Call Congress!
I got this from the CNI. I agree. Please let Congress know that Israel's Total War on Lebanon (they hit the Saint Therese Hospital today) is unacceptable. Please take a moment to call or email your congressional representatives. There is a link on the right to congress.org or the below message gives a link.
Update: I am told that the vote was postponed. All the more reason to call and express your views. Ask them why we had to evacuate 25,000 Americans if civilian non-combatants are not being put in extreme danger by indiscriminate Israeli bombing?
Also, support the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee. (Warning: More graphic photos).
ACTION ALERT
Call Your Representative Now!
Oppose Unbalanced Resolution Supporting Israel's Attacks on Lebanon and Gaza
House Vote Scheduled for Today
The Council for the National Interest has learned that the House of Representatives will vote sometime today on an unbalanced resolution on the current crisis between Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinians. The bill, H.Res. 921 [apparently this number is incorrect], includes no criticism of the month of Israeli attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza and Lebanon, which have been carried out with American-made weapons paid for with U.S. taxpayer money. A Senate version of the bill passed by a voice vote (meaning there was no recorded vote) yesterday.
The Council for the National Interest encourages its members to call their member of Congress immediately to express their opposition to this bill for its lack of balance. You can reach your Representative's office by calling the main House switchboard at (202) 225-3121 or by looking of the number at this website:
The House is scheduled to start at least two hours of debate on the resolution shortly, which you can watch live on C-SPAN.
TALKING POINTS
Israel's attacks on innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza and Lebanon are a violation of U.S. law, specifically the U.S. Arms Export Control Act and the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act. The U.S. Arms Export Control Act restricts the use of U.S. weapons to legitimate self-defense and internal policing; U.S. weapons cannot be used to attack civilians in offensive operations. The U.S. Foreign Assistance Act prohibits U.S. aid of any kind to a country with a pattern of gross human rights violations.
Israel's attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza and Lebanon are examples of collective punishment, which are prohibited under the Geneva Conventions.
Continued Israeli actions against the civilian population of Gaza and Lebanon are not only against U.S. laws and the Geneva Conventions, which Israel has reportedly been given a "green light" to continue for another week by the Administration, but they are destroying the American ability to fight the war on terror. They are also destroying Israel's ability to make peace with her neighbors through negotiations, the only real road to security for the state of Israel.
Council for the National Interest Foundation
1250 4th Street SW, Suite WG-1
Washington, District of Columbia 20024
202-863-2951
www.cnionline.org/.
posted by Juan Cole @ 7/19/2006 12:42:00 PM
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15 Comments:
Feels like Summer 1914 all over again, and Congress is about to guarantee Bush's blank check to Olmert.
You can almost feel the blowback from Iraq. A Palestinian friend's grandparents, Christians, live in Beruit. They've unpacked the AK47's and set out to join up with Hizbollah.
Does Congress really stand with Israel on this ? Especially in the light of the latest attacks and the displacement of 500,000 Lebanese ?
Where does this unqualified support for Israel come from ? Is it really just the work of the various Jewish lobbies (which I imagine are matched by in their efforts by various Arab lobbies) ?
Perhaps if Western TV stations were able to show the graphic pictures from both sides of this conflict, there would be more of a push for an immediate cease-fire.
Hezbollah deliberately targetted Arab children in Nazereth, the home of Christ. What could the purpose of this heinous attack be?To drive a wedge between Israels Jewiss and Arab population? Jewish and Christian? Adult and minor?
It's a free call if you diall 1-888-355-3588. that's the switchboard.
Col. Pat Lang infroms me that the key reason why israel/Lebanon did not reach accord was the land bordering the Sea of Galilee on Lebanon's side.
Access to water is of prime importance.
But there's another party at play...
Pat Roberston wanted to set up a Christian Theme Park, a kind of Disney World location.
There's an Abramoff guy that wanted to pursue a casino there as well.
An agreement brought down by private interests. The unholy marriage of Abramoff and Reed/Robertson.
We traded in peace for a jimcrack theme park. Bush has turned the Hollowood subplot into a Dollywood subplot.
I'm a conservative Christian, a Republican, and I thoroughly condemn Israel's military tactics in waging war on civilians solely because they are Muslim. I sometimes disagree with Professor Cole's commentary, but he is absolutely right on this issue!
Israel refuses to give humanitarian relief organizations safe passage while thousands of civilians are trapped in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile the bomb casings that the Israeli military leaves behind say "Made in the USA". Congress is directly to blame for supplying Israel with $billions in military aid annually, and for strongly backing Israeli military tactics.
What kind of a country we have become to support such ruthless and blood-thirsty tactics, in clear violation of international law. Israel of course doesn't recognize the Geneva conventions, but that's another issue.
Note: Re Chris Baker's comment "I'm a conservative Christian, a Republican, and I thoroughly condemn Israel's military tactics in waging war on civilians solely because they are Muslim."
Actually, Israeli attacks have landed in Lebanese Christian areas as well... We just keep hearing they are focusing on Hizbollah targets because that is all our TV reporters get from their IDF sources... After Shiites, the Lebanese Christian Maronites are the second largest population in Lebanon, and many of them are unhappy with BOTH the Hizbollah and Israel...
Are Mr. Murder's comments supposed to be funny?
I wonder Professor Cole why you haven't been listing the attacks on Israel by Hezbollah?
Thank you for the information and alerts. I saw your link on DU. Congress.org has this:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/alert/?alertid=8915866&content_dir=ua_congressorg
-----Americans First - Get Them Out of Lebanon
Ask Your Reps to Help Our Citizens NOW
As of Tuesday morning, France has gotten 900 of its citizens out of Lebanon, plus 50 Americans. Sweden has gotten 700 Swedes, Finns and Norwegians out, plus 37 Americans.
Poland has evacuated 200. Italy has evacuated 300. Limping behind, America has gotten 70 of its citizens out.
Countless other Americans, who are registered with the US embassy, have not even been contacted yet as to when they might leave. No one is answering the phone, faxes or emails at
the US embassy. The State Department emergency hotline, which has been advertised as if they really want people to call in an emergency, hangs up on you because it is undermanned. Plus, America is the only country charging a fee to the evacuees. Is it me, or are we just not good at evacuations?
While 25,000 American citizens are left trapped in a blockaded war zone, congress is busy
with other things, like crafting a resolution in support of Israel. The President is coming up
with ideas about what Syria should
do to fix the situation. What about what America can do?
I think we the people should expect a little more protection and effort for our tax dollars.
Please write your reps to urge them to use their powers to help Americans first (Israel second).
It's bad enough that France is doing a better job.
I've been calling and emailing my Reps. In Illinois both Sen. Durbin and Sen. Obama co-sponsored the disgraceful Senate Res 534. Anyone who thinks Obama is a progressive - THINK AGAIN. He's been awful on foreign policy - like Sen. Clinton. See this link link to look at the resolution and click on the "co-sponsors" link to see if your Senator joined in (61 did unfortunately).
Combating ignorance on a massive scale
The level of pro-Israeli, anti-Lebanese sentiment on the internet is astounding. Even places like Digg.com, where discussion trends generally leftist, any comments opposing Israel's bombing campaign are immediately modded down.
People are clueless about what is really going on, what is really being bombed. I posted Juan's link to the Daily Star on digg: http://digg.com/world_news/Latest_targets_in_Lebanon_milk_and_medicine#c2376410
and the first comment is some cave-dweller calling it 'false'. Please go 'digg' the article or post your own if you're as concerned as I am about the general lack of interest in what's actually going on in Lebanon.
AIPAC/Military Industrial complex owns it all. There is absolutely nothing in the US to stop them. They will never stop until they meet economic and military defeat which will have to come from somewhere else. The corporate media is a wonder to behold but the tale is told by the fact that there are 25,000 Americans in Lebanon who cant get out fast enough but no one has any reason to leave Israel.
I wonder Professor Cole why you haven't been listing the attacks on Israel by Hezbollah?
The answer to that question is because the mainstream media does a thorough job in covering Israeli causalities--as it should. Professor Cole’s site is one of the few places where a person can get information on the deaths of Palestinians and Lebanese civilians, who would otherwise be dismissed as dead “terrorists” by the MSM, and hence not worthy of any coverage.
Note: re "abhinav aima" in re "chris baker"
"Actually, Israeli attacks have landed in Lebanese Christian areas as well... We just keep hearing they are focusing on Hizbollah targets because that is all our TV reporters get from their IDF sources... After Shiites, the Lebanese Christian Maronites are the second largest population in Lebanon, and many of them are unhappy with BOTH the Hizbollah and Israel..."
This is a very old song indeed, but I still like Tom Lehrer's singing of it best of all:
"Once the rockets go up
Who cares where they come down?
'That's not my department,'
Says Wernner von Braun."
Palestinian Hamasniks and Lebanese Party-of-Godders seem to be entirely of the late Dr. Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun's persuasion, missilewise. One would have hoped that a competent State agency like the IDF would avoid the blunders of over-zealous private-sectorian amateurs and focus down destruction upon hapless Lebanon exactly as Father Zeus does NOT precipitate rain and snow.
One had hoped mistakenly, as it now appears. There seems to be a Von Braun school, as it were, inside the Tel Aviv regime: "Bomb Lebanon anywhere at all and you'll probably do some good."
I take refuge from all that: _Astaghfirullaah_! _Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison_
Those are good ways to provide political support for the Lebanese, what about providing financial support for them? I take it that their country is being ripped apart, and they will have serious problems with so many refugees. Are relief agencies being stressed too much, and if so, is there a way people can donate directly to relief services there? I don't even know who is working on the ground there. The closest I could find was the Lebanese Red Cross, but I wouldn't know how to donate given their instructions:
http://www.dm.net.lb/redcross/want_to_help.htm
If there was a way to donate via credit card or paypal, that would be great.
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