Act Now on Legislation to End Military Detention of Palestinian Children
Published on December, 51 2018
By Odile Hugonot Haber
Co-chair, Middle East Committee
H.R. 4391, the Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act, prevents the use of United States tax dollars for the Israeli military's ongoing detention and mistreatment of Palestinian children. The bill was introduced by Representative Betty McCollum (a Democrat from Minnesota) in November 2017.
The Middle East Committee has been promoting work to pass this important House Resolution.
An estimated 10,000 Palestinian children have been detained by Israeli security forces and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system since 2000. Independent monitors such as Human Rights Watch have documented that these children are subject to abuse and, in some cases, torture—specifically citing the use of chokeholds, beatings, and coercive interrogation on children between the ages of 11 and 15.
We have been sending 1,000 postcards to 21 WILPF branches.
What You Can Do
Get the postcards signed by your members, and once they are signed:
1. Put a stamp on each of them and send; OR
2. Take them to your representative’s local office and give it to them, or to their assistant, telling them you are advocating for H.R. 4391 and are asking them to co-sign.
The fact is we can pressure our new Congress and politicians by picking up the phone or by signing a petition or by writing a personal email to your representative. Please do it!
Congress reopens on January 20, 2019. This is the crucial time to act!
Before you gather petition or postcard signatures, you can copy them to get the emails of people who sign.
If you need more information, and to view the postcards, go to the Middle East Committee's WILPF website.
Here is the current list of co-sponsors. Please let us know if your representatives agree to co-sponsor.
Please move this legislation forward and help prevent the continued abuse and torture of children. Thank you!
