Gaza is dying -- the battle is moving into its cities, jam-packed with 1 .5
million civilians lacking food, medicine or water. President Bush undermined
Thursday's United Nations ceasefire resolution, and almost 1000 people are
now dead. The borders remain closed -- journalists can't get in, and
desperate civilians can't get out.
But the global movement to end this war is building -- our petition is at
430,000 signatures and rising, it has been delivered to top leaders at the
EU, UN and Arab League, our US members are flooding their representatives
with phone calls, and Avaaz members worldwide have donated over $120,000 to
an ad campaign in key newspapers.
The pressure is working -- so we're ratcheting it up with hard-hitting US
ads pressing Barack Obama personally for an immediate change of tack,
face-to-face petition deliveries to European leaders this week to get them
to act, and working with Palestinians and Israelis to plan bold actions on
the ground. But every one of these actions becomes stronger as more of us
join the campaign. We need to reach 1 million signatures this week -- sign
the petition now and let's forward this email to all our friends and family:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace
Voices for a ceasefire are finally being heard in the Israeli cabinet and
media, Hamas is signalling it could accept a deal including Turkish forces
and EU monitors, but the sides are too far apart to end this themselves.[3]
That's why action by world powers is critical to break the deadlock -- and
global citizens' voices can make all the difference if we raise an
unstoppable voice calling on incoming President Obama, the EU and Arab and
Muslim states to guarantee a fair and lasting ceasefire.
This week we are lobbying European and Muslim states for a more effective
international initiative to end the violence, protect civilians on all sides
and make normal life possible again in Gaza, while reaching out to UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon who is in the Middle East working for a deal
(we met him last year to deliver our food crisis campaign). Meanwhile we're
challenging contacts on both sides to think creatively and accept a fair,
internationally-overseen agreement.
We've already run member-funded ads in the influential Washington Post and
Roll Call, the US Congress newspaper -- on the day of his inauguration this
coming Tuesday, we will press Barack Obama to abandon Bush's failed policies
and act immediately to end this war, using his own words alongside hard
facts to make the case in ads, US media debates and directly lobbying his
team.
It's amazing what we can do when hundreds of thousands of us come together
arond the world -- and if we raise our efforts to another level this week,
we could help to finally end the Gaza horror. Follow the link below to take
the first step by signing the petition, then spread the word so others can
do the same:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace
With hope and determination,
Paul, Graziela, Alice, Ricken, Luis, Brett, Ben, Iain, Paula, Veronique,
Milena and the whole Avaaz team
P.S. For a report on some of Avaaz's other campaigns so far, see:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/report_back_2
Sources:
1. "White House behind US volte-face on ceasefire call":
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/09/gaza-us-security-council-abstention
"Israeli PM Ehud Olmert claims to be able to order Bush around":
http://www.juancole.com/2009/01/israeli-pm-ehud-olmert-claims-to-be.html
2. Washington Post: Israelis Push to Edge of Gaza City:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/11/AR2009011100616.html
3. Haaretz, "Olmert ignoring calls from Barak, Livni for immediate Gaza
truce":
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055214.html
Other Voice - Sderot and Gaza residents calling for a ceasefire:
http://www.othervoice.org/welcome-eng.htm
On Hamas acceptance of a Turkish force, first reported in the Arabic
Al-Hayat newspaper, see:
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/10771766.asp?scr=1
"Gaza bloodshed continues despite UN calls for ceasefire", 9 January 2009:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/09/gaza-fighting-un-ceasefire
"Reigniting Violence: How Do Ceasefires End?" (6 January 2009) is a
statistical analysis by an MIT professor, based on Israel's own data for
rocket fire (which it shows stopped for four months) and on which side
struck first. It provides useful factual background for how the Israel-Hamas
truce effectively collapsed in November well before it expired (facts poorly
reflected in some news reporting):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-kanwisher/reigniting-violence-how-d_b_155611.html
International Crisis Group's Ending the War in Gaza report (5 January 2009):
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5838&l=1
This Rasmussen Reports poll from the US is of interest: Only 31% of
Democrats support offensive, most prefer a diplomatic solution:
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/americans_closely_divided_over_israel_s_gaza_attacks
"Gaza: outlines of an endgame", Ghassan Khatib (6 January 2009)
http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/gaza-outlines-of-an-endgame
Jerusalem Post: "Israel must get out of Gaza now", 8 January 2009:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231167305710&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Reuters: "Hamas seeks truce but says lifting siege a must" (5 January 2009)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L5111105.htm
The US Army War College has just released a substantial report supporting
the view that Hamas can and must be brought into negotiations and is capable
of sustaining a long-term truce, or even peace with Israel. Linked via:
http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/node/10703
The inside story of the civil strife between Fatah and Hamas and the Bush
administration's involvement in this debacle is best-told in The Gaza
Bombshell, an investigative article published in the leading US magazine
Vanity Fair in April 2008:
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/04/gaza200804
Fwd by
John Willemsens,
Advayavada Foundation.
<http://www.euronet.nl/~advaya/index.htm>
Posts
