The Congress is currently considering legislation that will make it impossible to have a balanced negotiation for peace between Israel and Palestine and very difficult to provide humanitarian aid if the crisis in the Palestinian Territories worsens. 

In the past the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and Israel's efforts “to dominate, expel, starve and humiliate an entire people” as front-line Israel soldiers who refuse to participate in the occupation describe it, was something that was tangential to U.S. interests. The usefulness of Israel as a military ally in the oil-rich region was more important than ending the occupation of Palestine. Alexander Haig described Israel as our “unsinkable air craft carrier.”  But now, the one-sided “special relationship” of the United States with Israel is a root cause of terrorism against the United States.

Rather than rushing to pass the Anti-Palestinian Terrorism Act of 2006, it is the time for the United States to re-evaluate the relationship with Israel.  Israel, a country the size of New Jersey, has been receiving 25% to 30% of U.S. foreign aid for decades.  This tiny country has been receiving as much foreign assistance as sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Carribean combined. This funding has made the United States taxpayer the underwriter of the occupation of the Palestinian Territories. 

And, this occupation is not just illegal – it is brutal.  The killing of civilians, the assassination of political leaders, the destruction of fruit orchards, the plowing of homes, routine mass searches of the population, the separation of Palestinians from water supplies, the separation of farmers from their fields and the division of towns with the security wall – all combine to make this 39 year occupation among the harshest in the world. It is so ugly that hard line pro-Israel forces work hard to prevent the U.S. taxpayer from knowing what they are funding, e.g. the recent closing of a play about the death of Rachel Corrie – a U.S. citizen murdered by Israel while trying to block the destruction of Palestinian homes.

Sadly, this occupation is not only 'starving and humiliating' an entire people it is making Israel weaker and less secure.  The Israeli economy was the major political issue in the most recent election with poverty on the rise in Israel. Israel is more politically isolated in the world community, anti-Semitism is on the rise throughout the world and Israelis are less secure.  If the occupation was successful there would not be a need to build the so-called 'security wall' that is currently under construction. If Israel were secure it would not be advocating for a dangerous military strike against Iran.

The bill being considered in Congress ignores all the atrocities of the military occupation and puts the U.S. further on the side of the occupier – Israel.  The law would restrict U.S. humanitarian aid; designate Palestinian territory as a “terrorist sanctuary” thereby triggering restrictions on U.S. exports; prohibit official Palestinian diplomacy or representation in the United States in a way counter-productive to promoting dialogue and negotiation toward a just peace; reduce U.S. dues to the United Nations because some of its bodies advocate for Palestinian human rights; and deny Palestinians the ability to receive assistance through international financial institutions.

There has been intense lobbying and arm twisting by the hard right Israeli lobby AIPAC for this legislation.  But some in Congress are showing some backbone.  The U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation reports:

* Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN-4) has banned AIPAC from her office until it apologizes for equating her committee vote against HR4681 to “support for terrorists.” In a letter to AIPAC, Rep. McCollum states that “During my nineteen years serving in elected office, including the past five years as a Member of Congress, never has my name and reputation been maligned or smeared as it was last week by a representative of AIPAC.”

* Reps. David Price (D-NC-4), Lois Capps (D-CA-23), Ray LaHood (R-IL-18), and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3) issued a Dear Colleague letter against HR4681. These Representatives criticized the bill on the grounds that it “would prohibit all assistance to the Palestinian people, other than narrowly-defined categories of humanitarian aid (excluding, for example, education and economic development).”

* Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA-7) entered a scathing critique of HR4681 in the Congressional Record in which he asked “And what can we expect if we turn our backs on the real and growing humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people? It doesn't make sense to put restrictions on funding the NGOs that provide the Palestinian people with hospitals and schools. As a medical doctor, I am gravely concerned about the fate of millions of innocent Palestinians who rely on international aid for food, health care, and for developing their economy and businesses. Recent news reports say that international sanctions are preventing hospitals in Gaza from providing dialysis machines for patients, and they may not be able to supply immunizations to children. The World Health Organization sees a 'rapid decline of the public health system.....towards a possible collapse.' This bill will only make the already dire situation even worse. As a doctor I took an oath to heal. As a nation, we took an oath to lead. Allowing innocent Palestinians to go hungry, while denying them medical treatment cannot possibly correct injustice, or lead to peace.”

* Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3) submitted an additional view to the House International Relations Committee report on HR4681, calling it "the wrong answer to a most difficult challenge."

We can only hope that more in Congress will say “NO” to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert when he is in Washington, DC and has the unusual opportunity to speak to a Joint Session of Congress. And, we can only hope that an open debate on whether the U.S. should continue to fund the illegal Israel occupation of Palestinian Territories can take place without labeling those who question Israel’s failed occupation anti-Semitic.  Such name calling prevents the type of robust debate that is needed.

Why this extreme reaction to the beaten down Palestinian people? Because the Palestinians exercised their democratic rights and elected representatives of Hamas. Hamas has been demonized by Israel and many in the U.S. media despite the fact that it took a pledge against violence more than 18 months ago and has lived up to that promise. They have not committed acts of violence despite violence directed at the Palestinian people by Israel.  Israel has demanded Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist – but Israel is a country without clear borders. What exactly would Hamas be recognizing? 

Would it not be a better path toward peace if the Untied States encouraged Israel to negotiate with the elected representatives of the Palestinian people?  Why not urge Israel to build on the positive pledge of non-violence rather than continue their efforts “to dominate, expel, starve and humiliate” the Palestinian people? Israel seems to want to negotiate with Washington, DC rather than with the Palestinians elected representatives.  This is not the first time, in April 2004 Bush and Sharon exchanged letters that accepted Israel’s annexation of Palestinian territory as a quid-pro-quo for the disengagement from Gaza.  President Bush does not have the right to give up Palestinian land or negotiate for the Palestinian people.

Israel has complained that there is no one to negotiate with in the Palestinian Authority.  This has been echoed by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In fact, there is an elected representative of the Palestinian people. Rather than negotiating their borders with the United States, Israel should be required – as a condition of further foreign aid – to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority.

It is time to stop perpetuating the status quo of violence, military occupation, and human rights violations – which are not making Israel more secure, and is destroying the Palestinian people, destabilizing the Middle East and making the U.S. a target for terrorism. Instead it is a time to promote dialogue and a just, peaceful resolution to the conflict.  Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs and Americans of Jewish faith all agree – according to polls – that the solution to the violence of Israel-Palestine will come through a negotiated peace with two viable countries – Israel and Palestine – being formed. 

It is time for the U.S., rather than increasing its foreign aid to Israel as is being requested, to tell Israel that the time for a peaceful resolution of the occupation is now.  There has been too much violence caused by both sides of this dispute. Israel needs to know that the U.S. taxpayer will no longer underwrite the brutal military occupation of the Palestinian Territories and we can no longer afford the security risk presented by Israel's harsh treatment of Palestinians.