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Congress Must Block F-15s, JDAMs to Israel

IMEU Policy Project Memo #10 On June 17, the Washington Post reported that Sen. Ben Cardin, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Rep. Gregory Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, lifted their holds on a proposed package of $18 billion of weapons to Israel, including 50 F-15 fighter jets, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kits, and air-to-air missiles. The lifting of these holds clears the…

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US Must Uphold Accountability for All at ICC

IMEU Policy Project Memo #9 On May 20, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan announced the filing of applications for arrest warrants of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson announced that he is pursuing bipartisan legislation to sanction…

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Republicans push a bill condemning Biden for pausing weapons delivery to Israel

IMEU Policy Project Memo #8 This week the House will vote on a bill condemning the president for pausing the delivery of some weapons to Israel and forcing him to expedite further shipments of weapons to Israel. The text of the bill introduced by Rep. Calvert is here. Here’s what is wrong with the bill: 1. This bill seeks to reverse an extremely limited and long-overdue Biden administration step to insist…

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Biden’s NSM-20 Report Must Hold Israel Accountable for Violating Assurances

IMEU Policy Project Memo #7 There is overwhelming evidence that Israel is violating international humanitarian law (IHL) in its attacks against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and restricting the delivery of humanitarian aid while 1.1 million people face imminent starvation because of its illegal blockade. These concerns about Israel’s actions have greatly intensified this week as Israel launched an invasion of Rafah, to which 1.5 million Palestinians were previously forcibly…

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Republicans push a bill to suppress campus speech for Palestinian rights

IMEU Policy Project Memo #6 Tomorrow Republicans will bring to a vote H.R.6090, a bill which is designed to suppress constitutionally protected speech on college campuses in support of Palestinian rights. It’s no coincidence that Republicans are bringing this bill to a vote in the midst of an unprecedented display of campus solidarity with the Palestinian people, as students on dozens of campuses across the country peacefully protest for an…

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US Should Restore UNRWA Funding after UN Review

IMEU Policy Project Memo #5 “Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence” for claims that it made that a small number of UNRWA employees participated in the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, according to the report of an independent panel commissioned by the UN, which was released earlier this week. The Biden administration and Congress took precipitate steps to cut off funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency…

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More Weapons to Israel Violates US Law

IMEU Policy Project Memo #4 The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote tomorrow on H.R.8034, the Israel Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024. The bill includes a total of $26 billion in appropriations, of which $14.1 billion are for weapons to Israel. Topline The House of Representatives should not provide more weapons to Israel because: Details Through its ongoing attacks on Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, Israel is in blatant…

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What “From the River to the Sea” Really Means

IMEU Policy Project Memo #3 Today, the House of Representatives is voting on H.Res.883, an inaccurate and inflammatory anti-Palestinian resolution being pushed by the GOP to incite anti-Palestinian racism, which has had a deadly impact here in the US. This resolution willfully distorts the meaning of a widespread popular Palestinian slogan for freedom into something which it is not. The resolution also contains inaccurate statements, which have been thoroughly debunked,…

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Iran’s Attack Is Not a Pretext for More Weapons to Israel

IMEU Policy Project Memo #2 - Topline - Following Iran’s attack on Israel on Saturday, Members of Congress who want to deescalate violence in the Middle East and ensure peace and safety for all people should: Background On April 1, Israel conducted a deadly airstrike against the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, a blatant violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. In addition to attacking a diplomatic building in violation of international…

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Six Months of Israeli Attacks on Gaza: Policy Recommendations

IMEU Policy Project Memo #1 - Topline - US policymakers who want to center human rights in US foreign policy and mitigate harm to civilians should act to end Israel’s attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to establish peace and safety for all by: Enforcing US laws on weapons transfers to Israel, Advocating for a permanent ceasefire, Ensuring compliance with the ICJ’s provisional measures, Holding accountable all violators of human rights, Enabling Palestinians to achieve justice, freedom, and equality

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