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Become a signatory on the letter below opposing H. R. 3131.

A bill has been introduced into congress that, if passed, could set a precedent allowing the State Department to investigate you as an enemy of the state.

"It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong." ~ Voltaire

In early October, U.S. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Hellenic Caucus co-founder and co-chair, joined her fellow Caucus co-chair and lead sponsor Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL), and fellow New Yorker Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) in introducing H.R. 3131, bipartisan legislation that expresses gratitude to the government of Greece for preventing the Gaza flotilla from setting sail in contravention of Israel’s legal blockade of Gaza. It has since been referred out of the subcommittees to the Foreign Affairs and Judiciary Committee. It only has 13 co-sponsors so far, but given the current pro-Israel, anti-Palestinian climate we see in congress, these numbers could quickly rise.

The last section of the law designates the Audacity of Hope and any sources of "logistical, technical, or financial support" Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

If this passes: Not later than six months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on whether any support organization that participated in the planning or execution of the recent Gaza flotilla attempt should be designated as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189).

(b) Contents- The report required under subsection (a) shall include information on the following:

(1) The sources of any logistical, technical, or financial support for the Gaza flotilla ships, including the Audacity of Hope, that were set to set sail from Greece on July 1, 2011.

112th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 3131

To direct the Secretary of State to submit a report on whether any support organization that participated in the planning or execution of the recent Gaza flotilla attempt should be designated as a foreign terrorist organization and any actions taken by the Department of State to express gratitude to the government of Greece for preventing the Gaza flotilla from setting sail in contravention of Israel's legal blockade of Gaza, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 6, 2011

Mr. BILIRAKIS (for himself, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. CARTER, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. YOUNG of Florida, Mr. GRIMM, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Mr. ROSKAM, and Mr. SIRES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

Since 1948, the United States, Greece, and the international community at large have recognized Israel's right to exist and to defend itself and conduct legitimate self-defense. Since 2001, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the other Palestinian terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip and supported by Iran and Syria have launched over 10,000 rockets into Israeli civilian populations and across Israeli territory. Since the beginning of 2010, Israel has provided over 100,000 tons of aid to the people living in Gaza. Israel's blockade is acknowledged by the United States as necessary and legal given Hamas' control of Gaza, intention to secure greater weaponry for aggressive purposes and open desire to destroy Israel. According to sources, the United Nations-commissioned Palmer Report which was released on July 7, 2011, concludes that the Israeli naval blockade on Gaza is legal and is in accordance with international law. The Israeli Government has repeatedly indicated that any desire to provide humanitarian materiel to Gaza can be done through the port of Ashdod then delivered to Gaza by land. Recent past history has suggested that the sole intent of the flotillas is to provoke an Israeli military response in the international waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of the Treasury have determined that flotilla organizers Free Gaza and the Insan Hak ve Hurriyetleri ve Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), an Islamic nongovernmental organization (known in English as the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief), have known terrorist ties. In 2010, IHH organized a flotilla that included the ship Mavi Marmara carrying 40 IHH members, including Fatima Mahmadi, Ken O'Keefe, Hassan Iynasi, Hussein Urosh, Ahmad Umimon, and others with known links to Al Qaeda, Hamas, and other terrorist organizations who were armed with 100 metal rods, 200 knives, 150 military self-defense vests, 50 wooden clubs, gas masks, and a telescopic sight for a gun. The explicit objective of the Gaza Flotilla organizers that set sail in 2010 was to breach Israel's coastal security by breaking the lawful and legitimate Israeli maritime security perimeter around the Gaza Strip. According to a June 7, 2010, report by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (known by its Hebrew acronym MALAM), based on security interviews of the Gaza Flotilla participants, at least 40 of the 500 passengers aboard the Mavi Marmara vessel were IHH operatives who boarded the ship in an Istanbul port prior to the security checks conducted at the port in Antalya, Turkey, to which the other passengers, mostly humanitarian volunteers, were subject. According to this Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center report, these IHH activists were equipped with communications equipment, flak jackets, and gas masks. The group operated with a clear internal hierarchy, with specific activists nominated as fighting commanders and who turned the upper deck of the Mavi Marmara into its headquarters, blocking it off to other passengers. In the most recent organization of a Gaza flotilla, Greece worked with the Israeli Government in order to prohibit any violations of Israel's legal blockade of Gaza. Greece has proven itself to be a strategic partner and ally of the United States in anchoring political stability and advancing economic development in the Balkan and Black Sea regions of southeast Europe and Eurasia, in the Middle East and northern Africa, and throughout the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Greece is an active participant in peacekeeping and peace-building operations conducted by international organizations, including the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union (EU), and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Greece acted without hesitation in prohibiting any Greek-flagged or foreign-flagged vessels from setting sail out of Greek ports into the water of the Gaza naval blockade. Pursuant to a decision by the Minister of Citizen Protection, Mr. C. Papoutsis, the departure of ships with Greek and foreign flags from Greek ports to Gaza was prohibited on July 1, 2011, and the Hellenic Coast Guard ordered that all appropriate measures be taken for the implementation of such decision. The Greek Government worked diligently to ensure the safety of even the organizers of the flotilla knowing that their reckless, irresponsible, and provocative acts against a sovereign country engaged in self-defense could result in great bodily harm or even death to themselves and other individuals. The Greek Government took more extraordinary measures to ensure that the broader maritime area of the eastern Mediterranean Sea would be continuously monitored by electronic means for tracking, where applicable, the movements of the ships allegedly participating in such an illegal campaign. Greek authorities boarded ships and took into custody several individuals, including Captain John Klusmire of the ship Audacity of Hope as it violated Greek Coast Guard orders by setting sail without permission. Greek authorities acted in accordance with the recommendation of the Quartet--the United States, the European Union, the United States and Russia--as it urged countries to prohibit Gaza-bound flotillas that would serve solely to escalate tension in the Middle East.

SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF CONGRESS.

Congress--

(1) notes the important role that Greece has played in the wider European, Eurasian, and Middle Eastern regions, and in the community of nations by promoting, peace, freedom, democracy, and security; and

(2) stands behind Israel for its sovereign right to defend its citizens and its territory, and specifically for its actions to prevent the import of offensive weaponry into the hands of Hamas, Palestinian Jihad, and other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that the United States should take appropriate diplomatic steps to express gratitude to Greece for upholding the rule of law in preventing hostile forces from violating a legal naval blockade of Gaza by Israel and thereby advancing the security of its ally Israel.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

(a) In General- Not later than six months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on whether any support organization that participated in the planning or execution of the recent Gaza flotilla attempt should be designated as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189).

(b) Contents- The report required under subsection (a) shall include information on the following:

The sources of any logistical, technical, or financial support for the Gaza flotilla ships, including the Audacity of Hope, that were set to set sail from Greece on July 1, 2011. Any actions taken by the Department of State to express support and gratitude for the principled stance taken by the Government of Greece to prevent the recent Gaza flotilla attempt to violate Israel's lawful blockade of Gaza.

Please take action today!

Become a signatory on this letter of condemnation.

A copy will be sent every Congressperson supporting H. R. 3131.



Opposition to H.R. 3131 Read the petition First Name Last Name Email Dear Congresswoman Maloney, Congressman Bilirakis and Congressman Engel, We, the 99 percent, are appalled that you have wrongfully and wastefully proposed spending our tax dollars investigating fellow citizens who stand up to power, money, special interest groups and illegal, immoral actions on the part of colluding governments. We want you to know that we proudly support those who challenge $3 billion in US military aid going to Israel to support the killing of Palestinians. You claim those carrying love letters and aid to a civilian population are “terrorists” while you pass bills supporting weapon sales for bombing the same civilian population. 99 percent know who the criminals are in this case. Perhaps the US Congress should be investigated for funding a state that brings undeniable terror on a people. Furthermore, a number of the individuals you want to investigate as criminals have themselves been victims of crime, including; violence or the threat of violence, theft, kidnap, wrongful detention and the lack of timely representation. Passengers on the Audacity of Hope, as well as other flotilla participants and supporters, have appropriately challenged the illegal blockade of Gaza, which has collectively punished 1.6 million civilians, 50 percent of whom are children under 14 years of age. How can such blatant violations of international human rights law escape you? What could possibly cause you to criminalize those who call attention to the violation of these laws? Sigmund Freud may have the best explanation, " the mind may avoid the discomfort of consciously admitting personal faults by keeping those feelings unconscious, and by ... attaching, or “projecting,” those same faults onto another person or object.” The one positive outcome we predict will occur from such a preposterous accusation is that by categorizing nonviolent citizens as "terrorists" the US and Israel will delegitimize their use of the term "terrorist." The public will more clearly see that the term is often pulled like a rabbit out of a hat when one of these two countries wants to gain support to occupy another's homeland, steal their resources, or find a dumping ground for weapons in order to ensure record breaking profits for the 1 percent. We believe all people have a right to sovereignty and dignified living, not just some. We invite you to consider changing course to accurately represent the powerful 99 percent. We wish you and your family, like all families, peace. [signature] Add me to your mailing list Send 205 signatures Share this with your friends:

Latest Signatures 205 Daniel Weasner 204 Steven Fake 203 Hiroyuki Hamada 202 Brandon Russell 201 Andrew Little 200 Kevin Flanagan 199 Timothy Wiesner 198 Shawn Seiorse 197 jesse jones 196 Wayne Morris 195 Joseph Mueller 194 Logan Thomas 193 chris allen 192 Dallas Winters 191 Christian Trenthem 190 Nathaniel Matthews-Trigg 189 Thomas Booher 188 Robert Curzon 187 Karl Griggs 186 Liam O'Reilly 185 Sharif Zakout 184 Gabi Kirk 183 Shadin Awad 182 Max Stokols 181 Joshua Harris 180 Amy Lum 179 Hang Tran 178 David Mori 177 Kye WeaSner 176 Paul Burow 175 Jonathan Chaconas 174 Kathy Nitsan 173 Raja Tannous 172 Nadya Tannous 171 Ryan Souza 170 Sami Abed 169 Joe Clement 168 Jay Minert 167 Sarah Dalrymple 166 Norman sassoun 165 John Unrath 164 Aaron Norton 163 Katie Koumatos 162 Shar Bushgen 161 Robyn Nikkel 160 jeff rose 159 Lisa Scott 158 Cameron Vanderscoff 157 Liz Wilson 156 Christina Singh

Additional Action

After signing the petition please contact the offices of Maloney, Bilirakis and Engel with your calls and emails, protesting their legislation that would have the State Department investigate those of us who challenge $3 billion in US military aid to Israel and its use in killing Palestinians.

In addition, contact your representatives and ask them to take a stand against this legislation, which punishes U.S. citizens for actively apposing racism and inhumane treatment of fellow humans.

Thank you for being one of the powerful!

Graphic Design by Ken Duret

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