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Disapproving Weapons Sales to Israel: Vote Coming Soon

Since the Biden administration announced a $20 billion arms deal to Israel in August, Peace Action has been pushing hard to stop it. If you’ve taken action urging our members of Congress to support blocking these dangerous weapons deals – thank you!

Now it’s time to take action again.

As you may recall, Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced several bills, along with Senators Peter Welch, Jeff Merkley, and Brian Schatz that would block specific arms transfers to Israel. Collectively, they make up a package of “Joint Resolutions of Disapproval. (JRD)”. There are six bills in total – one to block each weapons transfer. These weapons include tank and mortar rounds that have been documented having killed innocent civilians, including children, journalists and medical professionals.

We now know that a vote on these JRDs will likely happen in the Senate early next week!

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for Gaza, and it may be the final vote on the war that we see in Congress for some time. More than a year into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, over 42,000 Palestinians have been killed, including a great many civilian women and children. Israel’s continued onslaught, in Gaza, the West Bank, and now Lebanon, is made possible by U.S. military support.

We need to do everything in our power to end it.

Action: Contact Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler today and tell them to join Sens. Sanders, Welch and Merkley in their efforts to rein in U.S. support for the ongoing war on Gaza.

We are in the midst of “National Days of Action” to approve the JRDs, and you might be hearing from us again later this week. Our goal is to absolutely flood Senators’ offices with emails, phone calls, and face-to-face lobby visits all calling for one thing – ending U.S. complicity in genocide and using the leverage we have to end this horrific war in Gaza.

Please call or email your Senators today, and thank you for all you’ve done to bring an end to the suffering in Gaza.

Act to Protect Nonprofits’ Free Speech

Have you heard about the “nonprofit killer bill”? It’s being voted again on in the House any day!

H.R. 9495 is the first concrete test of whether and how democratic rights will be eroded in the Trump era – and this time Peace Action and our allies could be the ones under attack. It goes straight at the right to “petition the government for redress of grievances.”

In short, H.R. 9495 “Gives Trump Unilateral Power to Kill Nonprofits”.[1] The bill allows the secretary of the Treasury to designate any nonprofit as a “terrorist supporting organization”, with little due process, and revoke the nonprofit’s tax-exempt status – effectively shutting them down. The House will vote on this any day now.

We’re particularly worried about Republican-led attacks on Palestinian-led groups and others in the pro-Palestinian movement. After all, President-elect Trump vowed to donors to “crush” the pro-Palestinian protest movement.[2] But this bill could have additional broad impacts – on humanitarian organizations delivering aid, on media organizations, and on advocacy organizations like Peace Action.

H.R. 9495 is part of a quasi-authoritarian campaign to suppress civil society and “left-wing nonprofits" as outlined in Project 2025.[3] Peace Action ally Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett is leading the charge against the bill, which he correctly ties to Trump’s egregious cabinet nominations. Rep. Doggett said, “In this mislabeled bill, House Republicans are hiding behind hostages. Their rush to reconsider this bill is solely to offer Trump more and more power, while Trump’s nominees for key national security posts this week indicate how he will be using it.”

Doggett mentions hostages because the bill also contains an innocuous provision to exempt Americans held hostage from IRS tax filing penalties. Because of that sensible idea, many are voting for the bill without thinking through the implications of the rest of the bill for nonprofits. That’s where we come in, with the need to remind Congress of this bill's dangers to first amendment rights.

We know some feel that “democracy is at stake” has become a bit of a cliche. But our democratic rights ARE under attack…and that’s not just a partisan issue. 52 Democrats supported this legislation in a vote last week, but it needed a 60% vote. This week it needs only a simple majority, and with another attempt to ram it though Congress again, we need every possible vote.

Action: Contact Rep. Kevin Mullin or Anna Eshoo, or whomever represents you (contact info below), and tell them to vote against H.R. 9495 when it comes up for another vote in the next few days (probably Thursday, but always hard to be sure). Thank them for their “no” votes and tell them to vote the same way again. Suggest that free speech and advocacy are truly on the line.

[1] House GOP Moves to Ram Through Bill That Gives Trump Unilateral Power to Kill Nonprofits, Noah Hurowitz, The Intercept, November 15, 2024.

[2] Trump told donors he will crush pro-Palestinian protests, deport demonstrators, Josh Dawsey, Washington Post, May 27, 2024.

[3] Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, Heritage Foundation/Project 2025

Restore UNRWA Funding

Between the genocidal violence, crumbling medical infrastructure (1) and Israeli government officials openly justifying the starvation of millions of Palestinians, (2), we still face the fact of Palestinians in Gaza dealing with unimaginable suffering every day. But U.S. funding for the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) remains paused.

Since 1949, this has been the main organization carrying out aid delivery and other relief activities for Palestinians, and its work seemingly has never been more necessary now – given the human rights catastrophe that we are witnessing.

Earlier in the year, 12 UNRWA employees were implicated in the Hamas October 7, 2023 attack on Israelis that included the taking of 250 hostages. In April, a UN independent panel found no evidence of such collusion. But by then, the damage was done, as the U.S. had joined a number of other countries in cutting off aid to UNRWA and crippling its ability to help Palestinian civilians through this most devastating period.

On September 19, the UNRWA Emergency Restoration Act was introduced by Reps. Andre Carson, Pramila Jayapal and Jan Schakowsky, with 65 original co-sponsors; there are now 69. Unfortunately, that list includes neither Rep. Kevin Mullin nor Anna Eshoo. Both have expressed concern for the plight of Palestinian civilians, and both are in a position to act on that concern by signing on to this important bill.

The UNRWA Emergency Restoration Act would:

Repeal the funding prohibitions included in the FY24 Appropriations bill and the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024;
Express a sense of Congress that supports appropriating critical funds to UNRWA for Fiscal Year 2025;
Require the Secretary of State to report to Congress on a quarterly basis on the steps UNRWA is taking to implement recommendations from the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) to further ensure the neutrality of its workforce; and
Urge the Secretary of State, as soon as possible, to rescind the temporary pause in funding for and resume funding to UNRWA.

The work of UNRWA is essential, as is funding for it. If this bill is enacted, the U.S. would be the last nation to restore its contribution. We are known for setting an example, but this time we need to follow an example.

Action: Contact Rep. Mullin or Eshoo, or whomever represents you, and urge them to co-sponsor the UNRWA Emergency Restoration Act. (Some Bay Area reps have already signed on, including Barbara Lee, Ro Khanna and Jared Huffman, so perhaps a good idea to ask and express thanks appropriately.) Suggest this is an effective bill toward beginning to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.

Block Arms, Save Lives

There are now two complementary strategies to restrain U.S. support for the war on Gaza.

First, we are still pushing for a ceasefire (see below), and more members of Congress are coming on board. Late last week and over the weekend, more moderate Democrats, including key Jewish congressional leaders, joined in supporting a ceasefire. They included Jamie Raskin, Sara Jacobs and Becca Balint.

Second, we aim to use the most powerful lever Congress has to impact the behavior of the Israeli government: U.S. arms transfers. The U.S. builds and finances much of Israel’s arsenal.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar introduced a measure to block a $320 million arms sale to Israel. [1] The bill, which is called a Joint Resolution of Disapproval, would revoke the export license of a type of guided bomb kit that is used in the airstrikes killing so many civilians.

The State Department notified Congress of this particular weapons transfer on October 31 – the same day Israel struck the Jabaliya refugee camp in an airstrike that killed about 50 Palestinians. The bombs that were dropped on the camp are usually outfitted with “precision” guidance systems of the type being transferred in this batch.[2] These are the type of “sophisticated” weapons that are killing civilians and destroying civilian targets.

U.S. law is supposed to prohibit the transfer of U.S. weapons to countries who use such weapons to commit human rights violations. The Biden administration actually tightened the rules on arms transfers to say that weapons shouldn’t be transferred if they are “more likely than not” to be used in atrocities.[3] Clearly, in Gaza, the killing of thousands of civilians and the destruction of schools, apartment blocks, hospitals, refugee camps etc. violates this standard. Congress can use its powers to enforce this policy.

Action: Contact Rep. Kevin Mullin or Anna Eshoo, or whomever represents you, and tell them to work to block a pending arms shipment to Israel – in part by supporting H.J. Res. 102. Mention that the weapons in question could be used in human rights violations...which is in turn a violation of U.S. law.

1. Omar unveils resolution to block weapons sale to Israel, The Hill, NICK ROBERTSON, November 16, 2023

2. Israel Used 2,000-Pound Bombs in Strike on Jabaliya, Analysis Shows, Christopher Coetti, New York Times, November 3, 2023

3. Unpacking Biden’s Conventional Arms Transfer Policy, John Chappell, Ari Tolany, Lawfare, March 1, 2023.

Gaza: Ceasefire and De-escalation

We remain shaken with concern for the news that has come and the news coming in every day as a result of the deadly attacks by Hamas on Israelis and the overwhelming response against the people of Gaza from Israel’s military. There very likely will never be a military solution to this ongoing conflict, and those who take on the task of finding a real solution must continue with that task even when it looks impossible.

But first there is a dire situation in Gaza to attend to.

Missouri Rep. Cori Bush and some of her colleagues introduced H. Res 786, a straightforward ceasefire and humanitarian aid bill. The legislation simply calls for “the Biden administration to immediately call for and facilitate de-escalation and a cease-fire” and for “the Biden administration to promptly send and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.” We don’t know if either Rep. Kevin Mullin or Anna Eshoo has signed on to the resolution from Bush.

Peace Action is one of many organizations endorsing the bill; Executive Director Jon Rainwater said: “With massive human rights violations accumulating in Gaza, simply suggesting that human rights laws are important clearly isn’t enough. Indiscriminate bombing has killed hundreds of children, a starvation siege is driving a humanitarian crisis, and now mass ethnic cleansing looks to be imminent. Strong action in the form of a ceasefire is needed to prevent a historic catastrophe.”

Action: Contact Rep. Mullin or Eshoo, or whomever represents you, and tell them to co-sponsor H. Res 786, the resolution from Rep. Bush for de-escalation, ceasefire and humanitarian assistance. Eshoo’s constituents can thank her for signing Rep. Jayapal’s recent letter calling to protect civilians, and suggest (in the case of both Reps) the Bush measure is an important next step.

Diplomacy in Ukraine

Sometimes a simple statistic can stop you in its tracks.

For instance, a recent New York Times article about deaths and casualties in the Ukraine war pointed out that:

“In just a year and a half, Ukraine’s military deaths have already surpassed the number of American troops who died during the nearly two decades U.S. units were in Vietnam.”

Perhaps there is a glimmer of hope in how some in the Biden administration and elsewhere are acknowledging that this death toll, and the grinding pace of the war, should push us to do more to prioritize diplomatic tools. One administration official told Politico that “We may have missed a window to push for earlier talks” and another said that those who had pushed for more diplomacy “had a point”.

It's time to take action, because both Reps. Kevin Mullin and Anna Eshoo joined every Democratic House member (and 90 Republicans) in voting against legislation – supported by Peace Action – by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) that would have required a clear delineation of the administration’s war strategy, including “a diplomatic pathway...by which the United States can facilitate a negotiated cessation of hostilities in Ukraine.” It also required a briefing of the appropriate committees on “the United States strategy with respect to Ukraine and the plans for the implementation of such strategy.” Perhaps the issue of diplomacy has, sadly, got caught up in partisan politics. The measure would have theoretically delayed a small portion of aid to Ukraine if the administration failed to report to Congress, but of course the administration can work to ensure that doesn’t happen. In any case, we need to ask why all of the no votes on the measure, and we need to continue to keep the pressure building on Congress to urge the administration to prioritize diplomacy.

Of course diplomacy to end the war won't come easily; there are many obstacles in the way. Neither warring party appears ready to talk as they fight for military gains – and trust is on empty, especially after human rights violations in places like Bucha. Ukrainian officials have understandably resisted any suggestion that they should leave their people permanently under a Russian occupation that UN human rights officials claim has been marked by “dire” and “wide-ranging” violations of human rights. No one should seek to impose boundaries on Ukraine in a neocolonial fashion or press for an unjust resolution.

Ending war is notoriously hard, especially after a war goes into its second year. Though negotiation can take years, the sooner diplomacy begins, the more groundwork can be laid, and options explored and developed.

Former National Security Council Russian affairs official Fiona Hill recently said we “have to step up here…pushing forward on the diplomatic front.” She went on to say that Ukraine’s allies like the U.S. should be “preparing a diplomatic framework for something eventual and putting Ukraine in the best possible diplomatic position.”

Congressmembers also need to step up and speak up for a diplomatic initiative. Clearly there is a debate happening within the administration about ramping up diplomacy despite the obstacles.

Action: Contact Rep. Mullin or Eshoo, or whomever represents you, to 1) ask why they voted against asking the administration to report on diplomatic initiatives, and 2) tell them to come forward and call for diplomatic initiative to seek diplomatic solutions to end the war in Ukraine. Suggest they should support diplomacy to end the war before it kills tens of thousands more.

Rein in Nuclear Weapons

In January, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved their iconic Doomsday Clock ahead to 90 seconds before midnight, the closest it’s ever come to symbolic global apocalypse. Vladimir Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Tensions are rising with China. Last August, the UN Secretary-General said “humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.”

In short, the threat of nuclear war is all too real and frightening, perhaps greater than it has been since the Cuban Missile Crisis over 60 years ago, and threatening all of humanity, all we hold dear.

In January 2021, 50-plus nations (all non-nuclear weapons states) signed and entered into force the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). This past January 31, Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) re-introduced H. Res 77, “(E)mbracing the goals and provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.” The resolution urges the President and Congress to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by supporting common sense policies, including:

- Actively pursuing and concluding negotiations on a new, bilateral nuclear arms control and disarmament framework agreement with Russia before 2026, as well as negotiations with China and other nuclear-armed states on agreements for the verifiable, enforceable, and timebound elimination of global nuclear arsenals;

- Renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons first;

- Ending the President’s sole authority to launch a nuclear attack;

- Taking nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert;

- Canceling plans to replace the U.S. nuclear arsenal with modernized, enhanced weapons.

Rep. Kevin Mullin recently became a co-sponsor of H Res 77; Rep. Anna Eshoo has not yet signed on.

Action: Folks in Rep. Kevin Mullin's district can contact him to express thanks for his support of the measure. Constituents of Anna Eshoo, or of others who have not co-sponsored, can contact them and ask that they sign on. Suggest they need to show leadership and take this step toward preventing nuclear war and advancing policies that will make the world a safer place, before the unthinkable happens.

Palestinian Rights are Human Rights

Through our tax dollars, we unfortunately continue to lend support for the Israeli government’s violence and oppression of Palestinians. The unconditional support of Israel by the United States – which includes $3.8 billion per year – reinforces a militaristic policy that includes annexation, evictions, home demolitions, and the detention and torture of Palestinians…even young children.

But now we have a chance to help change this. Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) and 16 other representatives recently re-introduced the Palestinian Children and Families Act, H.R. 3103. This historic bill would help curtail any U.S. military funding to Israel that pays for the military detention of Palestinian children, the demolition of Palestinian homes, or the annexation of Palestinian land. The bill currently has 18 co-sponsors.

The Palestinian Children and Families Act creates sorely needed accountability around how U.S. tax dollars are used by Israel. It’s a modest but powerful step that boils down to one of the boldest pieces of U.S. legislation ever introduced on Palestinian human rights.

Rep. McCollum first introduced this bill in 2021, and thanks to lobbying efforts from peace and justice advocates, 32 additional members of Congress co-sponsored the bill over the course of two years. This year’s version currently has 18 co-sponsors, 16 of them on the day it was introduced. Now we need to continue to grow support for this important bill.

As we’ve seen, Congress is hardly known for staking out bold positions on Palestinian rights. The fact that this bill was even introduced has pushed the needle forward politically. Given the strong support for the Israeli military in Congress, increasing support for this legislation can put real pressure on Israeli policy. At the same time, slowly but surely, we are building greater support for Palestinian rights in Congress. Hawkish, pro-occupation organizations like AIPAC are going to come hard at this bill and its co-sponsors, and it will be imperative that we stand up to their pressure – and encourage members of Congress to do the same.

Action: Contact Rep. Mullin, Eshoo or whomever represents you, and tell them to show their support for human rights by co-sponsoring H.R. 3103, the Palestinian Children and Families Act. Suggest that it’s time to take a stand against Israeli abuses to Palestinian rights.

Funding for the People, a Trim for the Pentagon

This year’s U.S. military budget is at $858 billion, more than China, Russia, and the next seven countries combined. With the National Defense Authorization Act on its way to the Senate, Congress is now debating a military budget that will being us closer to $900 billion. Meanwhile we are told there just isn’t money for healthcare, ending childhood poverty, or protecting the planet. Every year we see the Pentagon get a staggering amount of money, and it has led to wasteful military spending. In addition, the Pentagon has never passed an audit and has not been held accountable for waste, fraud, and abuse. Every year Congress and the President add more money to the Pentagon budget to procure outdated ships, malfunctioning planes, dangerous nuclear weapons, and giveaways to corrupt defense contractors at the expense of our communities.

And in mid-March, the Biden administration released a Pentagon budget request for Fiscal Year ’24 of $886.4 billion – another $28 billion increase over this year’s Congressionally approved level. Considering all of the everyday needs that are being neglected, such an amount threatens to further deprive Americans of the ability to thrive and survive.

With that in mind, East Bay Rep. Barbara Lee and Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan again introduced the People Over Pentagon Act, which would cut $100 billion from the military budget. H.R. 1134 provides a good start – articulating the need and the ability to prioritize our resources to help Americans struggling with inflation, feed the hungry, care for the sick, cut child poverty, and fight catastrophic climate change. Reducing the Pentagon budget by $100 billion would still leave plenty to keep America safe at a level well above our country’s post-World War II average. The current state of this initiative is as another amendment to the NDAA. Now Congress just needs to develop the backbone to vote for these priorities.

Action: Contact Rep. Mullin, Rep. Eshoo or whomever represents you, and tell them to co-sponsor the Lee-Pocan amendment to cut $100 billion from the military budget. Suggest that instead of these obscene budgets for war-fighting, we should be investing in human needs and preventing a climate crisis. That would provide more national security than what has come from wealthy weapons contractors. We might have a long way to go to convince a Congressional majority of the practicality of cutting $100 billion from the military, but every vote and gesture of support is one more, not one less.

An Actual Peace with North Korea?

This July will mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice that led to the stopping of the killing that took place during the Korean War. The agreement suggested an eventual end to the war, but we are still waiting for any diplomatic initiative in that direction. We have watched as such actions began to take shape, only to be scuttled by difficult demands by the U.S. on North Korea and new sanctions when the demands were not met. North Korea, for its part, has ramped up its nuclear weapons program to a dangerous level – made more so by the volatility and threats of the ruling Kim family.

The U.S. surely doesn’t want a nuclear confrontation – the “fire and fury” rhetoric of Donald Trump is for now just a memory – but our periodic military exercises with South Korea serve to keep tensions at an unreasonable level, and the volatility has similarly remained. A continued state of war with North Korea has resulted in a lack of real diplomatic relations and a continuation of a hostile relationship.

In the spirit of changing that, CA Rep. Brad Sherman has once again introduced the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act. H.R.1369 would direct the Secretary of State “pursue serious, urgent diplomatic engagement with North Korea and South Korea in pursuit of a binding peace agreement” to formally end the state of war. The hoped-for peace is of course meant to reduce the tensions in the region, including allowing North Korean citizens in the U.S. to visit family in their home country.

The January ROK·US·International Call to Resolve the Threat of War on the Korean Peninsula and Suspend ROK-US Combined Military Exercises (signed by 99 U.S. and international civil society organizations including PASMC) puts it quite well: “We must end the Korean war that has afflicted all members of the Korean Peninsula for over 70 years, and redirect the cost of destructive weapons to solving inequality and the climate crisis. It is time to end hostility and confrontation and strive for a peaceful and sustainable world through reconciliation and cooperation.”

Action: Contact Rep. Mullin, Eshoo, or whomever represents you, to urge their co-sponsorship of H.R.1369, the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act. Suggest that pursuing diplomacy with North Korea is a pivotal first step to breaking through the stalemate in U.S.-North Korea relations, and reducing the heat that could lead to a nuclear confrontation.