The following is a report from Sudan Hoder of the Rhode Island Qalkilya Alliance about their recent meeting with Kennedy’s staff. A call to action is noted at the end.
A group of advocates for a just and lasting Israeli/Palestinian peace had an excellent meeting with Tom Crohan, foreign policy aide to Senator Edward Kennedy, on Thursday, January 20. It was attended by three Massachusetts residents and one Rhode Islander who have spent time in Jayyous and other parts of the West Bank. One of these individuals from Cape Cod just returned from the area last week, and was in Jayyous where he helped plant olive seedlings to replace hundreds of mature trees destroyed by Israeli bulldozers during December. A new Israeli settlement being built on Jayyous land will rob local farmers of 72% of their land, including water wells and greenhouses.
A similar group will be meeting with Mark Sternman, foreign policy aide to Senator John Kerry, on Friday, January 27 at 11:30 am. They will be discussing Jayyous and Israel’s newly announced plans to confiscate up to half the property of East Jerusalem owned by Palestinians. If other Massachusetts residents would like to join in this meeting, please contact Susanne Hoder, Moderator of the Interfaith Peace Initiative, at 401-245-7208.
Constituents of Senators Kerry and Kennedy should call the Washington office of Senators Kennedy and Kerry to urge them to oppose the destruction and confiscation of land in Jayyous and in East Jerusalem (Ha’aretz Daily: “Israeli government decision aims to strip Palestinians of their properties in East Jerusalem,” http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/529510.html ) They should ask these senators to sponsor a resolution calling for an end to Israel’s land confiscation and settlement expansion in the West Bank and in Arab East Jerusalem. These telephone calls will help to reinforce requests made in the meetings with the senators’ aides.
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