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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