> > > >Palestinian workers wait at a checkpoint.Sign our open letter to Mitt Romney >and we'll deliver it by the end of the week! Dear Daniel, >Yesterday in Jerusalem, Governor Mitt Romney made some statements that were >not only wrong, but frankly, prejudiced and ignorant. > >Romney declared that "cultural differences" were the reason the Palestinian >economy is not doing as well as Israel's, without even acknowledging the >Occupation. On top of that, he managed to get his facts completely wrong, >claiming the Israeli GDP is twice that of the Occupied Palestinian >Territories, when in fact it is actually about ten times as high. (1) > >Sign our open letter to Governor Romney asking him to apologize to the >Palestinian people, and we’ll deliver it to his campaign headquarters by the >end of the week. > >Most people who even cursorily keep up with the news know that Israel largely >controls not only the entry and exit of goods to and from the West Bank and >Gaza, but the entry and exit of the Palestinian people as well. Israeli >soldiers can arbitrarily block the access of farmers from their land, students >from their studies, and patients from medical care. Israel can, and has, >closed Palestinian universities for years at a time. > >Israel won't allow even the most innocuous materials, like strawberries from >Gaza, to be sold in the West Bank, which serves to prevent Gazan farmers from >making a living. (2)At various times, it has not allowed steel, glass, or even >pasta in to Gaza to allow it to re-build after the devastating war on Gaza in >2008-2009. And Israel allows private companies like Ahava to take take natural >resources in the West Bank and sell them for a profit. (3) > >It's this infrastructure of control that chokes not only economic growth, but >anything approaching normal life. > >Governor Romney’s willful lack of understanding of facts on the ground and >what appear to be racist assumptions about Israelis and Palestinians do not >represent us. Sign our letter calling on him to set the record straight and >apologize. We'll deliver it to Romney's campaign headquarters at the end of >the week. > >Romney stakes his value as a leader on his success in business. But any >businessperson should know that blocking free trade and commerce, profiting >from exploiting stolen land, and holding an entire economy hostage is not >exactly fair play. > >Please help us send a message to Mitt Romney that this kind of ignorance and >racism is unacceptable. JVP members in Boston will be delivering your >signature personally to Romney Headquarters before the end of this week. >Spread the word so to your friends and communities—we want enough signatures >by the end of this week to make it clear that his statements are not a >reflection of the values Jews, Americans, and our allies hold dear. > >Rebecca Vilkomerson, Executive Director >Jewish Voice for Peace >(1) >http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/31/opinion/mitt-romney-stumps-in-israel.html?_r=1&smid=fb-share > (2) http://www.gazagateway.org/2012/07/opening-post/ >(3) http://electronicintifada.net/content/rice-aid-pasta-not/8104 >& http://www.bilin-village.org/english/articles/press-and-independent-media/Activists-say-Montreal-firms-used-as-fronts-for-building-Israeli-settlements >& http://www.btselem.org/publications/summaries/dispossession-and-exploitation-israels-policy-jordan-valley-northern-dead-sea > > > > * Pledge your birthday to Jewish Voice for Peace. > * Subscribe to our blog Muzzlewatch. > * Subscribe to our blog The Only Democracy? > * Contact us directly at Jewish Voice for Peace. 1611 Telegraph Avenue, > Suite 550. Oakland, CA 94612 510-465-1777 [email protected] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
