Call to Action from Nick Mottern and Kathy Kelly, November 22, 2023
Due to the horrific events in Gaza, we call on all United States citizens to engage in nonviolent action to blockade weapons manufacturers violating the Leahy Law (Section 362 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code) which prohibits the U.S. Government from using funds for assistance to units of foreign security forces where there is credible information implicating that unit (Israeli IDF) in the commission of gross violations of human rights.
The actions taken by the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza are clearly in violation of human rights and no credible exemption under the Leahy Law applies. Israel has taken no corrective steps to remediate civilian deaths and U.S. military aid is not in support of disaster relief.
U.S. tax dollars are funding these war crimes and U.S. weapons makers are providing the arsenal. Please raise awareness and end the carnage by confronting these Merchants of Death with nonviolent action.
Accordingly, since the State Department, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Congress, and President Biden have all refused to abide by the Leahy Law, we ask citizens to join us in taking nonviolent action to end the atrocities occurring daily in Gaza.
Josh Paul, Director of Congressional and Public Affairs for the State Department’s Bureau of Political and Military Affairs, resigned his post on October 18, 2023 because he objected to the U.S. shipping further weapons to Israel. In an interview published in Time magazine on October 19th, Paul said:
“Because Israel receives foreign military financing it is subject to the Leahy laws, which require the vetting of units that receive that assistance to ensure they’re not engaged in gross violations of human rights. I think the process to do that for Israel specifically, within the department, is broken and politicized and has not been able to meet the requirements of the law.”
Christian Sorenson’s new map of the Big Six military contractors is a great help in selecting protest sites and learning about life-sustaining work that could be done across the United States by these corporations. https://thebusinessofwar.substack.com/p/a09bc91f-d98b-454d-957d-a52f1f6a5095 And of course, there are always your congressional representatives. They did pass the law!
So, please join us in standing up for the Leahy Law, and against the use of your tax dollars to massacre innocent Palestinian civilians.
If you choose to join this call, you can fill out the form below to share your event, and we will post your action on our No Weapons for War Criminals Action page.
They can’t maintain the Genocidal assault on the civilian population of Gaza without our help!
Actions to Stop Illegal Arms Shipments to Israel