Thursday, December 20, 2012

From Gaza to Newtown, Take Action to End Devastating Violence of Weapons.U.S. Seeks to Rearm Israel on International Human Rights Day

From Gaza to Newtown, Take Action to End Devastating Violence of Weaponsby Josh Ruebner, National Advocacy Director

December 20th, 2012


U.S. Seeks to Rearm Israel on International Human Rights Day


Sign our petition to Sec. of State Hillary Clinton to investigate Israel's misuse of U.S. weapons in Gaza and end U.S. military aid to Israel.
Photo credit: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.



Just three days before last week’s tragic massacre of 27 people, including 20 first graders, in Newtown, Connecticut, Israel Weapons Industries (IWI) proudly announced the opening of its U.S. subsidiary in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

IWI will now further saturate the market for guns in the United States by offering U.S. “shooting enthusiasts” several varieties of the TAVOR semi-automatic rifle and the UZI sub-machine gun, according to its CEO Uri Amit.

Speaking at a vigil in Newtown on Sunday, President Obama said: “We can’t tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change…Surely, we can do better than this.”

We share these sentiments and, along with the entire nation, offer our deepest condolences to the families affected by this profound tragedy. Adding these deadly Israeli-made guns to the U.S. market will only make this epidemic of gun violence worse.

Yes, President Obama, we must end these tragedies not only in the United States, but abroad as well. Last month, Israel killed at least 182 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including 47 children, during an eight-day attack, according to the World Health Organization.

Israel killed these Palestinians with U.S. weapons provided as military aid at taxpayer expense. Earlier this month, we launched a petition to the State Department demanding that it investigate Israel’s misuse of U.S. weapons in Gaza and hold it accountable for violating the Arms Export Control Act.

So far, nearly 10,000 people have signed the petition on our website and on causes.com. Help us double this number before we deliver the petition to the Obama administration next month by signing it and then posting it to your Facebook profile and tweeting it to your Twitter followers.

Clearly we must do more. Not only is the Obama administration failing to hold Israel accountable; to make matters worse, on International Human Rights Day, the Pentagon notified Congress that it wanted to give Israel 6,900 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) tail kits and more than 10,000 bombs—weapons worth $647 million—to replenish Israel’s arsenal for its U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets.

Israel used this type of U.S. taxpayer-funded fighter jet to fire a missile at the al-Dalu family home in Gaza City on November 18, killing 12 civilians in an attack which Human Rights Watch concluded was a “clear violation of the laws of war.”


Please sign our petition to the Obama administration to investigate Israel's misuse of U.S. weapons, hold it accountable and block the delivery of additional bombs and JDAM's for Israel's arsenal of F-16 fighter jets.


While it’s essential to take action online, it’s important as well to educate and organize people in our communities to end U.S. aid to Israel. Since Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip last month, more than 50 new volunteers have joined thousands of organizers in all 50 states and nearly 1,100 cities working to do that.

Sign up today to receive a free organizing packet in the mail with all the materials you need—fact sheets, flyers, postcards, stickers, posters and more—to mobilize people in your city to end U.S. military aid to Israel.

In this holiday season, as our thoughts turn toward peace on earth, let us take action collectively so that the recent tragedies of Gaza and Newtown are never repeated again.

Sincerely,


Josh Ruebner, National Advocacy Director

PS: Don’t forget to sign our petition to Secretary of State Clinton calling for an investigation into Israel’s misuse of U.S. weapons.

http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=3413