by Friends Committee on National Legislation –
http://www.fcnl.org
Support the Middle East Peace Process
Senate Resolution 276 (S Res 276) and the identical House Resolution 479 (H Res 479) were introduced on November 25 and December 9, respectively. The resolutions call on Israeli and Palestinian leaders and President Bush to seize the opportunity presented by recent non-official initiatives by Israelis and Palestinians designed to restart movement toward a lasting peace in the region.
The Senate resolution has six sponsors/co-sponsors (Senators Feinstein (CA), Chafee (RI), Leahy (VT), Lautenberg (NJ), Bill Nelson (FL) and Jeffords (VT) and the House resolution has 34 (listed below).
ACTION: If your senator or representative is one of the original sponsors/co-sponsors, please send a message of thanks for co-sponsoring the Capps/Houghton or Feinstein/Chafee resolution supporting Middle East peace. If your senators’ or representative’s names are not listed, please consider sending a message requesting support for and co-sponsoring of the relevant resolution.
Your request is important, for these resolutions have aroused considerable — and sometimes passionate — opposition among members of Congress from both parties to the unofficial initiatives mentioned in these resolutions.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has sent an article to all foreign policy legislative aides charging that the Israeli negotiators at Geneva had “signed on a document of surrender.”
What these initiatives really do is shift the spotlight from debates on and accusations about Palestinian violence (e.g., do Palestinian textbooks incite violence?) to the fundamental and most difficult issues such as refugees, Jerusalem, and settlements.
S Res 276 and H Res 479 are vehicles for a constructive shift in the debate within Congress on the way forward for the Middle East.
BACKGROUND: For details about these private initiatives and the responses they have sparked in certain U.S. government circles and in the United Nations, go to http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=654&issue_id=36.
To read the text of the resolutions introduced in the House and Senate, click here http://www.fcnl.org/issues/issue.php?issue_id=36.
CONTACTING CONGRESS IS EASY: Start with the sample letters posted in our Legislative Action Center. You can personalize the language and email or fax message directly from the FCNL site or you can print out the letter and mail it.
To view the sample letters go to http://capwiz.com/fconl/home/, click on the resolution, enter your zip code, and click
Cosponsors of H Res 479
Lois Capps (D-CA) Amo Houghton (R-NY) Ed Markey (D-MA)
James Leach (R-IA) James McGovern (D-MA) James Walsh (R-NY)
David Price (D-NC) Rob Simmons (R-CT) Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
Joe Pitts (R-PA) John Dingell (D-MI) Sam Farr (D-CA)
Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) Mark Udall (D-CO) Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Barbara Lee (D-CA) Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) Charles Gonzalez (D-TX)
George Miller (D-CA) James Moran (D-VA) William Pascrell (D-NJ)
Nick Joe Rahall (D-WV) Betty McCollum (D-MN) Peter DeFazio (D-OR)
William Delahunt (D-MA) Ron Kind (D-WI) Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Brian Baird (D-WA) Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) Udall (D-NM)
Karen McCarthy (D-MO)
CONTACTING LEGISLATORS
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
Sen. ________
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Rep. ________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Information on your members is available on FCNL’s web site:
http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/directory/directory.dbq
CONTACTING THE ADMINISTRATION
White House Comment Desk: 202-456-1111
FAX: 202-456-2461
E-MAIL: president@whitehouse.gov
WEB PAGE: http://www.whitehouse.gov
President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
This message supplements other FCNL materials and does not reflect FCNL’s complete policy position on any issue. For further information, please contact FCNL.
: 245 Second Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795. Email: fcnl@fcnl.org
Phone: (202) 547-6000
Toll Free: (800) 630-1330
Fax: (202) 547-6019
http://www.fcnl.org
