Publishers’ Page, Page 66

“In Times of Tragedy...”

President Barack Obama explained in a moving article in the Jan. 25 issue of Newsweek entitled “Why Haiti Matters,” “the United States of America steps forward and helps. That is who we are. That is what we do. For decades, America’s leadership has been founded in part on the fact that we do not use our power to subjugate others, we use it to lift them up.“ As Americans—as human beings—our natural impulse is to help those in need. Haitians are struggling to find food and shelter in the face of the natural disaster which virtually destroyed their country.

We Only Wish...

President Obama would use those same inspiring words to demand that Israel lift its devastating siege of Gaza and end its illegal theft and occupation of Palestinian land. Surely this and other nations can mobilize themselves to assist the victims of a man-made disaster—and ensure that the disaster does not continue. We wish Obama had envisioned the people of Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen, as well as Haiti, when he wrote: “We look into the eyes of another and see ourselves. And so the United States of America will lead the world in this humanitarian endeavor. That has been our history, and that is how we will answer the challenge before us.” Instead of providing adequate humanitarian aid, however, American tax dollars are directed to military spending—to the tune of more than...

$700 Billion a Year!

In addition—and despite Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s rejection of Obama’s demand that Israel halt its construction of illegal settlements—the president approved giving $30 billion in military aid to Israel in the coming decade. Once again, Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid (see p. 26), paid in full at the beginning of each fiscal year. In addition to military aid, the U.S. also provides Israel $3.148 billion in loan guarantees. While the U.S. budget and debt is spiralling out of control, there was no debate about reducing aid to Israel—which has received much favorable publicity in the mainstream U.S. media for its prompt response to the disaster in Haiti.

Gush Shalom Said It Well...

However, in an ad it placed in the Jan. 15 edition of Haaretz:

In far-away Haiti
A terrible disaster
Has occurred.
Within a few hours
An Israeli aid mission
Was organized.

In nearby Gaza
Hundreds of houses
Lie in ruins.
The inhabitants do not ask
For an aid mission.

Only that the
Israeli government
Stops preventing
Building materials
From coming in.

While Israel is providing aid in Haiti, moreover, in the West Bank and Gaza it is...

Denying Work Permits to NGOs.

According to Haaretz, Israel’s Interior Ministry has stopped granting work permits to foreign nationals working in most international NGOs operating in the Palestinian territories. Instead it is only granting tourist visas, which bar foreigners from working. This will have a disastrous effect on such organizations as Oxfam, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders—and even businesses or Palestinian universities. Victims of this policy include Bethlehem-based Jared Malsin, the Jewish-American editor of the Maan News agency, and his girlfriend, Faith Rowold, a U.S. volunteer for a Lutheran Church group, who were detained, interrogated and eventually deported on Jan. 20 for their “anti-Israeli” political views. Why is this country extending its political and financial support to a state that apparently...

Specializes in Man-Made Disasters.

Please Help Us Continue in 2010.

Our heartfelt thanks to every angel listed in our end-of-year choir on p. 63—including a generous bequest from Pascal Biagini, a donor we never met or even knew—as well as to our contributors who preferred to remain anonymous, and supporters who gave whatever they could in these difficult times. We couldn’t have made it into 2010 without all of you! Just as checks for $5, $10, $20, or $100 helped turn the tide in the 2008 presidential election, your subscriptions and donations, large and small, could make all the difference to our publication today, and help keep us afloat in 2010. We have an exciting idea to transform traditional information sources in the coming decade—but we need your help! We hope you’ll resolve to...

Give Early and Often!

Early givers will have the added bonus of seeing their names in the April issue of the Washington Report, as we start acknowledging the members of our 2010 Choir of Angels. We were inspired by the words of Yanina Vashchenko, a struggling student who responded to our e-mailed appeal for support. She wasn’t put off by an appeal for a magazine while Haitians and Gazans are in critical need, she said. ”Sure, there are victims of war and natural disasters all over the world that need help. But in order to create and maintain a fair society, where needy people are not only helped in times of catastrophe, but are given a chance to create their own infrastructure in order not to depend on the U.S. to bail them out...

We Need to be Informed.

The Washington Report creates a trustworthy medium through which we can all learn and decide how we want to influence this country and the rest of the world.” So please join her in supporting the Washington Report so that, together, we can continue working for justice and peace, and...

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