Action Alert: Tell Your Senators NOT to Sign the Bayh-Risch Letter

[Catherine Cooper]

Today I received this Action Alert from Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), a coalition of 22 Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant national churches and agencies:

Tell Your Senators NOT to Sign the Bayh-Risch Letter--Senators Should Not Derail the President's Policy for Bringing Arab-Israeli Peace

Senators Bayh (D-IN) and Risch (R-ID) are asking their colleagues to join them in signing a letter to President Obama that urges Arab states to make "dramatic gestures toward Israel" without mentioning any obligation of Israel to stop the expansion of settlements in Palestinian territories. This old and unbalanced approach compromises a key element in negotiations and undercuts the President's efforts to get comprehensive talks started. Only policies of holding both sides accountable, as now pursued by the President, hold out hope for a lasting peace.

CMEP urges you to ask your Senators NOT to sign the Bayh-Risch letter, unless it is amended! Let your Senators know you support the President's efforts to take a balanced approach toward Israeli-Palestinian peace!

This week Special Middle East Envoy Mitchell is in Israel to seek an agreement on settlements, while Defense Secretary Gates and National Security Advisor James Jones are also there to build confidence and reassure Israel about firm U.S. commitment to its security. President Obama is determined to lead Israelis and Palestinians to a sustainable and lasting peace, but he needs your help!

Make your voice heard and tell your Senators that all parties must be held accountable! Let your Senators know that continued Israeli settlement expansion undermines the President's peace efforts!

The increasing professionalism and effectiveness of Palestinian security forces and the Israeli decision to remove some roadblocks and check points in the West Bank are positively changing conditions on the ground and inspiring hope that a secure Israel can one day live in peace next to a viable Palestinian state. Let's keep this valuable momentum going and urge Senators to support balanced initiatives that encourage all parties to take bold steps toward peace.

The deadline to sign this letter is Wednesday, August 5th. Contact your Senators ASAP to share your input on this important issue!

TAKE ACTION! Please visit http://action.cmep.org/t/4317/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1000

[Marc Peterson]

First of all, I know it's not your language, but they posed this as a command to us regardless of any differing thoughts we may have and it seemed kind of rude. Does this site's administrators also want us to post Action Alerts from the American Family Association or others? They didn't even post the letter for us to read. Why not write their own letter regarding Jewish communities in Samaria instead of squashing someone's letter that they thought important to write?

Everyone knows Pres. Obama's position on Israel and settlements. This letter is on a different topic and simply asks that while leaning hard on Israel, maybe we could also ask that the Arab and Persian world recognizes Israel's right to exist. The fact alone that a country has existed for over 60 years should be more than enough to warrant mere “recognition” by the rest of the world.

[Catherine Cooper]

Hi Marc, thanks for your comments. I thought this would be an Action Alert of interest for CRC members, because the CRC is closely affiliated with CMEP. In other words, I did not decide to post the Action Alert simply because CMEP is an organization that I support but because of the CRC's relationship with CMEP.

CMEP does write letters to express its view, including an ecumenical Christian letter to President Obama on 4 Jun that was signed by over 50 American Christian leaders (check it out at http://action.cmep.org/t/4029/signUp.jsp?key=1013). However, because the Bayh-Risch letter is not from an organization with its own view but from our representatives, it is important that constituents contact their senators to determine whether the letter should be signed or squashed. Whatever your opinion is of the Bayh-Risch letter, I would encourage you to contact your senator if this issue is important to you.

Thanks for the idea to post the Bayh-Risch letter so people don't have to look for it: http://www.aipac.org/Publications/SourceMaterialsCongressionalActio...

[Marc Peterson]

Hi Catherine. Sorry, most of that was not directed at you but at the CMEP. I'm just a little tired of the one-sided demands toward Israel. The U.S. has sent THREE envoys to Israel in the last few months making quite clear the administration's position toward the settlements (including Jerusalem which is quite frightening). I think you would agree that simply asking for a recognition of Israel is not that inflammatory when contrasted with that kind of pressure. I see what you mean about contacting my Senator, but I'm from MI so I don't currently have representation there ;)