Remove the Siege – Stop the War!

Updated Action Alert on Gaza:
We Need “Sustained, Determined Political Action”December 29, 2008

As of this writing, a third consecutive day of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have killed an estimated 315 Palestinians and injured more than 1,400. According to the UN, at least 51 of the victims were civilians and 8 were children. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has vowed ominously “a war to the bitter end.”
Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip are being carried out with F16 fighter jets, Apache helicopters, and naval gunboats all given to Israel by the United States with our tax dollars.
From 2001-2006, the United States transferred to Israel more than $200 million worth of spare parts to fly its fleet of F16’s and more than $100 million worth of helicopter spare parts for its fleet of Apaches. In July 2008, the United States gave Israel 186 million gallons of JP-8 aviation jet fuel and signed a contract to transfer an addition $1.9 billion worth of littoral combat ships to the Israeli navy. Last year, the United States signed a $1.3 billion contract with Raytheon to transfer to Israel thousands of TOW, Hellfire, and “bunker buster” missiles.
Make no mistake about it-Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip would not be possible without the jets, helicopters, ships, missiles, and fuel provided by the United States.
Ali Abunimah, of The Electronic Intifada, wrote, “Palestinians everywhere are asking for solidarity, real solidarity, in the form of sustained, determined political action.” In light of our country’s enabling role in Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, it is the least we can do. Here’s how:
1. Attend a protest or vigil. We’ve compiled a list of more than 60 emergency protests taking place in 25 states and the District of Columbia, many of which are taking place today or tomorrow. Find one near you and bring as many people to it as you can. If you know of a protest that isn’t listed on our website, please send us all the logistical details and contact information by clicking here. More events are being posted all the time-check back frequently for the latest updates.
2. Contact the White House, the State Department, your Representative and Senators, and the Obama Transition Team to protest Israel’s war on Gaza and demand an immediate cease-fire.
White House: 202-456-1111 or comments@whitehouse.gov
State Department: 202-647-6575 or send an email by clicking here
Congress: 202-224-3121 or find contact info by clicking here
Obama Transition Team: send an email by clicking here
3. Make your voice heard in the media. Contact your local media by phoning into a talk show or writing a letter to the editor. To find contact info for your local media, click here.
4. Tell President-Elect Barack Obama that ” We Need a Change in Israel/Palestine Policy.” Join more than 200 organizations in 38 states plus Washington, DC and abroad and thousands of individuals by endorsing this letter which will be published as a full-page ad on Inauguration Day. Let all your friends know by copying and pasting the graphic below into your email signature, blog, or website and by joining our Facebook group.
5. Sign up to organize people in your community to end U.S. military aid to Israel. We’ll send you an organizing packet complete with our brand new postcards featuring the icon below. If we’re going to change U.S. policy, we’ve got to go beyond agreeing among ourselves and educate and organize others as well. Sign up today and we’ll send you a package tomorrow by clicking here.
6. Join us in Washington, DC for Inauguration Day on January 20. Upwards of 4 million people are expected in Washington, DC for President-Elect Obama’s inauguration. This is a perfect time for us to reach out to and educate our fellow citizens about U.S. policy toward Palestine/Israel. If you plan to be in Washington for the inauguration and would like to help us distribute information and get signatures on postcards calling for a cut off of arms transfers to Israel, please click here.
7. Join us again in Washington, DC for a Grassroots Advocacy Training and Lobby Day on February 1-2. Interfaith Peace-Builders and the US Campaign are organizing this exciting two-day event, featuring interactive, skills-building workshops and the chance to meet with your Representative and Senators to discuss U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine. Spaces are filling up fast. For more details, and to register, please click here.
8. Forward this email to everyone you know and ask them to take action.

Thank you for doing all you can during this tragic time.
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

Office of the Prime Minister

80 Wellington Street

Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2

Fax: 613-941-6900

To the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada

Dear Prime Minister Harper,

I am writing to express my shock and dismay at the recent illegal Israeli attacks on the Palestinian city of Gaza. More than 400 Palestinians have been helplessly killed by Israel’s aerial bombardments. The Israeli bombers have targeted civilian buildings and installations, including police stations, a university, refugee camps and the port of Gaza City, not to mention numerous houses, residential and office buildings.

These shocking Israeli assaults follow a cruel, year-and-a-half-long siege and blockade of Gaza by Israel, conditions that have crippled the Gazan economy and brought starvation and malnourishment. The Israeli blockade has brought delivery of food, fuel, medical supplies and other necessities to a halt, even as UN storage depots in Gaza are now empty. Israel continues to bar UN and medical personnel, as well as journalists, from entering the city.

The Israeli attacks are war crimes, and are directly in contravention of international humanitarian law and principles of human rights. Yet Western governments, including Canada’s, have been silent in the face of these atrocities. This must change immediately.

Mr. Harper, on Friday, December 19, 2008, you represented Canada in the earth-turning ceremony for the foundation of the new Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg. If principles of human rights are to extend to everyone, including Palestinians, and if you truly seek to champion human rights in Canada and around the world, then you and your Government must act now to prevent the further shedding of Palestinian blood.

We, as citizens of Canada who desire our country to stand for the human rights of people here and around the world, hereby call upon your Government to condemn the Israeli attacks upon Gaza and to use all of its influence at the United Nations and other international organizations to which it is signatory to force Israel to cease and desist from all further attacks against the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

We also call upon your Government to suspend its relations with Israel, including all nation-to-nation trade agreements, pacts, treaties, and so forth.

Further, we call upon your Government to declare sanctions against Israel, to divest itself from all investments in Israeli companies, and to boycott all Israeli goods and services until a lasting peace agreement acceptable to the Palestinian people is reached.

Sincerely,

Signature:

Name:

Address:

At least 300 Palestinians have been killed and over 1400 injured in the latest Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, while the threat for further bloodshed still hangs heavily as air strikes continue. This is the single largest massacre in Gaza since Israel illegally occupied Gaza in 1967,many among the dead are civilians and the numbers keeps mounting. The Israeli state shows no sign of halting its assault anytime soon as they have begun to amass tanks and ground assault military vehicles on the border with Gaza. Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, has stated that, “the operation will last as long as necessary”. Israel’s latest massacre in Gaza occurs with official US and Canadian complicity towards Israel’s illegal siege and ongoing sanctions over the civilian population in Gaza. Over the past two years the Gaza Strip has been undergoing the daily violence of a wide-ranging humanitarian catastrophe triggered by severely reduced access to energy, food, and medicines. In effect, Gaza is the world’s largest open air prison. Join us in Vancouver as people of conscience to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza and to demand an end to the siege of Gaza and Israeli apartheid.TAKE ACTION!!!
1) Email the prime minister, foreign affairs minister, and leaders of the opposition.
Visit: http://www.cjpme.ca/action_gaza_2008_12.shtml
2) Respond to biased media coverage.
Visit: http://letgazabeheard.wordpress.com to send sample emails to the BBC, CNN, and Fox News regarding their biased coverage and use those template letters to send to Canadian media outlets.

The civil society in Israel calls out to the international community:

STOP THE WAR IN GAZA!

Since Saturday December 27^th, the Israeli Air Forces have been bombing the Gaza strip. Until now (Tuesday morning), more than 374 people were killed and over 800 were injured. The horror images from Gaza show blood, body parts and destruction everywhere. Hospitals are overflowing, while the Strip’s largest storage of medical supplies was bombarded. The Israeli government is threatening that this is to be only the beginning.

We, Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel, are horrified by the actions of the government and the army. We oppose this war and demand to end the suffering inflicted on the people of Gaza.

We demand:

• An immediate ceasefire and an end to all Israeli military operations

• An immediate access to Gaza for ALL humanitarian aid and supplies

• Permanent lifting of the siege and all restrictions on movement of people and goods to and from Gaza.

Mass bombardment and killing are not self-defense. The Israeli government’s actions represent the main threat to the residents of the south and of Gaza. Four Israeli citizens have already died in the south of Israel of missiles fired in response to this attack. We are all hostages of our government.

The Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the entire conflict in the Middle East are fueled by international economical and political interests. This war, too, is backed by the silence of the European Union and the support of the USA in the Security Council of the UN. The blood is on their hands as well as on ours.

We alone cannot stop this war and bloodshed. We call upon the international community and ask for your help.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

(Please inform us of your action! stoppingthewar@gmail.com )

Join us on the International Action Day to STOP THE WAR IN GAZA! Saturday, January 3^rd, 2009.

– Organize a protest action in front of the Israeli embassy or consulate in your city.

– Contact your political representatives and demand their engagement in international efforts to end the war.

– Contact your Congressperson or representative in the Parliament of the European Union and demand they take a clear stand against these aggressions.

– Write letters to the Israeli leadership responsible for this war:

– Donate to Physicians for Human Rights for emergency humanitarian aid.

With a medical system already on the verge of collapse as a result of the ongoing closure, 1.4 million civilians are in desperate need of urgent medical help from outside the Gaza Strip. PHR-Israel has the means to transfer this help within days and is seeking to raise 700,000 USD during the next week for purchase and direct transfer of supplies to Gaza hospitals.

http://www.phr.org.il/phr

– Donate to the Coalition of Women for Peace for our anti-war campaign.

From the first day of the attack, we have been mobilizing hundreds of Israelis to protest the war. Please support us for further struggle to bring the public to protest in the streets of Israel. A ceasefire may be a matter of time, but each day we make it closer we save people’s lives.

http://www.coalitionofwomen.org/donate