As a resident of Amherst and a passionate supporter of human rights, I am contacting my representatives in Congress to draw your attention to the deplorable behavior of the Israeli government with respect to the Palestinian human rights group, Al Haq.
For over 40 years, Al Haq has worked tirelessly and within the scope of Israeli and international law to document and resist Israeli violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people. The organization is impartial: Al Haq has also documented and fought human rights violations by the Palestinian Authority itself.
In October of this year, the leader of the Israel Defense Forces, minister of defense and deputy prime minister Benny Gantz, declared that Al Haq and five other Palestinian NGOs are “terrorist organizations.” With this declaration, anyone working for, providing services to, or even expressing support for Al Haq will be subject to arrest on charges of terrorism.
Let’s face it: Israel is a client state of the United States. The U.S. can and must demand that Israel reverse this flagrant and egregious attempt to neutralize an internationally-recognized and respected human rights organization and to subvert Israel’s own stated commitment to the rule of law.
As members of Congress, I call on you to demand that the Israeli government rescind this policy which, as Al Haq has stated, “represents an unprecedented and ominous attempt by the Israeli occupying authorities to silence and criminalize the Palestinian civil society organizations.”
Alex Kent
Amherst