Brit Tzedek v'Shalom

Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 5, 2005
Contact: Jessica Rosenblum [email]
Tel: 312 341-1205 or 773 750-7873

Brit Tzedek Builds Grassroots Support for Hyde-Capps Letter

Chicago, IL — Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace, has launched a major grassroots initiative to mobilize American Jewish support for the Hyde-Capps letter in the House of Representatives that commends Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for playing a pivotal role in negotiating an historic agreement between Israelis and Palestinians regarding Gaza’s Rafah border crossing.

Brit Tzedek, the country’s largest Jewish grassroots peace organization, is sending action alerts to its network of over 30,000 American Jews nationwide urging them to encourage their congressional representatives to sign on to the letter written by Representatives Henry Hyde (R-IL) and Lois Capps (D-CA). Support for the initiative will also be at the top of Brit Tzedek’s agenda when the organization’s leadership meets with Senators and Representatives this month in home district offices across the country and on Capitol Hill.

The action alert calls the Hyde-Capps letter "an important vehicle for registering Congressional support for Secretary Rice’s accomplishment as a first step for the Administration in making the return of Israelis and Palestinians to the negotiating table a top US priority."

"If Congress wants to send a clear message of support for Israel, its members must stand behind constructive US efforts like Secretary Rice’s initiative, without the likes of which few diplomatic breakthroughs in the region would have been possible," says Steve Masters, chair of Brit Tzedek’s Advocacy and Public Policy committee. "We, as American Jews, must let our elected leadership know that we expect no less of them," he added.

Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace, is a national organization of American Jews deeply committed to Israel’s well-being through the achievement of a negotiated settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Brit Tzedek’s network is now over 30,000 people strong, with 32 chapters in cities across the country.