Update: this action, now closed, ran in January 2017.
Just before the New Year, the Obama Administration took pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-U.S. action in the UN Security Council. It did so by abstaining on a resolution focused on Israeli settlements – a resolution that was wholly consistent with longstanding U.S. policy (upheld by presidents from both parties), and that was consistent with language adopted previously by the UN Security Council (including under past U.S. presidents from both parties).
Now, the House is poised to pass a resolution TOMORROW – H. Res. 11 – unfairly slamming the Obama Administration’s action.
Contact your Representative TODAY. Tell him/her: Support Israel -- vote NO on H. Res. 11!
H. Res. 11 misrepresents the resolution adopted in the Security Council. It mischaracterizes longstanding U.S. policy both in the Security Council and vis-à-vis settlements. And it misleadingly portrays President Obama’s abstention in the Security Council as a betrayal of Israel and harmful to peace efforts.
Your elected representative in Washington needs to know that this resolution, and the positions it embraces, is not pro-Israel. Rather, it is bad for Israel and bad for the United States. Your representative in Congress needs to hear from you TODAY!
Sincerely,
Lara Friedman
Director, Policy & Government Relations
Americans for Peace Now
PS: This resolution reflects the false/mistaken argument that the U.S. has had a longstanding policy of preventing passage of resolutions in the Security Council critical of Israel. The truth is that the opposite is true: every U.S. president since 1967 has abstained on or voted in favor of multiple resolutions critical of Israel, including resolutions to which Israel strenuously objected, when those resolutions were consistent with U.S. policy. You can review for yourself the history of U.S. votes on such resolutions, and you can also read my analysis of the data, published in the New York Times earlier this year.
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- Write to your member
- Call your member
Time is short and your Representative needs to hear from you TODAY. If you don’t know who your representative is, you can look them up here. Then call the US Capitol switchboard – (202) 224-3121- and ask to be connected to your Member’s office. Tell the person who answers the phone:
- I am a constituent.
- I care about Israel and Israeli-Palestinian peace, and that is why I want Representative XXX to vote NO on H. Res. 11.
- This resolution is supposed to be about defending Israel and supporting peace.
- It is really about quashing legitimate criticism of Israeli actions and changing longstanding U.S. policy to support settlements.
- Supporting self-destructive Israeli policies is not pro-Israel
- I urge Representative XXX to take the pro-Israel action and vote no on H. Res. 11.
Write to your Senators, opposing the Senate version of this resolution.