CMEP: Take Action Today to Ask your Representative to Cosponsor the Palestinian Children and Families Act
Last week, Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) re-introduced the Palestinian Children and Families Act. Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ are proud to be among the more than 75 civil society organizations supporting the legislation. In her press release announcing the legislation, Congresswoman McCollum noted ”Not $1 of U.S. aid should be used to commit human rights violations, demolish families’ homes, or permanently annex Palestinian lands.” Congresswoman McCollum was joined by 16 of her colleagues: Reps. Don Beyer, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Donald Payne Jr., Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Raúl Grijalva, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, Rep. Mark Pocan, Rep. Cori Bush, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Summer Lee, and Rep. Dwight Evans.
With the rise of violence in the West Bank growing by the day under the new Israeli government, it is critical members of Congress join Rep. McCollum and sponsor HR 3103. Congress must ensure U.S. taxpayer dollars are not used to violate Palestinian human rights and further annex Palestinian land in the West Bank. Such actions–which only exacerbate the conflict–should not be funded with assistance from the U.S. government.