ACTION ALERT
Dear Friends,
With Congress having failed to cut our staggering national debt thereby triggering automatic across-the-board spending slashes Israel stands to lose $250 million a year out of an annual $3.1 billion in US military aid.
Yet, uncharacteristically, the lobbyists at AIPAC haven’t yet issued any statements or talking points against cutting aid to Israel, reportedly fearing a backlash if Israel got blatantly special treatment while everything else is being cut.
For almost a decade now, we’ve been shining a light on the huge amount of US tax money going to Israel, hitting this home in our articles, op-eds to small newspapers around the country, speeches, and analyses on diverse news sites, as well as distributing tens of thousands of our booklet on the subject to almost every state in the US and we’d like to believe that is beginning to have an effect.
The cuts don’t go into effect until the start of 2013, though, and a lot could change before then.
Those who’ve followed the special financial arrangements Israel has finagled over the years may wonder whether that’s exactly what AIPAC is banking on. Traditionally, the Lobby has avoided cuts to Israel’s unparalleled bankroll of US tax money, whether through public lobbying or backroom deal-making.
Let’s show AIPAC that times have changed.
With belts tightening around the country and throughout government programs, this is a good time to highlight the obscene sums our country spends to arm Israel, which uses the aid to perpetrate horrifying violence against Palestinians, including civilians and children, as well as internationals.
Below are resources for informing your community about our massive tax money to Israel:
“The Cost of Israel to the American People” an in-depth booklet detailing the full story. We urge you to download this or order it in bulk. Also, our website section on the subject provides additional information, and our informational business cards are useful for distributing widely.
The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, a monthly magazine that for 29 years has produced the best ongoing reporting on this topic (and some of whose articles we reprint in our booklet!), and The Link, which has been publishing in-depth analyses on Israel-Palestine since 1968. These publications should be in every library in the country — please make sure that yours carry them!
The Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation in recent years has been producing valuable and innovative tools you can use to spread information on US aid to Israel.
The new website of our sister organization, the Council for the National Interest explains the damage to US interests by this massive and unexamined aid to Israel; CNI website cards emphasize US aid to Israel and can be distributed everywhere.
Thank you for helping get this information to the American public. Merry Christmas and may this be a happy and peaceful holiday season for all people, of every nationality and faith.
Best wishes,
Alison Weir, Executive Director
If Americans Knew
3020 El Cerrito Plaza #157
El Cerrito, CA 94530
(202) 631-4060