![U.S. Reps. Keith Ellison with President Obama [FILE]](http://www.vinnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/elison.jpg "elison")
Washington – Democratic U.S. Reps. Keith Ellison, Betty McCollum, and James Oberstar sent a letter urging President Obama late last week urging him to use diplomatic pressure to resolve the blockade affecting Gaza. Spearheaded by Ellison and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., the letter acknowledges the difficult position facing Israel and notes that the blockade is strengthening Hamas. Fifty members of Congress, as well as a number of religious groups and denominations, have signed on to Ellison’s letter.
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“The unabated suffering of Gazan civilians highlights the urgency of reaching a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and we ask you to press for immediate relief for the citizens of Gaza as an urgent component of your broader Middle East peace efforts,” the letter urges. “The current blockade has severely impeded the ability of aid agencies to do their work to relieve suffering.”
Among the groups supporting the letter: J Street, The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF), The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP), The American Near East Refugee Association (ANERA), The Methodist Church, The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), and Rabbis for Human Rights.
“We also sympathize deeply with the people of southern Israel who have suffered from abhorrent rocket and mortar attacks,” the letter states. “We recognize that the Israeli government has imposed restrictions on Gaza out of a legitimate and keenly felt fear of continued terrorist action by Hamas and other militant groups. This concern must be addressed without resulting in the de facto collective punishment of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip. Truly, fulfilling the needs of civilians in Israel and Gaza are mutually reinforcing goals.”
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Below is the letter
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama,
Thank you for your ongoing work to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for your commitment of $300 million in U.S. aid to rebuild the Gaza Strip. We write to you with great concern about the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
The people of Gaza have suffered enormously since the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt following Hamas’ coup, and particularly following Operation Cast Lead. We also sympathize deeply with the people of southern Israel who have suffered from abhorrent rocket and mortar attacks. We recognize that the Israeli government has imposed restrictions on Gaza out of a legitimate and keenly felt fear of continued terrorist action by Hamas and other militant groups. This concern must be addressed without resulting in the de facto collective punishment of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip. Truly, fulfilling the needs of civilians in Israel and Gaza are mutually reinforcing goals.
The unabated suffering of Gazan civilians highlights the urgency of reaching a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and we ask you to press for immediate relief for the citizens of Gaza as an urgent component of your broader Middle East peace efforts. The current blockade has severely impeded the ability of aid agencies to do their work to relieve suffering, and we ask that you advocate for immediate improvements for Gaza in the following areas:
* Movement of people, especially students, the ill, aid workers, journalists, and those with family concerns, into and out of Gaza;
* Access to clean water, including water infrastructure materials,
* Access to plentiful and varied food and agricultural materials;
* Access to medicine and health care products and suppliers;
* Access to sanitation supplies, including sanitation infrastructure materials;
* Access to construction materials for repairs and rebuilding;
* Access to fuel;
* Access to spare parts;
* Prompt passage into and out of Gaza for commercial and agricultural goods; and
* Publication and review of the list of items prohibited to the people of Gaza.
Winter is arriving and the needs of the people grow ever more pressing. For example, the ban on building materials is preventing the reconstruction of thousands of innocent families’ damaged homes. There is also a concern that unrepaired sewage treatment plants will overflow and damage surrounding property and water resources.
Despite ad hoc easing of the blockade, there has been no significant improvement in the quantity and scope of goods allowed into Gaza. Both the number of trucks entering Gaza per month and the number of days the crossings have been open have declined since March. This crisis has devastated livelihoods, entrenched a poverty rate of over 70%, increased dependence on erratic international aid, allowed the deterioration of public infrastructure, and led to the marked decline of the accessibility of essential services.
The humanitarian and political consequences of a continued near-blockade would be disastrous. Easing the blockade on Gaza will not only improve the conditions on the ground for Gaza’s civilian population, but will also undermine the tunnel economy which has strengthened Hamas. Under current conditions, our aid remains little more than an unrealized pledge. Most importantly, lifting these restrictions will give civilians in Gaza a tangible sense that diplomacy can be an effective tool for bettering their conditions.
Your Administration’s overarching Middle East peace efforts will benefit Israel, the Palestinians, and the entire region. The people of Gaza, along with all the peoples of the region, must see that the United States is dedicated to addressing the legitimate security needs of the State of Israel and to ensuring that the legitimate needs of the Palestinian population are met.
Sincerely,
Members of Congress
Arizona Raul Grijalva. California Lois Capps, Sam Farr, Bob Filner, Barbara Lee,Loretta Sanchez, Pete Stark, Michael Honda, Lynn Woolsey, Jackie Speier, Diane Watson, George Miller. Connecticut Jim Himes ndiana Andre Carson Iowa Bruce Braley Kentucky John Yarmuth Maryland Elijah Cummings, Donna Edwards. Massachusetts Michael Capuano William Delahunt, Jim McGovern, John Tierney, John Olver, Stephen Lynch, Michigan John Conyers John Dingell, Carolyn Kilpatrick Minnesota Keith Ellison Betty McCollum James Oberstar.New Jersey Donald Payne Rush Holt Bill Pascrell New York Yvette Clarke Maurice Hinchey Paul Tonko Eric Massa. North Carolina David Price. Ohio Mary Jo Kilroy, Marcy Kaptur. Oregon Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio. PennsylvaniaChaka Fattah, Joe Sestak. VermontPeter Welch. Virginia Jim Moran. WashingtonJim McDermott, Adam Smith, Jay Inslee, Brian Baird. West VirginiaNick Rahall Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin, Gwen Moore. Virginia Glenn Nye
1st. peace talks have nothing to do with Gaza.
Gaza is run by Hamas not Fatah. and Hamas wants no peace with Israel, only pieces of Israel. and Fatah really does not want peace either or they would have accepted Olmerts 99% plan, they want 100+ %. the Arab residents in Israel have never wanted a capitol, much less a state until Israel became a nation in 1948.
and every time we give them something we NEVER get anything back in return. NEVER>. only failed agreements. UNTIL the Arabs love their children more than they hate Israel, there will never be peace
“AND NO ISLAM IS NOT A PEACEFUL RELIGION” Only here in the USA have we been duped into believing it is.
each time we have lifted the blockade of gazan residents we end up with supply trucks taken and supplies confiscated by hamas, and in any case the people of gaza VOTED for Hamas and Hamas did not immediately take over and violently and bloodly push Fatah out.
Contact Senators Schumer and Gillibrand demanding that they protest unjust
efforts to pressure Israel as it is now engaged in an existential battle to safeguard its borders against anti-Semitic Jihad fanatics. Tell your Congressmen to protest
pressure against Israel. Israel has a right to build houses anywhere on its sovereign
territory. The holy land of Israel has been promised by Almighty God to the Jewish People who have an absolute right to live in peace without any disturbance from its
belligerent neighbors. Israel has a sacred right to defend its borders and citizens
against its belligerent neighbors who should be ashamed of themselves for their
consistent barbarism against innocent Jews. Contact Abraham Foxman, ADL
chief. Let him do something constructive for a change. (Instead of attacking Rush
Limbaugh—a friend of Israel—tell this rocket scientist to protest pressure against Israel.) While you’re at it, write your congressman demanding that Obama keep Islamo-tyrannical enemy combattants locked up on Guantanamo Base. Keep those scoundrels out of America. God bless Israel!
all of you rep get your information correct! you give up your home and your belongings to a thief and then hope the thief will do you good. israel gave up gaza to the arabs and what do the israeli’s get back rockets and terror being shot at their new homes. so please all of you rep i do know where you get your info from get if from a better source and please leave israel alone!
The citizens of North Jersey should show Bill Pascrell the door after signing on with known anti-Semites. Vote him out.
Too bad Yvette Clarke beat out Yassky.
Despite a half-nod to Israel’s security needs and the terrorism that Southern Israel has suffered through the indiscriminate Hamas rocket attacks aimed at civilians — just so that the signatories can claim that they are “fair” — the bottom line is the main thrust of this letter is urging Obama to tighten the screws on Israel re: Gaza, which can only strengthen Hamas. Among the interesting signatories — Jim McDermott (D-WA), who ventured to Iraq before the war began there on a propaganda junket paid for by Saddam Hussein’s intelligence agency; Jim Moran (D-VA), who infamously said Jewish “influence” was pushing the US into war with Iraq — even the liberal National Jewish Democratic Committee denounced his comments as “not only incorrect and irresponsible – they are downright dangerous.”; and the sole New York signatory, Yvette Clarke of Brooklyn (Jewish voters in Crown Heights, Flatbush and elsewhere in the 11th CD PLEASE TAKE NOTE THIS NOVEMBER). Also, the ultra-liberal “J Street” lobby, whose criticism of Israel’s Gaza campaign caused even liberal Reform rabbi Eric Yoffee to call it “morally deficient, profoundly out of touch with Jewish sentiment and also appallingly naïve.
Seal those borders for good. Let them die of hunger. They voted for Hamas Terrorists. They are all terrorists. I would not give them any medical help either. There are billions of Arabs, muslims. None of them is being asked to help their brothers. Israel has to help its own population. There will never be piece in that region. When Mashiach will come, we will have piece.
I think its funny -Yvette Clarke represents one of the largest Jewish populations in America, and still signs everything anti Israel
Hey Geniuses,
How about pressuring Egypt, who happens to share a border with gaza as well.
Is there a specific reason that this aid needs to come through Israel?!
Shame on Yvette Clarke for signing.
As the sole New York signatory, she obviously thinks sh has the upcoming election in the bag. Lets unite to SHOW HER THE DOOR this November.
What makes it even more appaling is that she signed it after Israel sent aid to Haiti —from which many of her constituents originate.
Such an ungrateful slouch.
Wake up Crown Heights and get rid of her!!!!!
everyone on this list is in line with a much greater list of antisemites, when given the chance would bite & kick Israel and Jews where it hurts, they don’t care for the Gaza people. or the Sudanese, Tutsi’s rowana’s or haiti. you name them.
all we have to do is remember them at election day
1) 54 out of over 400 is a joke….
2) i’m sure obama has nothing else to do at this point, but run around and deal with palestinians from gaza
how many of the signed congressmen are democrats and how many republican?
B”H
People should use the following webform to contact Yvette Clarke of NY and complain. She represents a Jewish district. It’s important that she retract that letter.
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/mail/?id=143010&type=CO&state=NY
nothing is wrong with this letter. of course a muslim will be slightly more pro-palestinian than pro-israel. there is no reason to claim that he is an anti-semite.
She ready voted agains israel before and the said she didn’t realy understand what she voted for. She then had photo op with her frum worker and all was good. She is a know anti israel person and no photo op should be alowed to cover it up
Anyone know who is opposing clarke (from crown heights) and jom pascrell from NJ?
Everyone of us should donate to the opponents of these people. In the past a NY or NJ rep from these states would never dare sign a letter against Israel. Let’s support all the oppenents of these 54 reresentatives with our money and support. I will send my $ to each and everyone of the oppponents of these 52 jerks.
Notice all the representatives signed are Democrats with not even one republican is signed — wonder which party you should be supporting?
Let’s get rid of this clark, I never normally go to vote but this November I will vote for anyone but Clark
Notice also J street who officially support Israel is signed also!!
lets not forget the 381 congressmen (202 democrats) who DID NOT sign the letter!
We need to get these morons out of office in 2010! I will do my best to get “my” rep, Rascal Pascrell out of office!
As ultra-liberals go, I thought this was a HUGE step forward for this group. At least now they accept that Israel is DEFENDING itself, and is not the aggressor. A few years ago we couldn’t even get THAT much.
Secondly, while I do see a long list of ultra-liberal politicians on the list, I am confused by the list of groups supporting this letter, and I’m surprised nobody else noticed it.
The Methodist Church is one of the most CONSERVATIVE churches out there. It is the religion George W. Bush subscribes to. They are the “born-again” types that you see on TV asking for money. This is a 70 million member church and one of the largest in the US. I find that quite disturbing. While I do understand that this letter is only meant to address HUMANITARIAN issues, it is odd to the church’s name alongside these ultra-liberals.
For all their talk of “loving Israel”, it doesn’t seem that it is “Jews” they love… just Israel. That is something that everyone who praises churches and xian media personalities for their “support” should think about.
I find it interesting that they begin the letter by talking about the blockade imposed by Israel and Gaza, continue on by stating that Israel has real security concerns, and then ask that Israel should open its borders, not Egypt.
This is bizarre in so many ways. Egyptians are Muslim Arabs as are the so-called Palestinians. Egypt is not under threat from Gazan Arabs while Israel is.
So why not allow Israel, a supposedly sovereign entity, to permanently seal that border with Gaza and ask Egypt to open their border with Gaza?
J Street joins with Israel’s enemies. J Street joins to request building supplies and chemicals for Hamas Terrorist Forces. J Street supports building bunkers and chemical bomb implacements in civilian neighborhoods. This is big news. J Street now openly supports Hamas terror goals.
Where’s the public response from AIPAC and the OU? For what else do they get our money?
Boys (and girls!), I have got a really good idea.
One of you send Obama and Nataneyahu an open letter saying what you would do now if you were respectively president and prime minister and what you think would be the likely outcome!
And just for fun tell us what you would do if you were boss of Hamas (sorry, I don’t know his name but neither do you. Is there one?)
How about a letter about China about its completely illegal occupation of Tibet and a list of its violations of human rights there. Come to that a list of human rights violations in China would also make interesting reading. What about Iran. Zimbabwe. Egypt. Sudan. Somalia. etc. etc.
Of course there are no civil rights violations of the population of Gaza by the Hamas government.
They’re right. Israel should not blockade Gaza. It should bomb Gaza and get rid of its enemies.
Please keep this list handy and remember to publish it in NOVEMBER and/or SEPTEMBER primaries. We will take back America.
You Brooklyn people are so pathetic. You haven’t voted for years, and now you’re upset?!?! GO VOTE!!!
I cannot believe J Street openly supports Hamas Terrorist goals in Gaza. Is it true that Chabad votes to support a pro-Hamas Congresswoman? Strange bedfellows. Anti-Zionist J Street left wing wackos and Chabad messianics.
Yvette Clarke who signed this abomonation is fully supported by Chabad/Crown Heights, indeed, her right hand man is a Lubavitcher: Mr. Slavin. Ms. Clarke would not sign this anti-Israel proclomation without the agreement of Slavin and the Lubavitch community. Does this maean that Lubavitch has become anti-Israel?
From the Maryland delegation Elijah Cummins and a lady Congresswoman , a an Afro-American lady signed the petition.Maybe we realize it has nothing to do with helping the Arabs rather it is venting antisemitism
First Hamas must stop firing rockets and serving as a base for terrorist operations against Israel!! Otherwise the blockade must be in place!! The U.S went into Afghanistan which was harboring terrorists so why can’t Israel defend herself in the same way!!