Warren, Sanders: Heed J Street, Say Israeli Settlements Illegal
Robert Naiman - MoveOn
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has announced that the Israeli government is seizing nearly 1,000 acres of West Bank land for another massive settlement project. The Israeli group Peace Now has called it the largest land grab in 30 years.
Urge President Obama and Members of Congress to heed J Street's call to say that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal and to make it clear that U.S. opposition is not just symbolic, by signing our petition at MoveOn:
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/illegal-settlements-jstreet
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said [2] that the U.S. is “deeply concerned” about the announcement and called on Israel to reverse the decision. But when asked what consequences Israel would face if it didn’t reverse the decision, Psaki had no answer.
We’ve been here before. Whenever Israel announces new settlement expansion, the U.S. issues a statement of mild condemnation backed by little apparent action, which the Israeli government then ignores. And while it is the consensus of the international community that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, the U.S. continues to downplay them with weasel words like “unhelpful”.
The “pro-Israel, pro-peace” lobby J Street issued a statement [2] saying that it’s time for the U.S. government to “stop issuing toothless statements of regret and do something real” and to “make it clear that the U.S. opposition to settlements is not just symbolic.” We agree.
Tell the Obama administration and Congress to heed J Street’s call to declare Israeli settlements illegal and make the declaration count by signing and sharing our petition.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/illegal-settlements-jstreet
You can read and share my blog at Huffington Post about this here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/will-elizabeth-warren-ber_b_5767572.html
Thank you for all you do to help push U.S. foreign policy to be more just,
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
References:
1. “Will Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders #StandWithJStreet Against Illegal Israeli Settlements?” Robert Naiman, Huffington Post, 9/04/2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/will-elizabeth-warren-ber_b_5767572.html
2. "On Israeli land grab, State Dept calls for reversal but lays out no consequences," Megan Iorio, Just Foreign Policy, September 3, 2014, http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1557
3. "J Street Condemns New Settlement Announcement, Urges Firmer US Action," J Street, September 3, 2014, http://jstreet.org/blog/post/j-street-condemns-new-settlement-announcement-urges-firmer-us-action_1