Friends,
I have been lobbying my representative, John Sarbanes – MD, District 3, for many years. These lobbying efforts, most recently, have been with Maryland Peace Action, Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland and Progressive Democrats of America. I have also lobbied both Maryland senators and Rep. Steny Hoyer – MD, District 5 and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, MD, District 2. I am sure you are aware of the revolving door in Congress where staff members take the big money and become lobbyists. Justin Brower, a staffer for Rep. Ruppersberger who we have lobbied, went through the revolving door and is now a lobbyist with Raytheon Corporation.
There is also a revolving door at the Pentagon. For example, Lloyd Austin, Biden’s Secretary of War, was on the board of Raytheon Corporation.
If I wanted Rep. Sarbanes to take a position, I would usually engage in dialogue with long-time staffer Peter Gelman. However, Gelman left Sarbanes’s staff in 2020. I am trying to develop a relationship with another staff person in Sarbanes’ office, but this is in flux.
Max
My Bill Would Stop US Aid From Funding Palestinian Suffering
HR 2590 would restrict US
military aid to Israel from being used to demolish homes, annex Palestinian
land, or imprison Palestinian children in military detention facilities.
JUNE
4, 2021
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On April 22, a letter
signed by 331 members of Congress was sent to the House Appropriations
Committee calling for the unconditioned appropriation of $3.8 billion in US
military aid to Israel. Their letter stated: “U.S. support for Israel makes the
region a safer place and bolsters diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a
negotiated two-state solution, resulting in peace and prosperity for both
Israelis and Palestinians.”
The purpose of the
congressional letter, championed by the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee, is not peace but to send an unambiguous signal to Prime Minister Netanyahu
that Israel can act with impunity and US taxpayer dollars will keep flowing.
Let me be clear: Israel
has legitimate security concerns. Hamas’s firing rockets from Gaza into Israel
is an attack that I condemn unequivocally. But Israel can act in the name of
“security” without being hampered by any of the conditions or limits placed on
US military aid that would normally be imposed on nations committing human
rights abuses. Our tax dollars should not support Israel’s military occupation,
expanding settlements, detaining Palestinian children, demolishing Palestinian
homes, annexing Palestinian lands (formally or de facto), and bombing Gaza into
oblivion.
We are at an inflection
point, and the fundamental human rights of the Palestinian people can no longer
be ignored. Over the past few weeks there has been an unprecedented outpouring
of support for Palestinians and their freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of
Americans of all backgrounds and faiths have taken to the streets to rally for
Palestinian rights and to end the systematic violence associated with the
Israeli occupation. The movement for justice is active; it is growing; it will
get stronger—and it includes advocating for Palestinian rights.
In Congress, there is also
action. A small but growing group of progressive Democrats committed to human
rights for everyone, at home and abroad, are elevating the inherent and
universal human rights of Palestinians and Israelis alike to live in freedom
with the right to self-determination. We recognize the humanity and dignity of
Palestinian families and their generations of struggle to survive occupation,
maintain community, and dream of freedom.
We are also advancing
legislation. The Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and
Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act (HR 2590) is a bill I’ve
introduced along with 20 courageous colleagues. The bill restricts US military
aid to Israel from being used to demolish homes, annex Palestinian land, or
imprison Palestinian children in military detention facilities. HR 2590 places
the bare minimum of restraint on Israel’s blatant violations of international
humanitarian law. HR 2590 is supported by more than 150 civil society, human
rights, and prominent Jewish, Muslim, and Christian organizations demanding
action.
This is a serious piece of
legislation that openly and directly promotes Palestinian rights. Yet, in a
Congress that enables Israel’s occupation, this bill is unlikely to even get a
committee hearing or a floor vote. I see HR 2590 as a vehicle for political
activism; a tool to energize and mobilize Americans who reject oppression,
violence, and discrimination. It is also a litmus test of sorts, to give
members of Congress an opportunity to demonstrate to their constituents that
not a single dollar of US taxpayer funds should be used to violate the human
rights of the Palestinian people or to support the failed status quo.
The power to elect leaders
to Congress who demand change rests with regular citizens with good hearts,
strong voices, and the commitment to take action for justice and human rights.
So how does change happen? With a first step. It happens deliberately, with
determination and a commitment to never quit. I’ve had colleagues who support
civil rights at home and human rights around the world tell me my bill is going
nowhere and it’s a waste of time. But Americans who support Palestinian rights
and oppose Israeli military occupation don’t think of it as a waste of time.
In 1972, Representative
Ron Dellums (D-Calif.) introduced the first anti-apartheid bill in Congress. I
am sure he didn’t think of that as a waste of time. Yet even with support from
the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus, it took nearly 14 years
before the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 became law, imposing
sanctions on the white government of South Africa. The years of protests,
education, activism, and political persuasion resulted in a law that helped end
the evil of apartheid.
Congress can support
Israeli security—and ensure peace, prosperity, and equality for both
Palestinians and Israelis. But that cannot be achieved by maintaining a
destructive status quo. The United States must hold Israeli and Palestinian
political leaders accountable if Palestinian and Israeli families are going to
live without the threat of violence, the oppression of occupation, or the
separate and unequal conditions of apartheid. The time for change starts right
now, and it starts with the American people telling their elected leaders that
respecting the human rights of the Palestinian people is not an option—it is a
priority.
HR 2590 currently has 24 cosponsors (as of May
27, 2021): Rep. Rush, Bobby L. (D-Ill.-1); Rep. Davis, Danny K. (D-Ill.-7);
Rep. Carson, Andre (D-Ind.-7); Rep. Newman, Marie (D-Ill.-3); Rep. Omar, Ilhan
(D-Minn.-5); Rep. Pocan, Mark (D-Wis.-2); Rep. Grijalva, Raul M. (D-Ariz.-3);
Rep. Tlaib, Rashida (D-Mich.-13); Rep. Pressley, Ayanna (D-Mass.-7); Rep. Bush,
Cori (D-Mo.-1); Rep. Bowman, Jamaal (D-N.Y.-16); Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria
(D-N.Y.-14); Rep. Garcia, Jesus G. “Chuy” (D-Ill.-4); Rep. Johnson, Eddie
Bernice (D-Tex.-30); Rep. Jayapal, Pramila (D-Wash.-7); Rep. Blumenauer, Earl
(D-Ore.-3); Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes (D-D.C.-At Large); Rep. Evans, Dwight
(D-Penn.-3); Rep. Huffman, Jared (D-Calif.-02); Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie
(D-N.J.-12); Rep. Pingree, Chellie (D-Me.-1); Rep. Welch, Peter (D-Vt.-At
Large); Rep. Chu, Judy (D-Calif.-27); Rep. Payne, Donald M., Jr. (D-N.J.-10)
Donations can be sent
to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206,
Baltimore, MD 21212. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at]
comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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