Brit Tzedek v'Shalom

Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace


Action Alert

Action Alert - Completed 8/2/2003

[POSTED: July 25th, 2003]
CRUCIAL TIME FOR MOVEMENT ON THE ROAD MAP

PLEASE ACT NOW: Fax or call President Bush and Secretary of State Powell by Monday July 28, urging them to press Prime Minister Sharon during his visit to Washington to continue to take substantive constructive action on the Road Map.

Dear Brit Tzedek members and supporters,

A crucial moment in the Road Map process is approaching. Israeli Prime Minister Sharon will be visiting Washington on Tuesday, July 29th, to meet with President Bush. The tenor of that meeting, and the amount of pressure brought to bear on Prime Minister Sharon to take substantive constructive action may well determine the success or failure of the Road Map process in the short term.

Brit Tzedek believes that Israel must take the following constructive actions in order to sustain and strengthen the Palestinian Authority's successful efforts to enforce the cease-fire "hudna":

  • dismantling of settler outposts;
  • substantial reductions in restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement within the West Bank and Gaza;
  • significant releases of Palestinian detainees, other than those actually accused of specific terror crimes; and
  • halting of the construction of the so-called "separation wall."
We must recognize that significant progress on the implementation of the Road Map has been made, and needs to continue being made, on the Palestinian side. In order to sustain these moves--cessation of violence and democratization--it is vitally necessary to build confidence among the Palestinian population that the Road Map process is a credible alternative to violence.

A sample letter for faxing and talking points for a telephone call can be found below; the contact numbers are also provided below. (Please note: due to a change in White House email policy, emailing is currently not effective as a means of communication for action alerts.)

We also ask you to circulate this Action Alert as widely as possible--please send it to your family, friends, and colleagues, and please repost it to any relevant listservs. President Bush must know that American Jews are behind the Road Map, and that we believe that support/pressure needs to be applied to both sides and that the Israeli government must be pushed to implement its side of the Road Map.



Please let us know that you have responded to this action alert by sending us an email at advocacy@btvshalom.org, so that we can gauge the impact of our action alerts.

L'Shalom,

Diane Balser and Steve Masters

Chair and Co-Chair of the Advocacy/Public Policy Committee

Suggested Talking Points for Phone Call

White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111
State Department Bureau of Public Affairs Comment Line: 202-647-6575
  • You are a Jewish American and a supporter of Israel.
  • You — like so many other American Jews — applaud the President's efforts to date to bring a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by pursuing his Road Map.
  • During Prime Minister Sharon's visit to Washington, you ask the President to bring all possible influence to bear on him to take substantive constructive steps to continue to move the Road Map process forward.
  • You believe that strong and engaged American pressure to fully implement the Road Map is in the best interests of Israel, in the best interests of peace, and also serves the vital interests of the United States.
Sample Fax Message

Below is a brief sample message you can send; feel free and encouraged to personalize it.

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
president@whitehouse.gov
Fax: 202-456-6218 (Office of Public Liaison)
Mr. President:

As a Jewish American, I very much support your efforts to date to bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the Road Map.

During your meetings with Prime Minister Sharon, I respectfully request you to bring all possible pressure and influence to bear on him to take substantive and constructive action to move the Road Map process along. I, like a vast number of American Jews, believe that strong and engaged American pressure to fully implement the Road Map is in the best interests of Israel, in the best interests of peace, and serves the vital interests of the United States.

Such substantive and constructive steps include: fully dismantling new settler outposts and preventing additional ones from being built, substantially reducing restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement in the West Bank and Gaza, releasing large numbers of Palestinian detainees other than those actually accused of specific terror crimes, and halting the building of the "separation wall."

Your continued leadership towards finding a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the Road Map process is vital and much appreciated.

sincerely,

[SIGN YOUR NAME]

cc:
Secretary of State Colin Powell
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Fax: 202-261-8577
Background
Resources on the Road Map can be found on the Brit Tzedek v'Shalom website: resources/road_map.html
Information on the "wall" can be found at the Israeli web sites of B'Tselem and Gush Shalom:
www.btselem.org
www.gush-shalom.org