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.
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.
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.
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
