To: Sen. Bernard Sanders (VT-2)

Bernie Sanders: Help Stop Congress From Backing Settlements

Like the Democratic National Committee, we welcome you to the race for the Democratic nomination for President. Please use your influence and your position as a Senator to help remove language endorsing Israeli settlements in the West Bank from the trade bills moving through Congress.

Why is this important?

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has just announced that he is running for the Democratic nomination for president. Welcoming him to the race, the Democratic National Committee wrote: “Having a wide range of progressive views in this race is good for the dialogue of our party and for our country. And Bernie Sanders is a progressive champion… We couldn't be more excited to hear him to say he's in.”

Bernie has been a champion for peace and diplomacy. He was the first Senator to announce that he would skip Netanyahu’s anti-diplomacy speech to Congress. [1]

Bernie’s influence is going to grow, now that he’s an announced candidate for President. And, he remains a United States Senator. We need Bernie’s help to remove an anti-peace provision of the trade bills currently before Congress. This provision would make it US policy to endorse Israeli settlements in the West Bank by saying that the US has to oppose European measures to restrict trade with these settlements. [2] This provision is opposed by J Street [3], Americans for Peace Now [4], and JVP [5].

Bernie’s against Fast Track for the TPP trade deal, which is the main thing that people are fighting about on the trade package. But that doesn’t mean he can’t use his influence to help us – other Democrats in Congress who oppose the current Fast Track proposal are using their influence to try to get the pro-settlement provision out of the trade package.

Welcome Bernie to the race, and urge him to use his influence to help us remove the pro-settlement provision from the trade legislation, by signing our petition.

References:
1. http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-02-09/bernie-sanders-is-skipping-netanyahu-s-speech-to-congress
2. http://forward.com/opinion/306743/congress-backs-israeli-rights-war-on-settlement-boycotts/
3. http://jstreet.org/blog/post/j-street-opposes-trade-bill-that-undermines-us-and-israeli-interests_1
4. http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/240037-dear-congress-pro-israel-is-not-pro-settlements
5. https://twitter.com/naiman/status/591318386245775362