Please write to your congressional district representative and voice your concerns about Gaza. you can use the following template (courtesy ofTabassum Firoz) if you want. Just put in your representative's name at the top and your name, city, state at the bottom. I promise you, this will not take more than 2 minutes. You can find the representative of your congressional district by simply going to
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
and typing in your zip code. A link lets you send a letter. It's that easy!
Dear X,
I am writing to you as a concerned American about the recent escalation of violation in Gaza . There are three specific issues I would like to highlight and I ask for your immediate action:
1) I am requesting that the US Government publicly voices concerns about the violation of the Geneva convention by Israel. Since 6 July 2014, attacks on the Gaza Strip have caused at least 80 deaths (17 children; 16 women) and have injured more than 570 (120 children; 170 women) (refhttp://www.emro.who.int/media/news/appeal-opt.html). Injuring civilians (in particular children) is a clear violation of international humanitarian law and as a country that prides itself on peace and justice, we should denounce such acts.
2) I am asking that the US Government also evaluates its role in promoting the conflict in Gaza. Israel receives substantial funding from the US Government for its military and defense purposes. (refhttp://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf). While we must support countries to defend themselves, we need to reevaluate situations when such support leads to offensive tactics where civilians, especially women and children are killed.
3) Finally, I am deeply concerned about the impact of the violence on the health of Palestinians. The World Health Organization and the Palestinian Ministry of Health are calling on local and international donors to support the Ministry. In addition to injuries and deaths, a hospital, three clinics and a water desalinization centre in a refugee camp have been damaged. Furthermore, the Ministry is limited financially as described in the WHO media report (ref http://www.emro.who.int/media/news/appeal-opt.html) resulting in shortages of medical supplies, cancelling of life saving operations and on a more basic level, inability to provide power supply to hospitals. I am asking the US Government to step up as a global health leader and donor.
As the representative of my congressional district, I am relying on you to be my voice on this critical matter.
Sincerely,
Name
City, State