[R-G] Obama Ends Military Aid to Israel

[Sid Shniad]

From: US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation [ mailto:uscampaign at mail.democracyinaction.org ] 
Sent: April 1, 2009 8:02 AM 
Subject: President Obama Ends Military Aid to Israel! 






President Obama Ends Military Aid to Israel! 



April 1, 2009 



Happy April Fools' Day!  Although we're not there yet in terms of ending military aid to Israel, it is clear that our collective efforts to hold Israel accountable for its misuse of U.S. weapons are making a difference .  



Last month, we asked you to take action to get Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to clarify whether the State Department considered pasta a weapon .  (In response to a reporter's question about Israel's refusal to let pasta into the Gaza Strip, a State Department spokesperson could not say whether or not the United States considers pasta a weapon.) Thousands of you sent her a text or email, which resulted in the United States reportedly pressuring Israel into allowing all food shipments into the besieged Gaza Strip. 



Also, more evidence of the shifting discourse on Palestine/Israel was apparent during President Obama's first e-town hall meeting held on March 26.  Look below at the screenshot of the top five questions submitted under the keyword "Israel"-all were against U.S. military aid and all received more positive votes than negative ones (including ours which was the second most popular). 





All this means that our organizing efforts are beginning to pay off , which makes it even more imperative than ever to keep the momentum going.  



On that note, Tax Day is in exactly two weeks.   This is a great opportunity to educate people about how their tax dollars are being misused by Israel to besiege Palestinians and commit human rights abuses against them. 

Read on to learn how you can offset your contribution to Israeli military occupation and get organizing materials for Tax Day. 



Be sure to sign up right away to organize for Tax Day in your community so that we can get you an organizing packet in time. 








Offset Your Tax Contribution to Israeli Military Occupation Above 

	

In April , President Obama will send a detailed budget request to Congress which is expected to include $2.775 billion in military aid to Israel for FY2010. 

That's $17.75 for each of the approximately 156 million individuals who filed a tax return with the IRS in 2008! 

Israel uses the weapons it gets from U.S. taxpayers to commit human rights abuses against Palestinian civilians living under Israel's illegal military occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip, in violation of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act. 

During the Bush Administration, Israel killed more than 3,000 innocent Palestinian civilians who took no part in hostilities, including nearly 1,200 Palestinian civilians during its December 2008- January 2009 war on the Gaza Strip. Israel often misuses U.S. weapons to kill these Palestinian civilians. 

Is this how you want your tax-dollars spent? If not, then take action below. 



TAKE ACTION 



1. Offset your tax contribution to Israeli military occupation by making a tax-deductible contribution to support our educational work to challenge military aid to Israel. 

Donate in multiples of $17.75 to offset your tax contribution to Israeli military occupation, that of your family, friends, co-workers, or even everyone in your zip code! 

	

Offset your tax contribution to Israeli military occupation and we'll send you some of these stickers (to the left) to put on your tax return envelope and other places. 

Offset the tax contribution to Israeli military occupation of just five people (that's $88.75) or more, and we'll send you the stickers and a gift DVD of the award-winning documentary Occupation 101 . 

To make your tax-deductible contribution today , please click on the icon below: 





2. Sign up to organize for Tax Day and get a special expanded Tax Day organizing packet to challenge military aid to Israel. 



Since February 2008, we've sent more than 1,100 packets to volunteer organizers in 48 states and Washington, DC. (C' mon activists in Nevada and North Dakota , what are you waiting for? Join us!) 


Check out our Google map below showing the nearly 600 cities and towns across the country where our volunteers are organizing to challenge military aid to Israel. 


View Larger Map 

Sign up today to become a volunteer organizer and commit yourself to organizing for Tax Day, and we'll send you an expanded organizing packet which includes: 

* Tax Day flyers; 

* Fact sheets; 

* Petitions to Congress; 

* Stickers; 

* Postcards to President Obama; and 

* A DVD of our recent Capitol Hill Policy Briefing, "Armed and Dangerous: Arms Transfers to Israel during the Bush Administration" 

To get your expanded Tax Day organizing packet, please click here . 

Here are some ideas of how you can organize for Tax Day: 

A. Organize a Tax Day Delegation to Meet with Your Members of Congress. 

Members of Congress are scheduled to be in their home districts for spring recess from April 6-17. 

Assemble a delegation of concerned constituents to meet with your Members of Congress to express your opposition to military aid to Israel. To view a model constituent meeting request form, click here . For tips on how to conduct a meeting with your Members of Congress, click here . 



For a memo to give to your Members of Congress with suggested amendment language to ensure that future U.S. military aid to Israel does not contribute to Israel's human rights abuses of Palestinians, click here . 

For a Power Point presentation, "Armed and Dangerous: Arms Transfers to Israel during the Bush Administration," which you can show your Members of Congress during your meeting, click here . 

If you are arranging a delegation of constituents to meet with your Members of Congress during the spring recess, please let us know about it by clicking here . 

B. Organize a Tax Day Action Outside Your Local Post Office. 

On April 15, last-minute tax filers line up at local post offices to get their tax returns in before the deadline and local newspapers and TV stations often show up to interview people. 

This is a great opportunity to organize an action outside of your local post office and educate the people waiting in line how their tax dollars are being used. 

We've created two different flyers for you to use this Tax Day which you can download by clicking on the following links: 

Tax Day Flyer #1 
Tax Day Flyer #2 

You can also download a fact sheet on U.S. weapons used by Israel during its recent war on the Gaza Strip by clicking here . 

You can also download a fact sheet with background information on U.S. aid to Israel by clicking here . 



Or, you can also arrange a public educational event for Tax Day and screen our DVD "Armed and Dangerous: Weapons Transfers to Israel during the Bush Administration." 

If you are arranging a Tax Day action or educational event, please post it to our website by clicking here and selecting "Tax Day Event." You can also send us a press release or other details and photo and video from your events afterwards so that we can post them to the website by clicking here . 

You can view Tax Day Events on our calendar by clicking here . 


C. Organize a Tax Day House Party. 

Invite your friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors over to your house on Tax Day to educate them about U.S. military aid to Israel. 

Screen our educational DVD "Armed and Dangerous: Weapons Transfers to Israel during the Bush Administration," or give your own presentation on the subject using our Power Point presentation, which can be downloaded by clicking here . 

At your house party, ask all your attendees to consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the US Campaign of $17.75 or more to offset their tax contribution to Israeli military occupation. 

In the organizing packets, we'll include educational materials, credit card slips, and envelopes for you to use at your house party. 

If you'd like to make your Tax Day house party public, please post the details to our on-line calendar by clicking here . Or find a Tax Day event near you on our calendar by clicking here . 



Don't forget to sign up to organize for Tax Day and get an organizing packet by clicking here . 



And, don't forget to offset your tax contribution to Israeli military occupation by making a tax-deductible contribution of $17.75 or more by clicking on the icon below: 



Yes We Can…End Military Aid to Israel! 


Yes We Can Have a Policy toward Palestine/Israel of Human Rights! 



US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation 

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