Update: this action, now closed, ran in October 2018.
Thirty-four Senators and 112 House members recently released letters to the Trump administration calling on it to restore humanitarian funding to Palestinians, which President Trump has slashed in order to pressure the Palestinian leadership to acquiesce to his unannounced “peace plan.” As Israeli security officials have indicated, this funding is not only essential for Palestinians, it is also critically important for Israeli security.
Did your elected officials sign? Tell them where you stand.
The funding in question was passed by Congress, with bipartisan support, and included aid for:
- UNRWA, the UN agency which provides critical assistance to Palestinian refugees;
- Humanitarian programs administered by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in the West Bank and Gaza;
- The East Jerusalem Hospital Network which provides essential care for many Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza; and
- People-to-people conflict mitigation programming which promotes coexistence, particularly among the next generation of Israelis and Palestinians.
Congress allocated this funding because it serves the US national interest in a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the face of Trump’s outrageous decision to cancel all non-security-related funding that benefits Palestinians, Congress must speak out.
Take action to thank your elected representatives if they signed these letters, or take them to task if they did not.
Dr. Debra Shushan, APN Policy and Government Relations Director,
was recently in the Philadelphia area where she was the featured speaker at a J Street Philadelphia / J Street U
event at Haverford College and guest at parlor parties. In her September 30 talk at Haverford entitled "Off the
Table: Israeli-Palestinian Peace in the Trump-Netanyahu Era," she surveyed recent developments that threaten
prospects for peace - from the rise of illiberal democracy in the US and Israel, to President Trump's
efforts to take key issues off the negotiating table - as well as the work that APN and Shalom Achshav in Israel
are doing to push back against this tide.
Please join us on October 24, 2018 at 6 pm at the Decatur House
Click on the image above to donate to The Sara Fund
Throughout her professional life, Debra DeLee has been working to secure a better future for
others. She started her career as a fourth-grade teacher in the 1970s, dedicated to her students and the
imperative of quality public education. Working her way through the ranks of the National Education
Association (NEA), DeLee became the NEA's Political Director and chief lobbyist in Washington. As NEA
Director of Government Relations and Director of its political action committee she worked to ensure fair
working conditions for teachers and quality public education for students. Prior to joining Americans for
Peace Now in April 1997, DeLee was selected by President Clinton to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the
1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which she designed, developed, and managed for the
president. Preceding the convention, DeLee served as Executive Director and Vice Chair of the Democratic
National Committee (DNC), and in 1994 was appointed DNC Chair. As the President and CEO of Americans for
Peace Now for over 21 years, DeLee has worked tirelessly to promote American support for peace in the Middle
East and support for the Israeli peace movement — Shalom Achshav — working to secure a better future for
Israel and her neighbors.
