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Kaptur, Kucinich, Conyers urge Bush to call for a cease fire in Israeli-Lebanon conflict
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Congresspersons Marcy Kaptur (OH-9), Dennis J. Kucinich (OH-10), John Conyers Jr. (MI-14), and 15 other members of Congress, are pressing President George W. Bush for an immediate cease-fire in the Israeli-Lebanese war.
In a letter last week to Bush (a copy is on line at www.laprensa1.com), they urged the current administration to “rekindle the type of negotiations that resulted in successful long-term resolutions between Israel and Egypt and Jordan.”
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The American Task Force for Lebanon (ATFL) strongly endorses this Congressional effort. Dr. George Cody, Executive Director of the task force commended the signers of the letter “who are trying to bring an end to the carnage and destruction taking place in Lebanon and Israel, now and in the future.”
ATFL, a nonprofit organization, is made up of prominent member of the Lebanese-American community and is dedicated to maintaining a secure, stable, independent, and sovereign Lebanon, with the Government of Lebanon exercising exclusive control over all its territory.
According to the ATFL, roughly 600,000 Americans are of Lebanese decent, with the highest concentration of Lebanese-Americans in the country stretching from Detroit to Cleveland, including a large number in Toledo, Ohio, the seat of Congresswoman Kaptur’s district.
Congresswoman Kaptur, representing this substantial Lebanese-American constituency, as well as a considerable Jewish community, is a strong advocate for a peaceful solution to escalating conflicts in the Middle East. In a statement on the floor of the House of Representatives on July 27, 2006, she pleaded with her colleagues to remember the plight of those affected by Middle East violence over the five-week recess.
“Surely,” she told the House of Representatives, “we are destroying a part of the earth that will take generations to restore, and we every day are watching young people and innocence killed by the hundreds and thousands.”
During House debate, she promoted a peaceful solution to the violent situation in declaring, “It is especially essential to be a voice for peace when others believe that escalating the military option without serious and equal emphasis on political and diplomatic efforts will yield calm and resolution.”
It is in this spirit that she authored this letter to the President asking for a total and immediate cease-fire between all warring parties.
In addition to these Members of Congress, numerous notable Lebanese-Americans have called for a cease-fire including Toledo native Jamie Farr, Casey Kasem, Kathy Najimy, and Tony Shaloub.
Letter to the White House
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