Defense for Children International — Palestine & Robert Naiman / The Huffington Post – 2016-05-21 01:05:24
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/speak-up-for-kids-in-mili_b_10067100.html
Each Year the Israeli Military Arrests and
Prosecutes around 700 Palestinian Children
Help Us End This
Defense for Children International — Palestine
No Way to Treat a Child
From the moment of arrest, Palestinian children encounter ill-treatment and torture at the hands of Israeli forces. Three out of four experience physical violence during arrest or interrogation.
Israel is the only country in the world to automatically prosecute children in military courts that lack basic safeguards for a fair trial.
An IDF soldier tries to arrest a 12-year-old boy, accused of stone throwing, at a demonstration in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, August 28, 2015 (Eric Cortellessa/ Times of Israel) See video below.
TAKE ACTION
KNOW THE ISSUE
SEE RESOURCES
(c) 2016 — Defense for Children International — Palestine — All Rights Reserved
(August 31, 2015) — Video diary account of the Aug. 28 of the Nabi Saleh protest where an IDF soldier was prevented by Palestinian women and children from arresting an 11-year-old boy in a cast.
ACTION ALERT: No Way to Treat a Child
Seven-year-old arrested in Hebron
ACTION ALERT: Speak Up for Kids in Military Detention
Robert Naiman / The Huffington Post
(May 20, 2016) — If you count yourself among the folks who might be willing occasionally to engage Congress to try to help protect Palestinian civilians living under Israeli military occupation if there were a plausible story that your action could have a positive impact, I have some good news. Today is your special day. Today is your opportunity to serve.
Minnesota Democrat Betty McCollum is circulating a letter to House colleagues, urging President Obama to take action to protect Palestinian kids in Israeli military detention. The letter closes early next week.
The American Friends Service Committee, Defense for Children International — Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the U.S. Campaign Against the Israeli Occupation, American Muslims for Palestine and Just Foreign Policy are collaborating on generating contacts to the House in support of this letter. Churches for Middle East Peace did an alert. Code Pink did an alert.
Now, you might think to yourself: McCollum’s letter looks great, but there’s no way my poopy-doopy Rep. in the House is going to sign it. Well, let me be perfectly honest. (What other way is there to be?) You might be right.
If your Rep. is a Republican, then you are surely right. This is a Democratic letter. Three-fourths of the current signers are CPC. There is no way on God’s green earth that your poopy-doopy Republican Rep. is going to sign this Democratic letter. So don’t bother to call them. Instead, sign a petition, share it on Facebook or Twitter or however you share things; some of your friends online aren’t represented by poopy-doopy Republicans in the House.
Now, you might think, my Rep. is a Democrat, but my Rep. is a poopy-doopy Democrat who is never going to sign the McCollum letter. Again: you might be right.
If your Rep. is a Democrat who opposed the Iran deal, then you are almost surely right. Your Rep. missed a slow pitch that was lobbed right over the plate. There’s no way on God’s green earth that your poopy-doopy Rep. is going to sign a letter implying that Palestinian kids are human beings with “certain, inalienable rights.” Don’t bother to call them. Sign a petition. Put it on the ground, spread it all around.
If, however, you have reached this part of the flow chart, then it is my sacred duty to inform you that relative to the matter at hand, your Rep. is not a lost cause. Regardless of what you think of them otherwise, if your Rep. supported the Iran deal, then it is a historical fact that one fine day, when the sun was shining and the birds were singing, your Rep. told AIPAC to go drink the water of the sea. And therefore, your Rep. is not a lost cause. Q.E.D.
If you don’t remember where your Rep. was on the Iran deal, you can check here to see if they were one of the 150 Dems who signed the Schakowsky letter in support of the Iran framework agreement, widely understood at the time as “I pledge to help block Republican/AIPAC efforts to scuttle the Iran deal.”
If your Rep. signed the Schakowsky letter, call them right now at 202-225-3121. (Or, if you’re reading this after the close of business in Washington, call them Monday morning when the office is open.) Ask to speak to the staffer who handles foreign policy. When you speak to a staffer or leave a message, you can say something like:
“As a constituent, I urge you to sign the McCollum letter asking President Obama to take action to protect Palestinian children in Israeli military detention.”
When you’ve made your call, you can report it here.
If you think this is impossible, consider this: the Iran deal was impossible. The Sanders campaign was impossible. Maybe some things that used to be impossible are now possible. Let’s put this proposition to the test. What kind of sacrifice is it to try? Not a very big one.
You can learn more about the “No Way to Treat a Child Campaign” below.
Robert Naiman is the Policy Director of Just Foreign Policy
