Saturday, February 5, 2011

Senator Whitehouse, Please Think This Over, Please Do Not Ignore Human Rights' Violations

I have written letters to the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation (with the exception of Representative Cicilline who has just arrived) questioning the United States' unquestioning financial and military support of Israel and I have blogged about this.

The responses I have received have been very brief, clearly formulaic, and essentially flimsy.

I am sorry to share this letter signed by seven Senators, including Rhode Island's Sheldon Whitehouse.
February 1, 2011



Dear Chairman Rogers and Chairman Ryan:



We write in light of recent statements that demonstrate the intent of certain Senators to eliminate foreign aid funding to the nation of Israel. Recently, Republican Senator Rand Paul suggested that the United States should “halt all foreign aid including its financial aid to Israel.” These remarks are alarming and aim to weaken the decades-long bipartisan consensus on U.S. support for Israel. Both Republicans and Democrats are committed to reining in the federal deficit, but assistance to Israel is not a matter of “pork barrel spending” - rather U.S. foreign aid to Israel demonstrates America’s rock-solid commitment to ensuring Israel’s right to exist.



Israel is the only democratic nation in the Middle East and one of our most trusted allies. A stable and secure Israel is strongly in our national security interest and has been a cornerstone of our foreign policy for over half-a-century. Using Congress’s bipartisan commitment to reining in government spending as a reason to abandon Israel is unacceptable and should be immediately rejected.



At a time when U.S. foreign aid is being utilized to strengthen our partnerships around the world, particularly in the Middle East where our relationships are more important than ever, we urge you to commit to maintain full foreign aid funding to Israel. As members of the United States Senate, we will work aggressively to prevent any attempts to abandon one of our most trusted allies. We look forward to your response.



Sincerely,



Senator Stabenow

Senator Nelson

Senator Menendez

Senator Cardin

Senator Brown

Senator Casey

Senator Whitehouse


This text is copied from the Democratic Senators' website.

What exactly is U.S. military support for Israel accomplishing?


If part of a country is democratic, but a very large part of the population does not have the right to travel or work or have access to health care and education, is that country democratic ?

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