Earlier this week, Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman of --- introduced
Resolution 426.  This legislation places blame for the current crisis
solely on the shoulders of Palestinians.  It condemns the Palestinian
leadership for, "encouraging the violence and doing so little for so long
to stop it, resulting in the senseless loss of life."  Furthermore, in
response to the U.N. condemnation of Israeli excessive use of force
against civilians, Resolution 426 , "urges the Administration to use its
veto power at the UN Security Council to ensure that the Security Council does not again adopt unbalanced resolutions addressing the uncontrolled violence in the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority."

This is an abomination.  Clearly, this resolution is completely biased in
favor of Israel.  There is no acknowledgment that most of the casualties in the last three weeks have been Palestinian.  There is no acknowledgment that the Israeli MILITARY is targeting stone throwing CIVILIANS.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)  and other Jewish organizations have orchestrated calls from the American Jewish community to members of Congress.  Now, it is OUR turn.  It is time for American Muslims to have OUR VOICES heard.  It is time for American Muslims to flex OUR POLITICAL MUSCLE.
 
Contact Info for Congress:
 
            Phone number in Washington:  202-224-3121
 
            You can locate your member of Congress and
his or her phone number on the web: www.capweb.net/classic
 

Suggested talking points:
 
May I speak with the foreign policy aide for Senator
----/Representative -----?
* [note: the receptionist may or may not connect you
to the aide; the receptionist may take the call
instead.]

Hello, my name is -----.  I live in  (town/city),
(state).  I am calling to express my views on the
Middle East crisis.
* [note: if you are a leader or officer of a Muslim or
other organization (e.g., MSA, mosque), please
identify yourself as such.]

I am greatly disturbed by the recent events in the
Middle East and the response of the United States to
these events.  I support peace between the Israelis
and Palestinians and the United States
as an honest broker in peace negotiations.  But recent
statements from Secretary of State Albright and other
US officials suggest that the United States is no
longer the impartial, honest peace broker that the
region desperately needs.

It is simply dishonest for the United States to
harshly condemn Chairman Arafat for the recent killing
of two Israeli soldiers but refuse to condemn Prime
Minister Barak for the killing of over 90 Palestinian
civilians, some of whom were children.

It is dishonest for the United States to abstain from
a UN resolution condemning Israel for its excessive
use of force against civilians but then turn around
and criticize the Palestinian             Authority.

I am particularly disturbed by the introduction of
House Con. Resolution 426.  This legislation is
extremely dangerous because it is not an even-handed
treatment of the parties.  426 places the blame solely
on the Palestinians, without recognizing the brutal
acts committed by the Israeli government.   Placing
blame on one party to this dispute will do nothing to
further the peace process.  Senator-/Representative -
should not support this dangerously biased Resolution.

I call on Senator -----/Representative to condemn
Israel for its excessive use of force.  It is immoral
and unjust for any government to use helicopter gun
ships and live ammunition against civilians.  Israel
should be no exception.  If Israel is the democracy
that it claims to be, it should exercise restraint and
immediately pull its military back to its
positions prior to the September 28 uprising.

I also call on the Congress to review its military
assistance to Israel.  It is an American-equipped
Israeli military that has killed and injured hundreds
of  civilians, including children.  I am outraged that
my hard-earned tax dollars support a military that
kills innocent civilians.

Does the Senator/Representative have a position on the
situation?  What is it?

Thank you for your time.
 
Concerning the violence in the Middle East.
(Introduced in the House)

HCON 426 IH

           106th CONGRESS

2d Session

           H. CON. RES.
426

Concerning the violence in the Middle East.

IN THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES

          October 12, 2000

Mr. GILMAN (for himself, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. ARMEY, Mr.
GEPHARDT, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. BURTON
of Indiana, Mr. BEREUTER, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. CANNON, Mr.
CHABOT, Mr.BERMAN, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. COOKSEY, Mr.
CARDIN, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. EHLERS, Ms.
DELAURO, Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr. FRANK of
Massachusetts, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. GEKAS, Mr.
GILLMOR, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. FROST, Mrs. KELLY, Mr.
HOBSON, Mr.
HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr.
LAZIO, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LEACH, Mrs. LOWEY, Mrs.
MORELLA, Mr. MCCOLLUM, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr.
MENENDEZ, Mr. MICA, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mr.
NADLER, Mr. OSE, Mr. ROTHMAN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr.
ROHRABACHER, Mr. SALMON, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms.
ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. SISISKY, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. WAXMAN,
Mr. SHAW, Mr. WEINER, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr.
WEXLER, Mr. SMITH of Michigan, Mr.
STEARNS, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. WELLER, Mr.
WEYGAND, Mr. WYNN, and Mr. HOLT) submitted the
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on International Relations
 
 

     CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Concerning the violence in the Middle East.

Whereas the Arab-Israeli conflict must be resolved by
peaceful negotiation;

Whereas since 1993 Israel and the Palestinians have
been engaged in intensive negotiations over the future
of the West Bank and Gaza;

Whereas the United States, through its consistent
support of Israel and the cause of peace, made the
current peace process possible;

Whereas the underlying basis of those negotiations was
recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) by Israel in exchange for the renunciation of
violence by the PLO and its Chairman Yasser Arafat,
first expressed in a letter to then-Israeli Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin dated September 9, 1993, in
which Mr. Arafat stated: `[T]he PLO renounces
the use of terrorism and other acts of violence, and
will assume responsibility over all PLO elements and
personnel in order to assure their compliance, prevent
violations and discipline violators.';

Whereas as a result of those negotiations, the
Palestinians now fully control over 40 percent of the
West Bank and Gaza, with over 95 percent of the
Palestinian population under the civil administration
of the Palestinian Authority;

Whereas as a result of peace negotiations, Israel
turned over control of these areas to the Palestinian
Authority with the clear understanding and expectation
that the Palestinians would maintain order and
security there;

Whereas the Palestinian Authority, with the assistance
of Israel and the international community, created a
strong police force, almost twice the number allowed
under the Oslo Accords, specifically to maintain
public order;

Whereas the Government of Israel made clear to the
world its commitment to peace at Camp David, where it
expressed its readiness to take wide-ranging and
painful steps in order to bring an end to the
conflict, but these proposals were rejected
by Chairman Arafat;

Whereas perceived provocations must only be addressed
at the negotiating table;

Whereas it is only through negotiations, and not
through violence, that the Palestinians can hope to
achieve their political aspirations;

Whereas even in the face of the desecration of
Joseph's Tomb, a Jewish holy site in the West Bank,
the Government of Israel has made it clear that it
will withdraw forces from Palestinian areas if the
Palestinian Authority maintains order in those areas;
and

Whereas the Palestinian leadership not only did too
little for far too long to control the violence, but
in fact encouraged it:  Now, therefore, be it

     Resolved by the House of Representatives (the
Senate concurring), That the Congress--

          (1) expresses its solidarity with the state
and people of Israel at this time of crisis;

          (2) condemns the Palestinian leadership for
encouraging the violence and doing so little for so
long to stop it, resulting in the senseless loss of
life;

          (3) calls upon the Palestinian leadership to
refrain from any exhortations to public incitement,
urges the Palestinian leadership to vigorously use its
security forces to act immediately to stop all
violence, to show respect for all holy sites, and to
settle all grievances through negotiations;

          (4) commends successive Administrations on
their continuing efforts to achieve peace in the
Middle East;

          (5) urges the current Administration to use
its veto power at the United Nations Security Council
to ensure that the Security Council does not again
adopt unbalanced resolutions addressing the
uncontrolled violence in the areas controlled by the
Palestinian Authority; and

          (6) calls on all parties involved in the
Middle East conflict to make all possible efforts to
reinvigorate the peace process in order to prevent
further senseless loss of life by all sides.
 
 

STATUS:

10/12/2000:
     Referred to the House Committee on International
Relations.
 

COSPONSORS(101), ALPHABETICAL [followed by Cosponsors
withdrawn]:

Rep Ackerman, Gary L. - 10/12/2000
 
Rep Andrews, Robert E. - 10/17/2000

Rep Armey, Richard K. - 10/12/2000

Rep Baldwin, Tammy - 10/17/2000

Rep Bentsen, Ken - 10/17/2000

Rep Bereuter, Doug - 10/12/2000

Rep Berkley, Shelley - 10/12/2000

Rep Berman, Howard L. - 10/12/2000

Rep Bilbray, Brian P. - 10/17/2000

Rep Blagojevich, Rod R. - 10/17/2000

Rep Bliley, Tom - 10/17/2000

Rep Borski, Robert A. - 10/17/2000

Rep Brady, Kevin - 10/12/2000

Rep Bryant, Ed - 10/17/2000

Rep Burton, Dan - 10/12/2000
 
Rep Calvert, Ken - 10/17/2000

 Rep Cannon, Chris - 10/12/2000

Rep Cardin, Benjamin L. - 10/12/2000

Rep Chabot, Steve - 10/12/2000

Rep Cooksey, John - 10/12/2000

Rep Coyne, William J. - 10/17/2000

Rep Crowley, Joseph - 10/12/2000

Rep Cunningham, Randy (Duke) - 10/12/2000

Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. - 10/12/2000

Rep Deutsch, Peter - 10/12/2000

Rep Diaz-Balart, Lincoln - 10/12/2000

Rep Ehlers, Vernon J. - 10/12/2000

Rep Engel, Eliot L. - 10/12/2000

Rep Ewing, Thomas W. - 10/17/2000

Rep Ford, Harold, Jr. - 10/17/2000

Rep Frank, Barney - 10/12/2000

Rep Franks, Bob - 10/12/2000

Rep Frelinghuysen, Rodney P. - 10/17/2000

Rep Frost, Martin - 10/12/2000
Rep Gallegly, Elton - 10/12/2000

Rep Gejdenson, Sam - 10/12/2000

Rep Gekas, George W. - 10/12/2000

Rep Gephardt, Richard A. - 10/12/2000

Rep Gillmor, Paul E. - 10/12/2000

Rep Greenwood, James C. - 10/17/2000

Rep Hansen, James V. - 10/17/2000

Rep Hastings, Alcee L. - 10/12/2000

Rep Hobson, David L. - 10/12/2000

Rep Hoeffel, Joseph M. - 10/12/2000

Rep Holden, Tim - 10/17/2000

Rep Holt, Rush D. - 10/12/2000

Rep Horn, Stephen - 10/17/2000

Rep Kelly, Sue W. - 10/12/2000

Rep King, Peter T. - 10/17/2000

Rep Kingston, Jack - 10/12/2000

Rep Lantos, Tom - 10/12/2000

Rep Lazio, Rick - 10/12/2000

Rep Leach, James A. - 10/12/2000

Rep LoBiondo, Frank A. - 10/17/2000

Rep Lowey, Nita M. - 10/12/2000

Rep Maloney, James H. - 10/12/2000

Rep Matsui, Robert T. - 10/17/2000

Rep McCarthy, Carolyn - 10/12/2000

Rep McCollum, Bill - 10/12/2000

Rep McDermott, Jim - 10/17/2000

Rep McNulty, Michael R. - 10/17/2000

Rep Meehan, Martin T. - 10/17/2000

Rep Menendez, Robert - 10/12/2000

Rep Mica, John L. - 10/12/2000

Rep Morella, Constance A. - 10/12/2000

Rep Nadler, Jerrold - 10/12/2000

Rep Ose, Doug - 10/12/2000

Rep Ramstad, Jim - 10/17/2000

Rep Rohrabacher, Dana - 10/12/2000

Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana - 10/12/2000

Rep Rothman, Steve R. - 10/12/2000

Rep Roukema, Marge - 10/12/2000

Rep Salmon, Matt - 10/12/2000

Rep Saxton, Jim - 10/17/2000

Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. - 10/12/2000

Rep Shaw, E. Clay, Jr. - 10/12/2000

Rep Shays, Christopher - 10/17/2000

Rep Sherman, Brad - 10/12/2000

Rep Shimkus, John - 10/17/2000

Rep Sisisky, Norman - 10/12/2000

Rep Smith, Adam - 10/17/2000

Rep Smith, Christopher H. - 10/12/2000

Rep Smith, Nick - 10/12/2000

Rep Stearns, Cliff - 10/12/2000

Rep Sweeney, John E. - 10/17/2000

Rep Tancredo, Thomas G. - 10/17/2000

Rep Tauscher, Ellen O. - 10/17/2000

Rep Tauzin, W. J. (Billy) - 10/17/2000

Rep Upton, Fred - 10/17/2000

Rep Visclosky, Peter J. - 10/17/2000

Rep Vitter, David - 10/17/2000

Rep Walden, Greg - 10/17/2000

Rep Watts, J. C., Jr. - 10/17/2000

Rep Waxman, Henry A. - 10/12/2000

Rep Weiner, Anthony D. - 10/12/2000

Rep Weldon, Curt - 10/12/2000

Rep Weller, Jerry - 10/12/2000

Rep Wexler, Robert - 10/12/2000

Rep Weygand, Robert A. - 10/12/2000

Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. - 10/17/2000

Rep Wynn, Albert Russell - 10/12/2000