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What we will do together.
JVP is working
now to develop a multi-faceted and long-term response to the attacks
on and strangulation of Gaza. We will let you know soon how you can
be a part of this. But in this moment, especially for thos of you who
live in the United States:
1. The US
Campaign to End the Occupation has a
list of street actions taking place around the US now.
2. Contact the US
White House to protest the attack and demand an immediate cease-fire.
Call 202-456-1111 or send an email to comm...@whitehouse.gov.
3. Contact the State Department at 202-647-6575
4. Contact your Representative and Senators in Congress at
202-224-3121
5. Contact your
local media by phoning into a talk show or writing a letter to
the editor.
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Dear Melinda,
Please allow me
to share with you our statement below about the headlines seen in
papers across the world yesterday and today.
In sadness on
this terrible day,
Cecilie
Surasky
Jewish Voice for Peace
December 28,
2008
Jewish Voice for
Peace joins millions around the world, including the 1,000 Israelis who
protested in the streets of Tel Aviv this weekend, in condemning
ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza. We call for an immediate end to
attacks on all civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli.
Israel's slow strangulation of Gaza through blockade has caused
widespread suffering to the 1.5 million people of Gaza due to lack of
food, electricity, water treatment supplies and medical equipment. It
is a violation of humanitarian law and has been widely condemned around
the world.
In resisting this strangulation, Hamas resumed launching rockets and
mortars from Gaza into southern Israel, directly targeting civilians,
which is also a war crime. Over the years, these poorly made rockets
have been responsible for the deaths of 15 Israelis since 2004.
Every country, Israel included, has the right and obligation to protect
its citizens. The
recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza shows that diplomatic
agreements are the best protection for civilian life.
Moreover, massive Israeli air strikes have proven an indiscriminate and
brutal weapon. In just two days, the known death toll is close to 300,
and the attacks are continuing. By targeting the infrastructure of a
poor and densely populated area, Israel has ensured widespread civilian
casualties among this already suffering and vulnerable population.
This massive
destruction of Palestinian life will not protect the citizens of
Israel. It is illegal and immoral and should be condemned in the
strongest possible terms. And it threatens to ignite the West Bank and
add flames to the other fires burning in the Middle East and beyond for
years to come.
The timing of this attack, during the waning days of a US
administration that has undertaken a catastrophic policy toward the
Middle East and during the run-up to an Israeli election, suggests an
opportunistic agenda for short-term political gain at an immense cost
in Palestinian lives. In the long run this policy will benefit no-one
except those who always profit from war and exploitation. Only a just and
lasting peace, achieved through a negotiated agreement, can provide
both Palestinians and Israelis the security they want and deserve.
