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Date ___________
[your name here]
[your address here]
[your email here]
[your phone number here]
The Honorable: [your Representative here]
House of Representatives
1713 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative [name here],
My name is [your name here]
I am extremely bothered by the images of suffering, death and destruction coming out of Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank. If you are a parent, or care about children, you may be bothered too. The leading cause of death of children on our planet right now is Israel, and right behind them, supplying the weapons is the USA. Half the people in the open-air prison of Gaza are children, and the demographic being killed the most are 5 to 9 year olds. It is well past time for a ceasefire and an end to the slaughter.
I write to express my support for a permanent ceasefire in the Middle East and a halt to arms transfers to that region. I urge you to issue a public statement in support of a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have both classified what is happening in Gaza as a genocide. As a legislator, I am sure you want to be on the right side of the law and the right side of history.
The death toll in Gaza since October 7 is realistically estimated at well over 41,000 and closer to 300,000 people*. Americans and Israelis remain hostage, and thousands of Palestinians, including kidnapped children, remain in “administrative detention” in Israel. Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, reasonably estimated over 335,000 deaths by the end of 2024.**
* https://www.democracynow.org/2024/9/10/ralph_nader_gaza_death_toll
** https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/sep/05/scientists-death-disease-gaza-polio-vaccinations-israel
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants*, November 21, 2024, for the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister, Yoav Galant for, among other war crimes, using starvation as a method of warfare and intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.
* https://www.icc-cpi.int/defendants?f%5B0%5D=accused_crime%3A328&f%5B1%5D=accused_states%3A329&f%5B2%5D=initial_order_facet%3A672
Hamas operatives who have been killed were also sought for trial. Transfers of weapons to regimes that target and kill civilians are in violation of international law and federal Leahy Laws.* We citizens need you to honor, support and enforce national and international laws.
* https://www.state.gov/key-topics-bureau-of-democracy-human-rights-and-labor/human-rights/leahy-law-fact-sheet/
A majority (70%) of United States likely voters as of May, 2024, support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza*. Elected officials should follow suit.
* https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2024/5/8/support-for-a-permanent-ceasefire-in-gaza-increases-across-party-lines
Americans want to move towards a peaceful solution that respects International Humanitarian Law (IHL). I urge you to call for a permanent ceasefire today, halt arms shipments to Israel, which is plausibly conducting a genocide, and end the disproportionate response to the October 7th, 2023 attack. Please take meaningful steps to end this travesty. Do it for the children.
Thank you for your consideration,
Sincerely,
[sign your name here]
[print your name here]
