Getting Ready to Vote.

Summer is coming to an end, and

that means the 2018 midterm

elections are right around the cor-

ner. Americans will have a lot on

their minds when they head to the

polls this fall. Issues such as eco-

nomic inequality, gun control, im-

migration, climate change and po-

litical chaos are sure to be at the

forefront of their minds. We know

that our readers in particular will

also be thinking about U.S...

Middle East Policy.

To prepare you for your vote, this issue in-

cludes 14 pages of Congressional voting

records (pp. 17-30) on key issues from

Palestine to Iran. We hope this resource will

help you and others in your community eval-

uate how your representative and senators

are reflecting the views of constituents who

value peace, diplomacy and justice in U.S.

foreign policy. Use these records to keep

your elected officials accountable! Tell them

what you think by calling and e-mailing their

offices and, ultimately, by casting your vote.

Your Vote Matters.

Since the new administration and new Con-

gress came to power in 2017, Palestinian aid

has been under constant attack. In January,

the Trump administration dealt a major blow

to the United Nations Relief and Works

Agency for Palestine Refuges in the Near

East (UNRWA) by dramatically reducing aid

by $300 million. In July, UNRWA announced

it would be closing its community mental

health program, mobile health clinics,

Bedouin community food assistance pro-

gram and dismissing 154 staff members due

to insufficient funds. In March, Congress

passed the Taylor Force Act, which placed

additional restrictions on Palestinian aid and

accused the Palestinian Authority of support-

ing terrorism against Israeli and U.S. citi-

zens. On Aug. 24, the Trump administration

announced plans to cut an additional $

million in economic aid to Palestine. All of

this while the current situation in Gaza deteri-

orates (see pp. 57-59). We encourage you

to send the enclosed postcard to urge your

elected officials to reverse these cuts.

Nation-State Law.

This issue also incudes several views on the

new nation-state law passed by the Israeli

Knesset (pp. 8-11), which officially declares

Israel as the “nation-state of the Jewish peo-

ple.” While Israel has long treated its non-

Jewish citizens as second-class citizens, the

enshrining of preferential citizenship into

Basic Law has caused the country’s non-

Jewish citizens to rise up in protest. Most

angry are the Druze (see pp. 12-14), who

have long been loyal to the Israeli govern-

ment and feel betrayed by this discriminatory

law. Despite the domestic and international

backlash, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin

Netanyahu has stated that he has no inten-

tion of revisiting the law.

The Absurdity of Occupation.

Wehopethisissueofthemagazinearrived

atthehomesofoursubscribersinatimely

fashion.Ifnot,perhapsyouliveinPalestine!

InAugust,Israelreleased10tonsofletters

andpackagestheyhadbeenholdingforup

to8years.Somewereheldfor“securityrea-

sons,”whilethemajorityweresimplyheldas

ashowofIsraelidominationoverPalestine.

Israeli officials said the release of the mail

was a “confidence-building measure” and

partofa“one-timedeal”withPalestinianoffi-

cials.Yes,itismuchmoreoutrageousthatIs-

raeldeniesfreedomofmovementtoPales-

tinians,butthis“maildeal”isare-

minderofhowall-consumingthe

occupation is—even small tasks

likeretrievingyourmailaredifficult

andrequirenegotiation.

Coming and Going.

ImranKhan,Pakistan’scricketer-

turned-primeminister,assumedof-

ficeonAug.18,andhaspromised

totacklecorruption,povertyand

U.S.meddlinginhiscountry.Can

the celebrity-politician deliver on

hispledges?Wehavetwoviews

onhispoliticalascendancy(seepp.44-46).As

somerise,othersfall.Augustsawthedeaths

ofseveralnotableindividuals—Israelipeace

activistUriAvnery,formerU.N.secretary-gen-

eralKofiAnnanandU.S.SenatorJohnMc-

Cain.AllthreewereactivelyinvolvedinMiddle

Eastaffairs.Allthreehadtheirsupportersand

detractors.WereviewthelegaciesofAnnan

andAvneryonpp.51-54ofthisissue.

Thank You and Next Steps.

We received a generous response to the

biannualdonationappealthatwasmailedout

over the summer. However, we are still in

need.Withrisingprintingcosts,wecontinue

torelyonourdonorstomaketheprintingof

thismagazinepossible.Ifyouhaven’tmadea

donationyetthisyear,nowisthetimetodo

so!Ifyou’vealreadygivenallyoucan,you

cansupportusbysharingyourmagazinewith

othersinyourcommunityandencouraging

themtosubscribeanddonate.Alsospread

wordaboutourbookstore,MiddleEastBooks

andMore,whichoffersanimpressivecollec-

tionofbooks,pottery,oliveoilandmoreto

everyshopperviaitswebsite,<MiddleEast-

Books.com>.Finally,besuretomarkMarch

22,2019onyourcalendar.Thatisthedateof

ournextIsraelLobbyandAmericanPolicy

conferenceinWashington,DC.Theseconfer-

encesareagame-changer,andcoupledwith

theresourcesinthismagazine,empoweryou

withtheinformationandnetworkingopportu-

nitiesyouneedto...

Make A Difference Today!

OCTOBER 2018 WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 5

Palestinian postal workers sift through sacks of previously un -

delivered mail dating as far back as 2010 after they were finally

released by Israel, August 14, 2018.

Publishers’ Page

American

Educational

Trust

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