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![]() What US House Resolution 1765 tells us about the peace camp
Sama Adnan argues that efforts to educate the US public about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the need for a just solution to this conflict will remain incomplete and essentially toothless without pro-peace political actions committees that raise funds for congressional candidates who push for an end to Israel’s occupation.
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Sunday, December 19,2010 19:10 | |||||||||
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Sama Adnan argues that efforts to educate the US public about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the need for a just solution to this conflict will remain incomplete and essentially toothless without pro-peace political actions committees that raise funds for congressional candidates who push for an end to Israel’s occupation.
Today there are hundreds of organizations educating the American public about the facts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They raise the public’s awareness about the plight of Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip. Some organizations highlight the importance of resolving the refugee crisis and yet others underline Israel’s apartheid regime in the West Bank, undergirded by Jewish-only settlements and Jewish-only infrastructure. Almost all existing organizations focused on a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are 501(c)(3) educational organizations, i.e. tax-exempt, non-profit bodies. Many of these organizations address congressional representatives by asking their members to sign petitions or letters to Congress. However, what is lost on, or neglected by, these organizations is the fact that members of Congress are almost entirely beholden to a powerful pro-Israel lobby whose fabled success stems primarily from its ability to fund congressional campaigns.
When the time for a vote comes, whether it is a symbolic non-binding resolution such as House Resolution 1765 or a crucial bill funding Israel’s occupation, the vast majority of members of Congress will invariably vote on the side of Israel. The reason is quite simple: a member of Congress cannot listen to pro-peace organizations because hard-line pro-Israel political action committees (PAC) fund their campaigns, no matter how sympathetic the member is to the Palestinian cause.
By abdicating our responsibility to lobby Congress and fund congressional campaigns, we have relegated ourselves to fighting a formidable opponent while blindfolded with both hands tied behind our collective back. Hard-line pro-Israel PACs not only help elect members of Congress, but they indirectly appoint administration officials through Senate confirmation hearings, as was painfully evident during the Chas Freeman debacle. We have been effectively shut out from the halls of power in the United States with grave consequences for all involved. Under Federal Election Commission rules, only a political action committee can fund the campaign of a member of Congress. As of last year, there was not a single political action committee funding members of Congress who support a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, until the establishment of New Policy PAC. New Policy PAC fundraises for congressional candidates who push for an end to Israel’s occupation and an American troops withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, while opposing any attack on Iran. |
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tags: IOF / Palestinians / Congress / Gaza Strip / West Bank / Settlements / Jewish / PAC / FEC / Afghanistan / Palestinian-Israeli Conflict / Congressional Candidates / House Resolution / US House / Obama Administration / Statehood / American Public / Apartheid Regime / Pro-Israel Lobby / Senate Confirmation / Federal Election Commission / BDS
Posted in Palestine |
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