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February 3, 2010
Three New Jersey lawmakers are expressing strong support for Israel after having signed a letter to President Barack Obama advocating an end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
Reps. Bill Pascrell (Dist. 8), Donald Payne (Dist. 10), and Rush Holt (Dist. 12) were among the 54 House Democrats who appealed to Obama on Jan. 30, urging the president to seek “immediate improvements for Gaza.”
Specifically, the legislators called for a lifting of the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt in order to permit Gazans access to food, water, medicine, fuel, and sanitation supplies.
“Israel’s right to defend itself and a concern for the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip are not mutually exclusive,” Pascrell told NJ Jewish News. “I believe that there can be a better way to deliver clean water, medicine, and food to a civilian population that continues to suffer from entrenched poverty and devastation that is consistent with Israel’s security interests.”
The letter was coolly received by many of the largest pro-Israel groups, who said the letter did not take into account Israel’s security needs.
One critic, who asked to be identified as a top official with a pro-Israel organization in Washington, told NJJN that the letter was filled with “a lot of problems and inaccuracies” and its authors were “among the least supportive of Israel and its right to self-defense.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition urged followers to call members of what it called the “Gaza 54” and emphasize that the blockade was implemented “to counter the threat from terrorism originating from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.”
In the letter, the Congress members said they “recognize that the Israeli government has imposed restrictions on Gaza out of a legitimate and keenly felt fear of continued terrorist action by Hamas and other militant groups.”
But they wrote that Israel’s concern “must be addressed without resulting in the de facto collective punishment of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip.”
“This is not an anti-Israel letter to me,” said Payne. “A lot of very mainstream members of the House signed it.”
“There is a tremendous amount of concern about the people of Gaza since the military operation there, and this is something I felt would help move toward a peaceful solution to this crisis,” Payne added. “We want to bring everybody back to the table.”
In an e-mail, Holt told NJJN that he signed the letter “to reaffirm my strong belief that providing humanitarian aid to ordinary citizens in Gaza is important, not just for humane reasons, but for Israel’s security interests.”
Holt wrote that he continues “to support Israeli military and foreign assistance” and that he has spent “a considerable amount of time in Washington and on visits to Israel seeking ways to reduce the threat to Israel and to strengthen her ability to respond to threats.”
Pascrell also noted that he is “a strong and consistent supporter of Israel’s right to defend itself,” including its military actions in Gaza.
Mike Halfacre, the Republican mayor of Fair Haven who is seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Holt for reelection, issued an e-mail statement criticizing Holt.
“The idea that Israel — which has endured countless terrorist attacks and as recently as a year ago was under rocket attack from Hamas in Gaza — should be taking advice from Rush Holt on how to best provide security for their people is the height of arrogance,” wrote Halfacre.
Zach Goldberg, Holt’s communications director, said that other than Halfacre’s statement, “we haven’t heard from constituents on this one.”
Pascrell’s camp had a little more feedback.
“We’ve gotten letters from some constituents inquiring why Mr. Pascrell signed the letter,” said his chief of staff, Ben Rich. “We are in dialogue with those constituents.”
Verbatim: The congressional letter on Gaza
Below is the text of the letter sent by 54 members of the House of Representatives on Jan. 21.
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama,
Thank you for your ongoing work to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for your commitment of $300 million in U.S. aid to rebuild the Gaza Strip. We write to you with great concern about the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
The people of Gaza have suffered enormously since the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt following Hamas' coup, and particularly following Operation Cast Lead. We also sympathize deeply with the people of southern Israel who have suffered from abhorrent rocket and mortar attacks. We recognize that the Israeli government has imposed restrictions on Gaza out of a legitimate and keenly felt fear of continued terrorist action by Hamas and other militant groups. This concern must be addressed without resulting in the de facto collective punishment of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip. Truly, fulfilling the needs of civilians in Israel and Gaza are mutually reinforcing goals.
The unabated suffering of Gazan civilians highlights the urgency of reaching a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and we ask you to press for immediate relief for the citizens of Gaza as an urgent component of your broader Middle East peace efforts. The current blockade has severely impeded the ability of aid agencies to do their work to relieve suffering, and we ask that you advocate for immediate improvements for Gaza in the following areas:
- Movement of people, especially students, the ill, aid workers, journalists, and those with family concerns, into and out of Gaza;
- Access to clean water, including water infrastructure materials,
- Access to plentiful and varied food and agricultural materials;
- Access to medicine and health care products and suppliers;
- Access to sanitation supplies, including sanitation infrastructure materials;
- Access to construction materials for repairs and rebuilding;
- Access to fuel;
- Access to spare parts;
- Prompt passage into and out of Gaza for commercial and agricultural goods; and
- Publication and review of the list of items prohibited to the people of Gaza.
Winter is arriving and the needs of the people grow ever more pressing. For example, the ban on building materials is preventing the reconstruction of thousands of innocent families' damaged homes. There is also a concern that unrepaired sewage treatment plants will overflow and damage surrounding property and water resources.
Despite ad hoc easing of the blockade, there has been no significant improvement in the quantity and scope of goods allowed into Gaza. Both the number of trucks entering Gaza per month and the number of days the crossings have been open have declined since March. This crisis has devastated livelihoods, entrenched a poverty rate of over 70%, increased dependence on erratic international aid, allowed the deterioration of public infrastructure, and led to the marked decline of the accessibility of essential services.
The humanitarian and political consequences of a continued near-blockade would be disastrous. Easing the blockade on Gaza will not only improve the conditions on the ground for Gaza's civilian population, but will also undermine the tunnel economy which has strengthened Hamas. Under current conditions, our aid remains little more than an unrealized pledge. Most importantly, lifting these restrictions will give civilians in Gaza a tangible sense that diplomacy can be an effective tool for bettering their conditions.
Your Administration's overarching Middle East peace efforts will benefit Israel, the Palestinians, and the entire region. The people of Gaza, along with all the peoples of the region, must see that the United States is dedicated to addressing the legitimate security needs of the State of Israel and to ensuring that the legitimate needs of the Palestinian population are met.
Sincerely,
Members of Congress
Arizona
Raul Grijalva
California
Lois Capps
Sam Farr
Bob Filner
Barbara Lee
Loretta Sanchez
Pete Stark
Michael Honda
Lynn Woolsey
Jackie Speier
Diane Watson
George Miller
Connecticut
Jim Himes
Indiana
Andre Carson
Iowa
Bruce Braley
Kentucky
John Yarmuth
Maryland
Elijah Cummings
Donna Edwards
Massachusetts
Michael Capuano
William Delahunt
Jim McGovern
John Tierney
John Olver
Stephen Lynch
Michigan
John Conyers
John Dingell
Carolyn Kilpatrick
Minnesota
Keith Ellison
Betty McCollum
James Oberstar
New Jersey
Donald Payne
Rush Holt
Bill Pascrell
New York
Yvette Clarke
Maurice Hinchey
Paul Tonko
Eric Massa
North Carolina
David Price
Ohio
Mary Jo Kilroy
Marcy Kaptur
Oregon
Earl Blumenauer
Peter DeFazio
Pennsylvania
Chaka Fattah
Joe Sestak
Vermont
Peter Welch
Virginia
Jim Moran
Washington
Jim McDermott
Adam Smith
Jay Inslee
Brian Baird
West Virginia
Nick Rahall
Wisconsin
Tammy Baldwin
Gwen Moore
Virginia
Glenn Nye
Reader Discussion
Comment on this article
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Alan Goldstein
February 04, 2010
Israel was headed down the road of dispossession and domination long before suicide bombers and rockets. This path is implicit in the Zionist ideology, and the efforts to carve a ‘Jewish State’ from a Jewish homeland that is the homeland too of the Palestinian Arabs.
It is about time members of Congress stood their ground and ended US complicity in this century-old march of segregation and secession. Israel’s embrace of Zionism remains its one true existential threat.
Alan K.
February 04, 2010
Readers may want to read the Letter to the President and obtain a list of all co-signers. This is available at:
http://www.cnionline.org/legislation/house-of-representatives/text-and-signers-of-gaza-lette/
or
http://www.vosizneias.com/48158/2010/01/31/washington-muslim-congressman-leads-54-congressional-members-to-sign-letter-to-pressure-israel
My concern is that the Letter contains major misinformation. For example, it says:
“The current blockade has severely impeded the ability of aid agencies to do their work to relieve suffering, ...”
This is simply false. The Israeli action is not a blockade, but rather a set of targeted sanctions against the Hamas regime. There have been no restrictions on the passage of food, medicine, water, fuel, electricity, or humanitarian supplies.
Alicia Ostriker
February 04, 2010
As an American who believes in human rights as a core American value, and as a Jew who believes in the existence of Israel but also in justice and compassion as core Jewish values, I support my representative, Rush Holt, and other congressmen, in hoping for humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza—which the blockade is preventing. The truth is that Israel is short-sighted as well as vindictive in its collective punishment of Gazans, for all it is doing is creating more despair and more impetus for terrorism everywhere. We all know that Israel is the most powerful state in the region, and that it is currently inflicting far more anguish than it suffers. In the long run this is bad for Israel’s security as well as morality—but does anybody think about the long run?
czyrankevic
February 05, 2010
were is the concern of these ditinguished senators for th families of people killed in attacks on buses bus stops and other places of mass gathering or the people alive with missing limbs or blinded these innocent people in gaza are urging their children to be terrorists and kill israelis their leaders claim that civilians are legitimate targets because they supply the army with man power well the arabs do yhe same things recall front page picture in daily news children with guns saying the want to grow up to be fighters against the zionists
Markus
February 05, 2010
Hardly mainline Congressmen and all Dems
Jewish and Supportive
February 05, 2010
Why is there such a short memory on the thousand Gazan civilians that were killed a year ago by Israeli rockets? How is that for security? It is collective punishment, and I support the Congressmen.
Also, records DO SHOW that Israel IS NOT selectively targeting sanctions to bring down the Hamas government. Israel routinely targets schools, hospitals, factories, and other infrastructure. During the Gaza war, they bombed 34 UN buildings. With the most sophisticated military technology in the world, you’d think Israel would be able to avoid most of these instances. It is indiscriminate and ignores Palestinian civilian suffering.
Also, hardly any aid has gotten into Gaza because of the Israeli blockade, which everyone in the world seems to know, except people in the United States. Even Israelis know.
livia shagam`
February 14, 2010
It makes me nervous to put my name to this as I do not trust anyone here anymore. It never fails to amaze me how much in denial American Jews are of the antisemitism in this country. It is NOT anti-Israel - call a spade a spade. It is antisemitism. They are surpised, hurt, upset, etc.etc. Face it, this is a Christian country and Christians hate Jews. End of story. The Bible tells us not to let down our guard ever but being religiously ignorant for the most part, American Jews do not know of this warning.
However, Christians do know that whoever curses us will be cursed and whoever blesses us will be blessed. Keep that in mind when trying to be “balanced”. Where was your compassion all the years Israeli children were and still are growing up in bombshelters only because they are Jewish. Shame on you.