Deadline for Senate Sign-on Letter to Sec. Clinton this Friday Feb 27 at Noon
Next week Hillary Clinton will make her first visit as Secretary of State to Israel and the West Bank, another encouraging sign of the Obama Administration's commitment to Mideast peace diplomacy.
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is circulating a letter that commends the Administration's efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace and encourages Sec. Clinton to use her upcoming trip to help further this important goal. The text of the letter is below.
Ask your Senators to sign this letter expressing support for the Obama Administration's diplomatic efforts and urging Sec. Clinton to make the most of her Mideast trip next week to promote peace!
Senator Feinstein's letter cites the challenging situation on the ground, including "the continuing launching of rockets from Gaza into Israel, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the ongoing challenge of formalizing an Israel-Hamas truce," which underscores the "importance of tenacious American leadership and engagement, now and in the future."
Secretary Clinton is scheduled to hold meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on March 3 and 4, after she attends a March 2 conference in Egypt on reconstruction in the Gaza Strip. Special Mideast Envoy Sen. George Mitchell heads to the region tomorrow and will join Clinton beginning in Egypt. An article in Israel's Haaretz reports today that Sec. Clinton "has relayed messages to Israel in the past week expressing anger at obstacles Israel is placing to the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip." According to the article these aid issues will be high on both Clinton and Mitchell's agenda.
The Obama Administration's efforts to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will need strong Congressional and public support to weather the difficult tasks ahead. Contact your Senators this week!
TAKE ACTION!
The deadline for Senator Feinstein's letter is this Friday, February 27 at noon.
Please contact your Senators and ask them to sign the Feinstein letter and send a strong message of support from the U.S. Senate for robust U.S. efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Background Reading:
"Clinton warns Israel over delays in Gaza aid", Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff, Ha'aretz, February 25, 2009
"Clinton to visit Israel, West Bank", Reuters, February 23, 2009
"U.S. to pledge $900 million for Gaza rebuild", MSNBC.com, February 23, 2009
Text of Letter:
February 2009
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street,
NWWashington, D.C. 20520
Dear Secretary Clinton:
We are writing to applaud your decision to travel to Israel and the West Bank next week. Your trip sends another important signal of the Obama Administration's seriousness about dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Last month, while announcing Senator Mitchell's appointment as Special Middle East Peace Envoy, President Obama stated that "It will be the policy of my administration to actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as Israel and its Arab neighbors."
At that same ceremony, you expressed your own commitment to Israel-Palestinian peace, noting that Senator Mitchell's mission will be to "lead our efforts to reinvigorate the process for achieving peace between Israel and its neighbors… [to] help us to develop an integrated strategy that defends the security of Israel, works to bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will result in two states, living side by side in peace and security, and to achieve further agreements to promote peace and security between Israel and its Arab neighbors" and "to support the objectives that the President and I believe are critical and pressing in Gaza, to develop a program for humanitarian aid and eventual reconstruction, working with the Palestinian Authority and Israel on behalf of those objectives."
We commend both you and President Obama for these statements and we urge you to use your upcoming visit to Israel and the West Bank to underscore your personal commitment, and that of President Obama, to Israel's security and to achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace. Both are vital U.S. national security interests that must not be neglected. The continuing launching of rockets from Gaza into Israel, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the ongoing challenge of formalizing an Israel-Hamas truce, underscore the importance of tenacious American leadership and engagement, now and in the future.
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