Update: this action, now closed, ran in May 2018.
Urge your senators to sign the letter, being circulated by Senator Bernie Sanders, that calls for action by the Trump Administration to alleviate the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. The crisis in Gaza not only makes life virtually unlivable for the two million residents of the Gaza Strip; it also endangers Israeli security by creating a breeding ground for the radicalization of Gaza’s residents.
The letter, addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, calls on the Trump Administration to:
- restore US funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)
- encourage easing of restriction on movement of people, goods, and equipment in and out of Gaza, especially for water projects and health essentials
- ensure greater electricity flow into energy-starved Gaza
- pursue proposals to build Gaza’s economy, including the proposed Gaza Seaport
More than this is needed to address the situation in Gaza. In particular, Secretary Pompeo and the Trump Administration should take steps to bring about a political solution which would facilitate an end to the Israeli and Egyptian siege on Gaza. This letter is, at least, a positive and necessary step – and one that should be entirely uncontroversial.
The full text of the Sanders letter on humanitarian relief for Gaza is available here.