Upon my return from Palestine/Israel I attended meetings at the Methodist Building. This is the only non-government building on Capitol Hill.
I had appointments with my elected officials.
Actually, with their staff person who handles their Middle East issues.
Who would expect an elected official from northern Michigan to be in Washington D.C. in July?
Below is the document I used as talking points. Perhaps you would be interested in doing some research by checking out these web sites.
Systemic Human Right Violations:
The violations of human rights are systemic and
pervasive. Travel restrictions, permit
system requirements, denial of access to worship, denial of access to health
care, denial of access to family, denial of access to a safe place to live
because of demolitions (http://www.icahd.org), denial of
right of return (BADIL www.badil.org), and military tactics, www.breakingthesilence.org,
confiscation of private land and water resources (see http://mondoweiss.net) names a few.
Of particular concern is the arrest and detention of children (http://www.cpt.org/cptnet/2013/04/15/al-khalil-hebron-israeli-soldiers-arrest-boy).
This week a five year old was arrested. Photos are available on each issue upon request
(randie.clawson@gmail.com).
International Law
The average American does not know that our tax dollars support
illegal actions. Information from the
United Nations verifying conditions and violations is available at these
sites. See www.ohchr.org,
www.unochaopt.org, and www.unrwa.org. We finance violence.
Settlement Expansion and Settler Violence Continues
Settlements, illegal under International Law, and violence
from Settlers are a constant threat to Palestinians. Settler’s actions would be felonies if
committed in the United States.
Changes Needed From My Government.
Legislative action is needed to end the occupation. It is needed so US funds through our aid to
Israel is not allowed to “buy” injustice. Please implement policies so Americans know what
Israel receives from our tax dollars and are able to monitor how Israel is
spending the funds. It is in our best
interest to stop funding violence via our aid.
Legislative action is needed so that our government is not
“blind” to the violations of international law.
The United States must influence Israel to stop the injustices in the
occupied Palestinian territories. We
should take the lead in obtaining a JUST peace based on nonviolence and
international law; our security depends on a JUST peace.
Diplomacy regarding visas needs to be conducted. Volunteers from the Christian faith
communities are being denied access to Israel and Palestine. In other situations, severe restrictions are
being placed on the people of faith who want to come and serve in faith based
NGO’s (http://www.cpt.org/taxonomy/term/5).
Library of Congress
In front of the Library of Congress was wonderful statuary including my favorite creature.
Praise God with me for our freedom to advocate on behalf of our Palestinian Christian Brothers and Sisters!
