United Methodists are responding to Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth ,a statement of faith and urgent call to action from Christians in Palestine. UMKR seeks, through nonviolent means and in partnership with Palestinian Christians, freedom, justice and equality for all Palestinians and Israelis.
Constitutent Letter to Representative in Congress:
Co-Sponsor H.R. 2407
Dear Representative [Last Name of Representative]:
I am writing to you as a constituent who is deeply concerned about the abuse that Palestinian children are subjected to under Israeli military detention. I urge you to co-sponsor H.R. 2407, The Promoting Human Rights for Palestinian Children Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act.
Israel is the only country in the world that automatically prosecutes children in military courts that lack basic and fundamental fair trial guarantees. Israel’s military detention system is notorious for the systematic ill treatment and torture of Palestinian children.
The facts are clear: since the year 2000, more than 10,000 Palestinian children have been arrested, detained, abused, and prosecuted by Israeli security forces in the Israeli military court system. Independent monitors such as Human Rights Watch and Israel’s B’Tselem have repeatedly documented that children are subject to abuse and, in some cases, torture — specifically citing the use of chokeholds, beatings, and coercive interrogation.
H.R. 2407 :
1) promotes justice, equality and human rights by ensuring that United States financial assistance provided to the Government of Israel is not used to support widespread and institutionalized abuse of Palestinian children detained by Israeli forces and prosecuted in Israeli military courts that lack basic fair trial protections;
2) amends Section 620M of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378d) commonly known as the ‘‘Leahy Law’’ by adding a new subsection that includes a generally applicable limitation prohibiting U.S. military aid from being used by foreign armed forces to support the military detention, interrogation, abuse, or ill treatment of children in violation of international
humanitarian law.
3) sets a clear statement of policy declaring, “It is the policy of the United States to promote human rights for Palestinian children living under Israeli military occupation and to declare Israel's system of military detention of Palestinian children as a practice that results in widespread and systematic human rights abuses amounting to gross violations of human rights inconsistent with international humanitarian law and the laws of the with international humanitarian law and the laws of the United States,” (applying to any country using military detention for children) and
4) includes authorization of funds to monitor human rights abuses and provide treatment to Palestinian child victims of Israeli military detention and torture.
In the words of your colleague, Rep. Betty McCollum: “Israel’s system of military juvenile
detention is state-sponsored child abuse designed to intimidate and terrorize Palestinian children and their families,… It must be condemned, but it is equally outrageous that U.S. tax dollars in the form of military aid to Israel are permitted to sustain what is clearly a gross human rights violation against children.”
Once again, I urge you to become a co-sponsor of H.R. 2407: The Promoting Human Rights for Palestinian Children Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act.
Respectfully,
[Your handwritten signature]
[Your full name
Street address
City, State, Zip]
It is recommended that you include your full street address so that the Representative's staff can confirm you are a constituent in that congressional district.
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