To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate

Stand with Obama: Settlements Are Not Israel

Congress should stand with President Obama in affirming that settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank are not "Israel."

Why is this important?

President Obama has issued a signing statement opposing Congressional efforts in the Customs Act to erase the Green Line and put Congress on record defending Israeli settlements in the West Bank. President Obama wrote: "Certain provisions of this Act, by conflating Israel and 'Israeli-controlled territories,' are contrary to longstanding bipartisan United States policy, including with regard to the treatment of settlements." [1] President Obama reaffirmed his intention to ignore Congressional demands that the U.S. try to interfere with European moves to enforce European policies distinguishing the settlements from Israel.

But a year from now, Barack Obama will not be President. These laws passed by Congress will still be on the books, and the next President could try to carry them out. Rubio or Cruz would surely do so; what a President Trump might do is anybody's guess. While Bernie Sanders has called for ending Israeli settlement building on Palestinian land [2], Hillary Clinton has yet to clarify where she stands on efforts in Congress to legitimize Israeli settlements in the West Bank. [3] That's why it's important that we push Members of Congress now to stand with President Obama and longstanding U.S. policy that settlements are not Israel.

Urge Congress to stand with President Obama in affirming that Israeli-settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank are not Israel by signing our petition.

References:
1. http://www.jta.org/2016/02/25/news-opinion/united-states/battle-over-defining-bds-makes-it-into-presidential-signing-statement-but-that-wont-end-it
2. https://berniesanders.com/issues/war-and-peace/
3. http://prospect.org/article/note-hillary-boycotts-and-settlements