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Support World Court on the Wall
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Progressive Portal
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Jul 22, 2004 15:46 PDT
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RECENT HOUSE VOTE SHOW THAT PUBLIC PRESSURE FOR JUSTICE
IS STARTING TO HAVE AN EFFECT ON CONGRESS
Call today - vote will take place this week
[From the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
<http://www.endtheoccupation.org>]
A resolution now [22-23 July 2004] before the United States Senate
supports Israel's wall in the occupied West Bank of Palestine and
condemns the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its recent ruling
that constructing the wall outside of Israel's recognized borders is
illegal and it should be torn down.
Although the resolution (S.R. 408) will probably pass, there are still
good reason to call your Senators and ask them to oppose it. Last week
the U.S. House adopted a similar resolution, but 45 Representatives
voted against it and 13 voted only "present" - more opposition to a
resolution supporting the policies of the Israeli government than the
Congress has mustered in years. Several Congressional offices
acknowledged that it was because of grassroots pressure that they voted
no or abstained, and some even encouraged critics of the resolution to
organize more pressure on them so that they would feel empowered to vote
against these types of resolutions in the future.
The resolution is one-sided and unproductive. It calls attention to
Israeli civilian casualties but fails to mention the far greater number
of Palestinian civilian casualties. It suggests no positive steps to
bring about a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians
based on human rights and international law.
The resolution also implies, incorrectly, that the ICJ advisory opinion
denies Israel's right to self-defense. In fact, the ICJ opinion stated
that Israel has the right and indeed the duty to protect its citizens.
The court noted, however, that the defensive measures Israel takes must
conform to international law, which the wall does not.
This resolution further isolates U.S. from world opinion about the
situation in Israel and Palestine. On 20 July 2004, the United Nations
General Assembly voted 150-6, with 10 abstentions, to demand that Israel
comply with the ICJ advisory opinion and dismantle its illegal wall in
the West Bank. It was supported by the countries of the European Union,
a major political development. The only countries opposing the
resolution were the U.S., Israel, Australia, Micronesia, the Marshall
Islands, and Palau.
Senate rejection of the court opinion and General Assembly resolution
will signify U.S. contempt for human rights, international law, and the
vital role of international institutions.
Contact your Senators immediately and urge a "no" vote on S.R. 408.
Take Action
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Contact your Senators by e-mail, or ideally by phone -- call their
Washington or local offices, or use the Congressional switchboard -
(800) 839-5276. For detailed contact information on your legislators,
enter your ZIP Code under "Write Congress" in the left column of
Progressive Portal's home page <http://www.progressiveportal.org/> (and
most Progressive Portal pages), or at <http://congress.org>.
More Information
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Text of the Senate resolution:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:s.res.00408:
Text of the International Court of Justice ruling on the wall:
http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/idocket/imwp/imwpframe.htm
Background information on the wall:
http://www.stopthewall.org
See also ProgressivePortal.org's letter-writing campaigns about use of
Caterpillar equipment against Palestinians:
http://www.progressiveportal.org/cat
http://www.progressiveportal.org/cat2
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