Apeal from End the occupation

Dear PEOPLE,

Israeli forces killed six children when a missile struck a residential building in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. Credit: DCI-Palestine.

It is with a heavy heart and a profound sense of outrage that we are witnessing Israel yet again brutally attack the besieged 1.7 million Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip with U.S. weapons and political support.

As of last night, Israel had killed at least 41 Palestinians, including 13 children; injured more than 100 people; and deliberately targeted at least 60 homes since the latest assault began on Monday.

Already, people like you have sent more than 20,000 letters since Monday to President Obama and Congress protesting Israel’s human rights abuses and collective punishment of the Palestinians. Send an updated letter to them calling for an immediate ceasefire and accountability for Israel’s actions by clicking here.

As Israel is intensifying its U.S.-sponsored brutality toward the Palestinian people, the United States is moving ahead with its prosecution of Rasmea Odeh—a survivor of Israeli torture and a beloved Chicago-area Palestinian-American community organizer—despite thousands of you who have written to and called the District Attorney to drop the spurious immigration-related charges against her.

But we won’t be deterred. Today, we’re joining with US Campaign member groups and friends—American Muslims for Palestine, Council on American-Islamic Relations Chicago, Committee to Stop FBI Repression, Defending Dissent Foundation, Jewish Voice for Peace, National Lawyers Guild, and the United States Palestinian Community Network—in a joint day of action.

Please take a moment to write and call your Members of Congress expressing your concern about Rasmea's prosecution and asking them to send a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder about the case.

As we explain in the letter to Congress:

“The 67-year-old community leader is facing up to ten years in federal prison and the prospect of her U.S. citizenship been revoked and being deported. Her arrest stems from allegations that she failed to disclose on her naturalization application an unjust conviction by Israeli military courts over 45 years ago. She was physically and sexually tortured into confessing to a crime she did not commit, and subjected to continued torture, sexual abuse and solitary confinement while in detention for 10 years.

These charges against Odeh are spurious because she has not hidden her torture and imprisonment. On the contrary, in 1979, she publicly testified before the UN in great detail about the torture to which she was subjected while imprisoned by Israel.”

Click here to read the letter and send a personal version to your Members of Congress. It’s easy…just type in your zip code to get started.

As we mentioned in our alert earlier this week, the August Congressional recess is coming up. We want to help you set up a delegation to meet with your Members of Congress to share your concerns about Rasmea Odeh’s prosecution and to hold Israel accountable for its increasing brutality both toward Palestinians and Americans such as Tarek Abu Khdeir.

To get started, please contact our Legislative Coordinator Mike Coogan who will provide you with the training and resources you need for a successful meeting. Don’t worry if you’ve never met with your Members of Congress before. We’ll walk you through the process as needed.

For additional details about Rasmea’s case, please check out this flyer from USPCN and this article I wrote in The Hill.

Thank you for taking action to protest our government’s prosecution of Rasmea Odeh and for all of your continued activism to end Israel’s U.S.-sponsored brutality toward the Palestinians.

Sincerely,