Written by Free Gaza Team | 23 November 2009

In March, 2009, the EU and forty-one other countries pledged $4 billion for the reconstruction of Gaza’s infrastructure. To date, not one penny has been allowed into Gaza. Israel has refused the 1.5 million people of Gaza the right to rebuild their homes, schools, mosques, hospitals, as well as fixing their drinking water, sewage installations and systems.

"Palestinians in Gaza are being actually 'starved to death,' receiving fewer calories per day than people in the poorest parts of Africa. This is an atrocity that is being perpetrated as punishment on the people in Gaza. It is a crime... an abomination that this is allowed to go on. Tragically, the international community at large ignores the cries for help, while the citizens of Gaza are treated more like animals than human beings." Said former U.S. President, Jimmy Carter.

In June and July, 2009, the Free Gaza movement began writing to governments and non-governmental agencies. We have continued to write letters, more than 100 of them, but we need your help. It is not enough for one organization to write, and many of us need to express our outrage over Israel’s continued massive blockade of the people of Gaza.

We are calling on all of you to write your own letters. We are including three templates that you can use and adapt for your own pleas to as many entities as you can manage. One is a call to governments and non-governmental agencies. The second one is to U.N. officials (in this case, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights), and the third one is to specific government officials.

All three sample letters are uploaded here. Please adapt the sample text to fit your own needs, adding the names of the relevant government officials. These letters can be sent to the members of your Parliament, your representatives, your President and the heads of any political or NGO organizations that influence government policy in your country.

We have had replies from dozens of recipients, most of them saying that they are, indeed, concerned about the situation in Gaza. However, some people who replied did not seem to be aware of the background or the details of Israel’s actions in Palestine. As an example, we are including the response from the Dutch Prime Minister as well as our response to him. In our response are several points that you can also use when writing to your officials.

We urge and welcome your participation in writing emails and letters to your elected officials. We are also including over a dozen snail-mail addresses for you to use.

Please continue to register your outrage over the draconian closure of Gaza and the inability of the international community to step up and make Israel abide by human rights laws. Our voices can and will be heard, but it is up to all of us to take the next step.

• Download our letters and adapt them to your particular circumstances
• Use the details, facts and figures that we have already prepared
• Use the quotes that we’ve included in our letters
• Let us know if you receive any responses by emailing us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

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