[ ]J Street [ ]
Friends, 

Over the weekend, more disturbing footage emerged of violent West Bank
settlers accompanied by Israeli soldiers.

Video shows a group of extremist settlers wreaking havoc near the
community of al-Tuwani. One settler fires a soldier’s automatic weapon
toward Palestinians. Others throw rocks, vandalize Palestinian farm
equipment, uproot their crops and set their property on fire.

According to reports from the scene, Israeli soldiers used live rounds and
tear gas to push local Palestinian residents back. “I was very frightened,
and was shaking. I tried to hide my children inside the rooms of the
house,” one Palestinian man told Israeli media.

[ [link removed] ]Images of burning equiptment and a settler holding a soldier's
automatic weapon

Over the decades, many of us at J Street have lived in Israel. Some have
served in the IDF. Our friends and family have helped build and defend the
country.

For all of us, the systemic violence and injustice inherent in the
occupation is maddening. This is not the Israel we love. It is not the
vision for justice, equality and peace outlined in Israel's Declaration of
Independence.

Friends -- I wish I could tell you for certain that the weapons and tear
gas canisters fired at the residents of al-Tuwani were not paid for by US
military aid intended to strengthen Israel’s security.

Unfortunately, I cannot. The reality is, we simply don’t know. 

At the moment, we have very little transparency or use restrictions on US
military aid to Israel. Without adequate oversight and enforcement,
equipment bought from the US or purchased with our aid funds can be
diverted toward supporting settlement expansion, driving Palestinians from
their land and entrenching control of the West Bank.

For all who care deeply about Israel and the values a Jewish homeland
should stand for, this is absolutely maddening.

For all who care about Palestinian human rights, it’s heart-wrenching.

[ [link removed] ]Friends -- please consider adding your name to our petition for
stronger transparency, oversight and common-sense limits on how our aid
can be used >>

Following reports like this, the State Department must determine whether
this equipment was supplied by the US to Israel -- and whether it was
purchased with US aid dollars.

Increased oversight would have a meaningful impact on the ground. Clearly
defined use restrictions would send a powerful message to the Israeli
government. And these measures are not only achievable, but can earn broad
political backing.

Right now, Congress is starting to take notice: New language in a recently
passed House appropriations bill is an important step in the right
direction. We must press forward.

Both in our communities and on Capitol Hill, our movement is continuing to
build support. In a poll published last month by the Jewish Electorate
Institute, 58% of American Jewish voters said they supported such
safeguards to ensure our military aid cannot be used in connection with
settlement expansion.

Together, we’re making clear to our political leaders that proper
oversight would enhance Israel’s security. It would ensure our support can
only be used for legitimate security purposes -- not diverted to uses that
undermine Israel’s future as well as our own national interest.

Together, we’re showing that our community overwhelmingly supports the
change. We're showing that the clear majority of us can see through the
right-wing smears that ludicrously seek to brand common-sense oversight
measures as “anti-Israel” or even “anti-Jewish.”

And together we’re saying loudly and clearly that not only do our Jewish
values of justice, freedom and equality align with this policy change --
they demand it.

54 years of military occupation and settlement expansion have brought too
much pain, frustration, injustice and grief to far too many Israelis and
Palestinians -- and we must demand our leaders work toward ending it, and
toward promoting a just, lasting peace.

At the very least, we must ensure that our own aid dollars are not making
things worse.

[ [link removed] ]Please consider signing and sharing our petition today to help us
demonstrate the overwhelming support from our community for these
common-sense measures >>

Thank you, sincerely, for your ongoing support.

Yours,

Debra Shushan
Director of Government Affairs


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© 2021 J Street | [ [link removed] ]www.jstreet.org | [email protected]

J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans who want
Israel to be secure, democratic and the national home of the Jewish people.
Working in American politics and the Jewish community, we advocate policies that
advance shared US and Israeli interests as well as Jewish and democratic values,
leading to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



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