY AMENDMENTS TO IT.
Contact the House Judiciary Committee today through the Capitol switchboard at 1-800-355-3588 or directly at 202-225-3951.


PLEASE SEND THIS ON TO EVERY PRO-ISRAEL PERSON YOU KNOW.

For those whose representative is on the House Judiciary Committee, call them today with the same message.

House Judiciary Committee Members

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, Chair, (R-WI-5), 202-225-5101
Rep. John Conyers, Ranking Member (D-MI-14), 202-225-5126
Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL-6), 202-225-4561
Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA-28), 202-225-4695
Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC-6), 202-225-3065
Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA-9), 202-225-3861
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX-21), 202-225-4236
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-8), 202-225-5635
Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA-24),202-225-5811
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA-3), 202-225-8351
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA-6), 202-225-5431
Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC-12), 202-225-1510
Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH-1), 202-225-2216
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-16), 202-225-3072
Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA-3), 202-225-5716
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18), 202-225-3816
Rep. William Jenkins (R-TN-1), 202-225-6356
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA-35), 202-225-2201
Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT-3), 202-225-7751
Rep. Marty Meehan (D-MA-5), 202-225-3411
Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL-6), 202-225-4921
Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA-10), 202-225-3111
Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC-4), 202-225-6030
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL-19), 202-225-3001
Rep. John Hostettler (R-IN-8), 202-225-4636
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY-9), 202-225-6616
Rep. Mark Green (R-WI-8), 202-225-5665
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA-29), 202-225-4176
Rep. Ric Keller (R-FL-8), 202-225-2176
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA-39), 202-225-6676
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA-49), 202-225-3906
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD-8), 202-225-5341
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ-6), 202-225-2635
Rep. Debbie W. Schultz (D-FL-20), 202-225-7931
Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN-6), 202-225-3021
Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA-4), 202-225-6365
Rep. Steve King (R-IA-5), 202-225-4426
Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL-24), 202-225-2706
Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ-2), 202-225-4576
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX-1), 202-225-3035

Pennsylvania/N.J. House Members from Philadelphia and its suburbs:

Robert A. Brady
Pennsylvania-1st, Democrat
Phone: (202) 225-4731 Fax: (202) 225-0088

Charles W. Dent
Pennsylvania-15th, Republican(Lehigh Valley)
Phone: (202) 225-6411 Fax (202) 226-0778

Chaka Fattah
Pennsylvania-2nd, Democrat
Phone: (202) 225-4001 Fax: (202) 225-5392

Mike Fitzpatrick
Pennsylvania-8th, Republican
Phone: (202) 225-4276 Fax: (202) 225-9511

Jim Gerlach
Pennsylvania-6th, Republican
Phone: (202) 225-4315 Fax: (202) 225-8440

Joseph R. Pitts
Pennsylvania-16th, Republican
Phone: (202) 225-2411 Fax: (202) 225-2013

Allyson Y. Schwartz
Pennsylvania-13th, Democrat
Phone: (202) 225-6111 Fax: (202) 226-0611

Curt Weldon
Pennsylvania-7th, Republican
Phone: (202) 225 – 2011 Fax: (202) 225-8137

Rob Andrews
New Jersey-1st, Democrat
Phone:(202) 225 - 6501

Jim Saxton
New Jersey-3rd, Republican
Phone: (202) 225-4765 Fax: (202) 225-0778

IF YOUR HOUSE MEMBER IS NOT LISTED, GO TO http://www.house.gov/ TO GET THEIR NAME AND CONTACT INFO.

Thank you for helping the people of Israel.


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4 comments:

Fuego said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Daled Amos said...

Someone mentioned that they found this post useful information as a result of which they contacted their representative to oppose the bill because it restricts humanitarian aid.

On that issue, the place to go is Elder of Ziyon He has 10 posts so far on the topic and the hypocrisy involved. His first post points out:

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development divides countries up by per-capita Gross National Income. It puts the Palestinian territories in the "Lower Middle Income" category of countries and territories. Lower on the list are:

Afghanistan
Angola
Bangladesh
Benin
Bhutan
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cape Verde
Central African Rep.
Chad
Comoros
Congo, Dem. Rep.
Djibouti
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gambia
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Haiti
Kiribati
Laos
Lesotho
Liberia
Madagascar
Malawi
Maldives
Mali
Mauritania
Mozambique
Myanmar
Nepal
Niger
Rwanda
Samoa
Sao Tome & Principe
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Solomon Islands
Somalia
Sudan
Tanzania
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tuvalu
Uganda
Vanuatu
Yemen
Zambia
Cameroon
Congo, Rep.
Côte d'Ivoire
Ghana
India
Kenya
Korea, Dem.Rep.
Kyrgyz Rep.
Moldova
Mongolia
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Pakistan
Papua New Guinea
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan
Viet Nam
Zimbabwe

Not to mention the dozens of other countries at the same rough level economically as the Palestinian territories.


Clearly, absolute need is apparently not the sole--or main criteria--in this case.

But after all, we are talking about the Palestinians...

Anonymous said...

Israel receives more US financial support (our "tax dollars") than any other country and it is not on your list either. but as you say:
"Clearly, absolute need is apparently not the sole--or main criteria--in this case."

Daled Amos said...

But this is apples and oranges.

1. Israel is an ally; Palestinian Arabs are not
2. Money Israel receives is an an ally for defense; not as an artificial support for the economy
3. If the US were attacked and needed an ally--is there a doubt that Israel would be there?
Is there a doubt that the Palestinians would NOT?