Tuesday, July 22, 2014

VETS SEND MESSAGE TO ISRAEL


We had a presence at the Israeli consulate yesterday in Washington DC. Col. Ann Wright read the letter (below) out loud (we had a speaker system). I read my own statement (below) and then Tighe from Code Pink who supplied the graves spoke spontaneously condemning Israel and supporting Palestinian's right to live, then Helen Jaccard also spoke very strongly and then I spoke again off the cuff and from my heart as a Jew. Channel 9 had someone there and I was interviewed by phone by some news service. It was all filmed by the great Pali Wieland and of course Ellen Davidson took pictures. We stand with Palestine - - we will not be silent. As you all know there have been major protests here in Washington DC and around the country condemning Israel and the US Congress for it's support of Israel. All the protests supported more than ever now the call for BDS. This latest horror perpetrated by Israel will backfire upon them. As I said in my spontaneous remarks at the embassy - Israel is sowing the seeds of it's own demise.

Free Palestine!

Tarak Kauff
Veterans for Peace



LETTER FROM VETERANS FOR PEACE TO ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.
TO BE HAND DELIVERED MONDAY, JULY 21

To: Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer

From: Veterans For Peace National Board of Directors

Dear Ambassador Dermer,

As veterans who have witnessed the horror of war, we are deeply outraged by the state of Israel's slaughter of many innocent civilians in Gaza. The military assault against children, women and men, by air, by sea and now by land, is a clear violation of international laws of war and of human rights.   More than 500 Palestinians have been murdered, almost all of them civilians, nearly a quarter of them children. Thousands are wounded, including nearly 1,000 children.

Veterans For Peace joins millions of people all around the globe who are shocked by this vicious, one-sided slaughter. We understand the huge injustice of the Israeli occupation. Palestinians have been ethnically cleansed from their homes and forced to live in the Occupied West Bank, or in the open-air prison that is Gaza.

Mr. Ambassador, please tell the government of Israel to stop the massacre now! There should be an immediate end to all bombing and an immediate withdrawal of all Israeli military from Gaza.

Mr. Ambassador, please remind Prime Minister Netanyahu that you can bomb the world into pieces, but you cannot bomb it into peace.

Veterans For Peace calls for an end to the 8-year blockade of Gaza, so that normal trade and travel can occur.

Mr. Ambassador, please remind the government of Israel of the billions of dollars in aid that is provided to Israel by the United States. Veterans For Peace will push for an end to all military aid to Israel until such time as the Israeli occupation gives way to real peace negotiations based on the human rights of all the people concerned.

Veterans For Peace recommits itself to participating in the international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel and Israeli products.

We encourage all parties to search for a nonviolent path to peace. We urge both Hamas and the government of Israel to refrain from targeting civilians. We especially call on the state of Israel to stop its massive violence now. It is time to recognize the human rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to return to the homes from which they were forced to flee in 1948.

Mr. Ambassador, the peoples of Palestine, Israel and the world deserve to live in peace and harmony.  The ultimate goal of Veterans For Peace is to abolish war. In the meantime, we stand ready to assist those Israelis and Palestinians who seek peace and reconciliation. 

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