No American Aid

Below is an Action Alert calling on all those concerned with the welfare of Israel and ensuring that the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority does not receive American financial aid to contact the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives to urge consideration of legislation which will codify this principle, but in a manner that allows allies of Israel to offer amendments to the legislation to strengthen its provisions. This is a critical debate as there are other voices in the Jewish community pressing Congress to water down this legislation even further and other critical groups remain silent on the question. Only the OU is pressing for the legislation to be returned to its original, sober and sensible policy.

The prospect of the House considering this legislation next week - and the distinctive role the OU can play in this debate - underscores the importance of our leadership and shul representatives coming to Washington next Wednesday and Thursday - to show our commitment and express our views to congressional and White House leaders.

If you have not yet registered to join your fellow OU and shul leaders in Washington next week, and if you care about the outcome of policy debates such as these, please call 202-513-6484 to register right away. You can make a difference.

Following the January victory in the Palestinian elections by the terrorist group Hamas, bipartisan legislation was 
introduced in the House (H.R. 4681) to isolate Hamas, promote the development of democratic institutions in areas 
under Palestinian Authority control, and to ensure that no U.S. funds are supporting the terrorist group’s consolidation of 
power or legitimization. This legislation was then changed in a House committee mark-up, with language and provisions 
that water down the bill's provisions, narrow its scope, and may therefore undermine the policy consensus the legislation 
is intended to serve. 
The Speaker of the House - Dennis Hastert - and the House Leadership is now considering what action to take regarding 
H.R. 4681 with an eye toward having it scheduled for House floor consideration next week. It is vital that we work to 
encourage that this legislation move forward to the House floor, but in a way that allows amendments to strengthen the 
language.
WE URGE YOU TO CONTACT THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, MAJORITY LEADER BOEHNER, AND RULES 
COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN DRIER, TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO MOVE THIS BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION FORWARD 
FOR OPEN CONSIDERATION. PLEASE CONTACT THE OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER 202-225-0600 (OR BY E-MAIL 
AT SPEAKER@MAIL.HOUSE.GOV) AND EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR MOVING H.R. 4681 THE PALESTINIAN 
ANTI-TERRORISM ACT OF 2006. FORWARD FOR FLOOR CONSIDERATION - WITH THE OPPORTUNITY FOR 
AMMENDMENTS.