Peace Not Walls Action alert

November 19, 2015

Urge Congress to reject unconditional military aid to Israel at the ELCA Action Center!

Israel is reportedly seeking a significant increase in U.S. military aid when its current 10-year aid package of $3.1 billion per year expires in 2017. A Reuters article indicates that Israel is asking for a $50 billion package over 10 years, and an analysis in the Israeli paper Haaretz says that, while that is probably not a figure the U.S. will agree to, $4 billion per year “seems in the range of achievable.”

It is critical for advocates to speak out against unconditional military aid to Israel because it enables Israel to continue its military occupation of Palestinian territory.

Instead of giving more aid, the United States should be addressing the root causes of the current violence and the ongoing impasse between Israel and Palestine, namely the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.

According to the United Nations, “Between1 October and 9 November, 77 Palestinians and nine Israelis were killed, and 8,135 Palestinians and at least 128 Israelis were injured in the oPt [occupied Palestinian territory] and Israel.” Violence, regardless of the perpetrator, is unacceptable.

Israeli government and military officials are speaking out about underlying causes for the current violence in Israel-Palestine. For example, Israel’s Military Intelligence chief said that despair among Palestinian youth is one of the factors influencing the violence. A document recently published by the Israeli security service, Shin Bet, looks at the motives of perpetrators of recent attacks and points to “a feeling of national, economic and personal oppression, as well as personal or psychological problems.” Meretz chairwoman Zehava Galon wrote, “We must stop with the illusion that we can hold a people without rights and sovereignty, and that the desperation of these people that we step on every day won’t turn into shocking hatred and violence.”

But instead of taking steps to dismantle the occupation, reportedly Israel is planning to send even more soldiers into the West Bank in 2016 at an estimated cost of $77 million.

Left virtually unaccountable, U.S. military aid to Israel serves to underwrite the occupation along with the human rights violations it entails, including movement and access restrictions on Palestinians, demolition of Palestinian property, and collective punishment including the blockade of Gaza and the recently reinstituted policy of demolishing the family homes of Palestinians accused of armed attacks. These are also violations of international humanitarian law.

For the welfare of both Israelis and Palestinians, the current violence must end, and the root causes, including the occupation, must be addressed.

Contact your elected officials today by clicking here, and urge them to:

Call for an immediate halt to violence by all parties
Call for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land
Reject unconditional military aid to Israel
Ensure that current aid is used in ways consistent with human rights standards as outlined in U.S. laws

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