Subscribe to Common Dreams News Updates
Most Popular This Week
Popular content
Today's Top News
Kucinich to Introduce Gaza Ceasefire Resolution - Who Will Co-sponsor?
The war in Gaza continues, largely because the Bush Administration has continued to oppose, in practice, an immediate ceasefire. With each day that passes without a ceasefire, more innocents are killed.
Representative Dennis Kucinich plans to introduce a resolution in the House soon calling for an immediate ceasefire. There are a number of whereases in the draft, recounting the human toll of the war and the blockade, but the punchline is very simple:
Resolved, That the House of Representatives calls on the Government of Israel and representatives of Hamas to implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and to allow unrestricted humanitarian access in Gaza."A resolution has co-sponsors," a Kucinich staffer once said. It's great that Dennis is on the floor of the House telling the truth. But it's terrible for the prospects of changing disastrous U.S. policies towards the Palestinians for Dennis to be standing alone. Who will co-sponsor the Kucinich ceasefire resolution?
So far the original cosponsors include John Conyers, Keith Ellison, Maurice Hinchey, Marcy Kaptur, Jim McDermott, Nick Rahall, Diane Watson, and Lynn Woolsey.
When the House voted on AIPAC's resolution endorsing the war, five people voted no: Dennis Kucinich, Gwen Moore, Ron Paul, Nick Rahall, and Maxine Waters. Twenty-two Democrats voted "present," including many who had spoken strongly against the resolution and/or against the war: Neil Abercrombie, Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, John Dingell, Donna Edwards, Keith Ellison, Sam Farr, Raul Grijalva, Maurice Hinchey, Hank Johnson, Carolyn Kilpatrick, Barbara Lee, Betty McCollum, Jim McDermott, George Miller, Jim Moran, John Olver, Donald Payne, Loretta Sanchez, Pete Stark, Diane Watson, and Lynn Woolsey.
On July 19, 2006, Kucinich introduced a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon. That resolution was co-sponsored by: Neil Abercrombie, Tammy Baldwin, Wm. Lacy Clay, Emanuel Cleaver, John Conyers, Danny Davis, Peter DeFazio, Lloyd Doggett, Bob Filner, Raul Grijalva, Maurice Hinchey, Michael Honda, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Marcy Kaptur, Carolyn Kilpatrick, Barbara Lee, Betty McCollum, Jim McDermott, Cynthia McKinney, Gregory Meeks, George Miller, Gwen Moore, James Moran, John Olver, Major Owens, Nick Rahall, Charles Rangel, Bobby Rush, Louise Slaughter, Hilda Solis, Pete Stark, Nydia Velazquez, Maxine Waters, and Lynn Woolsey.
On July 25, 2006, Sheila Jackson-Lee introduced a bill calling for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon. That received 18 co-sponsors: John Conyers, Elijah Cummings, Danny Davis, Lloyd Doggett, Al Green, Raul Grijalva, Maurice Hinchey, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Marcy Kaptur, Dale Kildee, Carolyn Kilpatrick, Dennis Kucinich, Jim McDermott, Gwen Moore, John Olver, Nick Rahall, Diane Watson, and Lynn Woolsey.
If everyone listed above who is currently a Member of Congress co-sponsored the Kucinich resolution, the resolution would have about fifty sponsors. And that would be a good start. It would give a very different message to this Administration and the next - and to the world - than five people voting no on the AIPAC resolution. And it would encourage other Members of Congress to take a first step away from the disastrous policies that Congress has been supporting.
Of course every Member of Congress should be hearing from their constituents.
But, if your Member of Congress is on the above list, you have a special responsibility to act now to ask your Representative to co-sponsor the Kucinich resolution. You can use the link here for calling and the link here for writing.
- Posted in
43 Comments so far
Show AllThe Glue That Holds Chaos Together
Let's hope that Conyers does not turn tail and run the other way, as he so often does. The Republicans, the Democrats, and the corporate media never miss an opportunity to hide Kucinich away every time he takes action on any given issue. If we had more government officials like Kucinich then we wouldn't have to tell the others how to do their jobs.
AMEN!
So few with the tiniest sliver of decency. The rest, pardon the alliteration, craven, cowardly, and complicit quisling collaborators.
,,, calls on the Governments of Israel and Gaza? Good luck.
STOP SENDING MONEY and WEAPONS!
Recently the zionists have been begging not to be boycotted. Therefore it will work.
Sioux Rose
It's painful to admit this, but it's clear they are afraid to lose their Jewish voters. In the same way too many believe Bush was elected twice to office, and thus had the support of a higher percentage of persons than was the case; too many in politics here and elsewhere presume all Jews are behind the self-defeating (spiritually suicidal) policies of Israeli naked aggression. That is just not so. But where is any taking of the pulse of the Jewish portion of America's body politic? Much is assumed, in the same manner it was assumed that Bush had a 90-plus % approval rating after 911. I never bought that, saw right through the JUSTICE = a call to vengeance approach that madman took at the onset of an event that was just too convenient to the neocon clarion call to war in the M.E. Who controls the numbers, who design and interpret the polls? Who guards the guards, who counts the votes, who profits by these designs?
Sioux Rose:It's not for fear of losing Jewish voters,but lobby money and as Lerner said on DemocracyNow this morning, the media is blocking out dissent www.democracynow.org for transcript. No tv necessary. P.S.I don't think folks believe Bush was elected in 2000. Yes
much is assumed.
Bingo.
Bush was never elected. The vote was electronically manipulated. Mike Conell recently assassinated was intimately involved.
Sioux Rose wrote, "It's painful to admit this, but it's clear they are afraid to lose their Jewish voters."
Ah, so that's the big conspiracy you are buying into...
"Jewish voters are traitors to America". Right? Because they are so loyal to Israel, right?
America wouldn't support Israel if not for those darn Jewish voters. It has nothing to do with our shared values or common interests, right?
Yeah, 2% of the US population is controlling the other 98%. It makes perfect sense.
Sine you guys are already into the whole "Jews control America" meme. Try out these other insane conspiracies, maybe you will like them. How about "Jews caused 911"? That's a good one. Or how about "Jews caused the financial crisis"? Maybe "Jews got us into Iraq and Afghanistan"? Or you can just go full-on Mel Gibson and say "the Jews have caused all the wars in world". That one is a classic. But then again, perhaps you would prefer the most famous classic of all, the one still used by Hamas. If that's the case, I suggest you order yourself a copy of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion". I guarantee you will love it.
YES. YES. YES. I just mailed my member of the House, that I'd sent a thank you to both Kucinch and to Maxine Waters for their NO votes for the House nonbinding resolution last week. My Congressmember voted YES. Now, I see this article. As I said to spouse this morning, if member of Congress can't be brave now, when's he going to be brave? He has nothing to lose, is old.
I called my congresscritter a couple of days ago and told his office that I felt that "war" was the wrong word for what Israel was doing in Gaza, that it was more like "shooting fish in a barrel" especially when casualties are running about 100 to 1. Some "war".
Of course his (my rep Tim Ryan) position was the lockstep "right to defend itself" barf that congress recently regurgitated.
Then I called Kucinich's office and told them that he was my hero. I am obviously not in his district but I did live in Cleveland when he was the "youngest mayor of a major American city".
Here's a website they steered me towards: http://kucinich.us/index.php
Also a good interview from a couple of years ago: http://outraged.chattablogs.com/archives/046718.html
NYCartist,
As a strong believer in Judeo-Christian ethics, I would have liked to phone all 390 Representatives who voted in favor of "[r]ecognizing Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirming the United States’ strong support for Israel, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process." But I just don't have the time to phone all 390 of them.
Maybe I should just phone the measly 5 representatives who voted against Israel and tell them I'm disappointed in them. YES. YES. YES. That's what I should do.
Here are some 'talking points' sent by a good acquantence:
When I went to Israel a few years ago, I got to meet with this organization in person. The work B'Tselem does is phenomenal. Many of you may have already heard of them. For those of you not familiar with the group, they are a human rights group monitoring the Israeli state's abuses in the Palestinians terrorities and of course, Palestinian violence against Israelis.
Those of you reporting on the subject - YOU MUST look at their website for important details and stats you can use in your newscasts/stories/blog/etc.
For others, it's a great source to check out from time to time for updates on the crisis from the ground.
here is their website: http://www.btselem.org/English/
here is their english blog: http://gazaeng.blogspot.com
Anser
But I could be wrong !
The same number of people who will cosponsor Ron Paul's next attempt to pass the HEMP FARMING BILL to legalize industrial cannabis. Close to none until China and Japan flip the foreclosure switch on the USA !
Who will co-sponsor? I think we can be sure it will not be a Jewish Democrat. And you can be sure that Kucinich will once again face piles of money coming from out of state to defeat him when elections roll around.
At the risk of being accused of anti-Semitism, this is why I will not vote for any more Jewish Americans.
How's your beloved Feingold been on this issue? Boxer? Frank? Nadler? Waxman? And if you think Wellstone would have stood up for the people of Gaza, I have some land right here by the volcano I'd love to sell you.
Will you not vote for any Christian Democrat who voted for the resolution last week in the House to support Israel? I won't vote for anyone who voted Yes, no matter what their identity. It's only anti-Jew if you are only against Jews because they are Jews. I am a Jew.
You ignored or skilled the part about Christians, Dems and Republicans, who voted for the resolution,too.
Exactly. I most definitely WOULD vote for a Jew who loudly and clearly opposed Israel's war crimes and was for immediate suspension of all aid and proved eager to push for a just settlement.
So you would vote for a self-hating/Israel-hating Jew. Big surprise.
The answer is yes.
we will never crush the beast if we confuse Jews with zionists. zionists hide behide Jews. zionists and USA fascists are the problem. A Jew might or might not be a zionist. Just as a christian might or might not be a zionist.
As I said below, I would vote for A Jewish American who loudly and clearly acknowledged Israel's criminal, inhumane behavior.
The point I was making, however, is I can't find one Jew in Congress who does not slavishly support Israel regardless of her actions, and who does not expect everyone else to do so as well. I have not seen one Jew running for office who is any different. Sure, they may be for gay rights, opposed (now) to the Iraq invasion and (maybe) against an attack on Iran, but when it comes to Palestine, they are in lock-step.
Please point out one Jew in Congress who opposed the the destruction of Lebanon or the current slaughter in Gaza.
There are, however, a couple dozen non-Jewish reps who have.
Just prove me wrong.
Only 5 members of the House voted NO on the bad resolution last week. About 20 registered "present" and didn't vote. On Lebanon:see DemocracyNow this morning, it was mentioned and compared to this resolution on Gaza. www.democracynow.org
Congress' inaction speaks for itself. Why are you uncomfortable looking beyond the Jews in Congress?
I am also Jewish. I think it goes deeper than that. Even if you are opposing Israel for reasons other than antisemitism, you are still jumping on the same bandwagon as every neo-Nazi and white supremacist out there. You are fueling their cause. If you have to criticize Israel, at least make sure to emphasize your condemnation of the terrorism of Hamas, and stress that Israel has a right to exist, a right to self-defense, and to be a homeland for the Jewish people.
Recently, most of you Israel-bashers have actually been sounding more like Hamas supporters - and that is sick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm8w7_P8wZ0&feature=related
"I will eat the Jews - G*d willing!" - Hamas Rabbit
Israeli propaganda aside, just looking at their actions over several dacades, how is it that the Israelis differ from the Serbs, who, after committing atrocities in their ethnic cleansing efforts to acquire territory illegitimately, had to be bombed by Nato? As many Jews recognize, the Israelis have set a loathsome example of naked barbarism, wiping out any special consideration they might formerly have merited as sufferers from the Nazi holocaust. When, in turn, naked barbarism is visited upon them (and their sponsors, the US Government), what will any moralist be able to say on their behalf?
HailCODEPINK:"had to be bombed by NATO"? I slept in a tourist guest home once in Belgrade; they didn't deserve to have NATO bomb their house and city decades later.
"special consideration"? "When, in turn, naked barbarism is visited upon them (and their sponsors, the US Government)" who will have to bomb the "barbarism" in that round?
Governments "do". "Naked barbarism" as you call it, does not get "visited on...,...the US Government)," but on people. You are the opposite of CODEPINK.
I think it is pretty obvious that HailCODEPINK is pointing out the hypocrisy of the US government, not defending past actions.
Win or lose, this resolution gives the voters which Democrats to shoot out and which ones to keep.
There are extensive gas reserves off the Gaza coastline. Does this come as a surprize to anyone?
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11680
The reason for conflict in that area is now crystal clear to me. Thanks for the enlightenment.
We are in the age of the hydrocarbon resource wars. All else is BS.
It's like running into a brickwall. The Democratic-Republican Party would never tolerate anything that hampers their "cop-on-the-beat" in the ME, as Chomski puts it.
Can you imagine what the response in the Congress would be if Iran was doing to Israel what Israel is doing to Gaza? They would be foaming at the mouth and unleashing nukes!
I'm only saying this one more time, OK.... Israel has to go!!!! Pack up the
5 million Jews that live in Israel and move them to the Mojave Desert....
The truly religious jews could stay in Palestine and patiently await the coming
of their messiah.... The fact that a few million people are causing all this
grief in the world over the fact that an invisible super hero (god) said it
was their land is laughable.....
And as for writing my Congress persons in regards to Israel??? I have far far
better ways to waste my time..... Vern Ehlers is a pimp and hustler... Levin is
a member of the tribe-nuff said... And Debbie Stabinow (sp) is a fat cow.... No
offense meant to cows.... Have a nice day losers..... Uncle Billy
In general, I agree with your comments about the Jews. But please don't send them to the wonderful Mojave Desert! A better place for them would be Utah, where they could continue to exist in a state of complete ignorance - alongside the currently deluded inhabitants of that formally (in pre-Columbian times) very fine state.
And I have "far far better ways to waste my time" too than to communicate with the likes of corporatized/militarized/pro-AIPAC congresspersons.
Even the deluded Dennis Kucinich says: "Israel is going to receive $30 billion in a ten-year period for military assistance, without having to abide by any humanitarian principles, international laws or standards of basic human decency. Wake up America." Excuse me, Dennis. Wake yourself up! Where do you think this amount of money and this American-destroying alignment comes from? It comes from YOUR incoming president - the half-white on the outside, fully-white corporatized/militarized man on the inside, B.O., who had this to say in June 2008:
"Our alliance is based on shared interests and shared values. Those who threaten Israel threaten us. Israel has always faced these threats on the front lines. And I will bring to the White House an unshakeable commitment to Israel's security. That starts with ensuring Israel's qualitative military advantage. I will ensure that Israel can defend itself from any threat — from Gaza to Tehran. Defense cooperation between the United States and Israel is a model of success, and must be deepened. As president, I will implement a Memorandum of Understanding that provides $30 billion in assistance to Israel over the next decade — investments to Israel’s security that will not be tied to any other nation." See http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91150432
And let us not forget that: "The first of 20,000 to 30,000 additional U.S. troops are scheduled to arrive in Afghanistan next month to re-win the war George W. Bush neglected to finish in his eagerness to start another one." Read The Afghan Scam at http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175019
So why the hell are you still in this "Democratic" party Dennis K.? You only continue to make a fool of yourself!
turfbil wrote, "Israel has to go!!!! Pack up the 5 million Jews that live in Israel and move them to the Mojave Desert...."
So they could starve to death and die? Kill all the Jews? Is that it? Hitler would be so proud of you! You are supporting ethic cleansing. Why not just build gas chambers? That's basically what you are saying.
Is this what passes for "Progressive"?
UPDATE: The Kucinich resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire has been introduced. It's HRes 66.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.RES.66:
Robert Naiman
www.justforeignpolicy.org
Good. I just saw, by way of Jewish Voice for Peace that Jews Against the Occupation of Palestine put up a banner, hanging over the side rail of the West Side Highway, NYC at the place where the US Intrepid, former air craft carrier is "parked", calling for immediate cease fire. It was put up and seen by motorists during morning rush hour. I haven't heard of local coverage yet. See www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org and www.jatonyc.org
I sent Kucinich a thank you for his NO vote on the rotten House resolution last week, also one to Maxine Waters. I also sent a note to my member of the House saying that I'd done so. My Congressmember did not vote NO last week.
Why do we call ourselves the "Jewish people", NYCartist?
Because Israel is our homeland.
You said it yourself. We were a people before we had a religion.
We are still a people.
We are the children of Israel.
Can you deny that every single Jew is, by definition, a child of Israel?
You are turning your back on our people, our history, and G*d.
If Israel has a right to exist, doesn't Palestine?
I do think that the people occupying the Gaza strip have a "right" to food, water, land, property, etc.
It seems that Israel is a religious state; why must we support a religious state that discriminates against those who are of a different religion?
Israel wants to be a "state" yet they will not sign non-nuclear proliferation treaties, nor will they disclose just what nuclear power they have. Israel would not permit journalists in to witness what was being done to Palestine. A special envoy from the United Nations was turned back, denied the right to see what was happening in Palestine.
The reports have shown that the number of rockets fired by Hamas (a democratically elected government, by the way) are of a relatively small number; most of these have been fired in retaliation of an act of Israel. The world sees this clearly, yet here in the U.S. we turn a blind eye to the destruction wreaked.
whatever happened to kucinich trying to impeach bush. i gotta give it to kucinich. even though he knows all this stuff he tries to do, such as impeach bush, and stop israel isnt going to do anything, he still keeps trying. i would have liked to see him win the presidency. i guess we will have to settle for zionist obama capitalist roader.
“If the Arabs laid down their arms, there would be no conflict; if the Israelis laid down their arms, there would be no Israel.”
"Who profits from the Israeli occupation?"
There was a good radio show today, "Beyond the Pale" on WBAI www.wbai.org where it's archived for 90 days (and have their own website also). One of the guests was an Israeli woman activist who works as part of a coalition of Jewish women working for peace, who are opposing their government's policy on Palestinians, and the occupation. This is the website of the Israeli peaceworkers. Their website is a new website: www.whoprofits.org with about 200 companies that profit from the occupation. They are only able to do research on companies in Israel and the occupied territories, but not companies that are overseas, like in the US and other countries and are asking for help. They go to see and photograph the businesses. I repeat, they are opposed to the Israeli occupation. I support their work. I am an atheist Jew in opposition to the Israeli government policies and the US government policies in the middle east.