Lobbyists from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) are pressing your senators and representative to support legislation that, if adopted as written, would push the United States significantly closer to war with Iran.
If it were only Republicans like Lindsey Graham – the lead sponsor of AIPAC’s Senate bill – supporting AIPAC’s attack on the Iran policy of the Obama administration, that would be cause for less concern. President Obama just defeated Graham on the same arguments when the Senate voted to confirm Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense.
But, unfortunately, because AIPAC has significant pull with many Senate and House Democrats, this time it’s not just about Graham. Senators such as Barbara Boxer and Ron Wyden are supporting AIPAC’s pro-war attack on Obama’s Iran policy. Once again we’re being told that the United States must push toward war with Iran because that’s allegedly what “American Jews” want, even though AIPAC’s pro-war agenda has nothing to do with the values and interests of the vast majority of American Jews.
Jewish Voice for Peace and Avaaz teamed up to drive home the point that AIPAC doesn’t speak for American Jews with a beautiful campaign of billboards in DC metro stations:
Jewish and Proud
And AIPAC DOES NOT Speak for Me
President Obama, Congress: Most Jewish Americans are pro-peace. AIPAC is not.
But unfortunately, beautiful billboards in metro stations might not be enough to inoculate Congress against AIPAC’s push for war, with AIPAC’s army of lobbyists swarming the Hill.
At times like these, don’t you wish that there were a DC insider, Jewish-led, Israel-identified, pro-peace organization that would go toe-to-toe with AIPAC in Congress and try to stop AIPAC’s drive for war?
Blessed art Thou, Lord our God, King of the Universe: Americans for Peace Now is in the house.
On Tuesday, APN sent urgent appeals to the Senate and the House: “Do not cosponsor AIPAC’s pro-war bills.”
About Lindsey Graham’s bill, S. Res. 65, APN begins:
Americans for Peace Now has serious concerns about S. Res. 65, an AIPAC-backed resolution recently introduced in the Senate that has been nicknamed by some the “Backdoor to War” resolution, since it effectively gives a green light for Israeli military action against Iran that, if carried out, would almost certainly require the US to join the fight.
APN is urging Senators to refuse to cosponsor S. Res. 65.
Given the gravity of the issues at stake, APN is urging Senators to also refuse to permit S. Res. 65 to be ramrodded through the Senate according to a timetable defined by AIPAC – or any outside group.
We are urging Senators to instead call for a serious deliberation process, including committee hearings and markups, during which concerns about S. Res. 65 can be aired and deficiencies in the resolution can be addressed.
About AIPAC’s House bill, HR 850, APN begins:
Americans for Peace Now has serious concerns about HR 850, an AIPAC-backed Iran sanctions bill recently introduced in the House of Representatives.
APN is urging House members to refuse to cosponsor HR 850.
Given the gravity of the issues at stake, APN is urging House members to refuse to permit HR 850 to be ramrodded through Congress according to a timetable defined by AIPAC – or any outside group.
We are urging House members to instead call for a serious deliberation process, including committee hearings and markups during which concerns about HR 850 can be aired and deficiencies in the bill can be addressed.
You can write to your Senators through APN here. You can write to your Representative in the House through APN here.
Some folks who oppose war with Iran may be put off by some of the insider language in APN’s draft letters to the House and Senate. You can edit the letters as you like. Or you could just click the button. You voted for Obama to defeat McCain and Romney, right? You supported Chuck Hagel’s nomination for Secretary of Defense? As far as war and peace in the Middle East are concerned, this is exactly the same fight.
Sign the petition to ban weaponized drones from the world here.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy