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Legislative Round-Up: week ending November 16, 2012

1.  Bills, Resolutions & Letters
2.  Hearings
3. Members on the Record  
4.  From the Press

Congress returned from the elections recess this week, after holding only pro-form sessions since late September (meaning that legislation was introduced during this period, as can be seen in Section 1, below).

Note:  On 11/14/12 Americans for Peace Now issued a statement regarding the escalation of hostilities between Gaza and Israel.   On 11/15/12, APN hosted a briefing call with former senior Mossad official Yossi Alpher (audio here).  In addition, some APN analysis of possible interest to readers:  (1) analysis of what the ongoing Palestinian effort to attain enhanced status at the UN, means under current U.S. law, Round Two at Turtle Bay; and (2) a look at Abbas' much-ignored/dismissed interview with Israel's Channel 2 earlier this month, If Not Now, When? If Not Abbas, Who?


1.  Bills, Resolutions, & Letters

(NEW GAZA WAR) S. Res. 599:  Introduced 11/15/12 by Sens. Gillibrand (D-NY) and Kirk (R-IL), and having 64 cosponsors, "A resolution expressing vigorous support and unwavering commitment to the welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure borders, and recognizing and strongly supporting its right to act in self-defense to protect its citizens against acts of terrorism."  Agreed to by unanimous consent 11/15/12.  For APN analysis of S. Res. 599, see section 2, below.  S. Res. 599 was strongly endorsed by AIPAC as part of their "legislative agenda."  AIPAC is calling on people to write and thank senators for backing the resolution.   The JTA reported on the resolution here.

(IRAN) H. Res. 807:  Introduced 10/26/12 by Rep. Israel (D-NY) and having no cosponsors, "Calling for the arrest and prosecution of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for incitement to genocide.  Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

(IRAN) S. Res. 574: Introduced 9/20/12 by Sen. Gillibrand (D-NY) and having 24 cosponsors, "A resolution calling on the United Nations to take concerted actions against leaders in Iran for their statements calling for the destruction of another United Nations Member State, Israel."  Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

(IRAN) S. J. Res. 41
:  Introduced 5/24/12 by Sen. Graham (R-SC) and having 83 cosponsors, "A joint resolution expressing the sense of Congress regarding the nuclear program of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran."  Passed by the Senate 9/22/12 by a vote of 90-1.  Floor consideration9/22/12 is available here.  For details and background on S. J. Res. 41, see the 9/21/12 edition of the Round-Up.

(IRAN) H. Con. Res. 139:  Introduced 9/21/12 by Rep. Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and having 14 cosponsors, "Condemning President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran for addressing the United Nations on Yom Kippur."   Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

2  Analysis of S. Res. 599
 
Analysis of S. Res. 599 by APN's Lara Friedman, originally published 11/15/12 on the Daily Beast's Open Zion:

In response to the ongoing Gaza-Israel war, Senators Gillibrand (D-NY) and Kirk (R-IL) this afternoon circulated a resolution that they reportedly hope to have the Senate pass by unanimous consent, possibly as early as this evening. The resolution subject:

expressing vigorous support and unwavering commitment to the welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure borders, and recognizing and strongly supporting its right to act in self-defense to protect its citizens against acts of terrorism.

The fact that the Senate wants to weigh in to express support for Israel during a conflict is, in itself, neither inappropriate nor especially notable. What is notable is the ways in which the current resolution (at least the draft that is circulating this afternoon) differs from the resolution passed by the Senate in the context of the last Gaza war. That resolution, S. Res. 10, was adopted January 8, 2009, by unanimous consent. Two major differences between the current resolution and S. Res. 10 bear mentioning.

First, the Gillibrand-Kirk resolution contains no mention of any aspiration to see hostilities end and includes no exhortation for the President to in any way to engage to try to calm the violence or bring about a ceasefire.

This is in contrast to S. Res. 10, which included a resolved clause encouraging the President "to work actively to support a durable, enforceable, and sustainable cease-fire in Gaza, as soon as possible, that prevents Hamas from retaining or rebuilding the capability to launch rockets and mortars against Israel and allows for the long term improvement of daily living conditions for the ordinary people of Gaza."

Second, the Gillibrand-Kirk resolution doesn't even pay lip service to, or offer even canned language feigning concern for, civilian life on both sides--or even on either side. This is bizarre, given that innocent civilians, including children, have already been killed and injured on both sides, and these numbers are almost certain to grow.

In contrast, S. Res. 10 included a resolved clause stating that the Senate: "believes strongly that the lives of innocent civilians must be protected and all appropriate measures should be taken to diminish civilian casualties and that all involved should continue to work to address humanitarian needs in Gaza."

Some might suggest that these omissions weren't deliberate. This suggestion hits a wall, however, given that much of the Gillibrand-Kirk text appears to be drawn directly from S. Res. 10. Indeed, Gillibrand and Kirk include in their resolution a "resolved" clause clearly drawn from the clause in S. Res. 10 dealing with a ceasefire, but with the language about a ceasefire (and about improving the daily lives of Palestinians in Gaza) cut out.

In short, this pared-down version of S. Res. 10, as presently drafted, sends the message that the Senate isn't concerned about harm (already done or potential) to civilians, and that the Senate is in no hurry to see a ceasefire--consistent, perhaps, with recent remarks by Israel officials to the effect that "We're in no hurry to receive messages about a cease fire from Egypt or other states" and "We'll continue the pressure and the attacks on Gaza until Hamas begs for a cease-fire." Such a message seems both politically shortsighted and morally dubious.

3.  Members on the Record

Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) 11/16/12: Israel is Right to Defend Itself from Hamas Extremists
Hoyer (D-MD) 11/15/12: Hoyer Statement on Rocket Attacks Against Israel
Ackerman (D-NY) 11/15/12: Ackerman Issues Statement Supporting Israeli Military Operation in Gaza
Dold (R-IL) 11/15/12: Israel's Right to Defend Itself
Deutch (D-FL) 11/15/12: Israel's Right to Defend Itself
Poe (R-TX) 11/15/12: Israel to the Rescue
Gohmert (R-TX) 11/15/12: On Violence in the Middle East (and lots of other stuff)
Berman (D-CA) 11/14/12: Berman Statement on Israeli Air Strike on Gaza
Berman (D-CA) 10/24/12: Berman Condemns Hamas Rocket Attacks into Israel
Berman (D-CA) 10/30/12: Berman Rejects Proposed Boycott of Private Companies Tied to Jewish Settlements
Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) 10/24/12: U.S. - Israel Security Cooperation Remains Essential; Congress is Fully Committed to Assistance to Israel
Franks (R-AZ) 9/21/12: Rhetoric versus Reality
Rivera (R-FL) 9/21/12: Concerns for Ecuador
Nelson (D-FL) 9/21/12: Freedom for Bob Levinson
Gohmert (R-TX) 9/21/12: Perspective [too easy - not gonna comment...]
Rubio (R-FL) 9/20/12: The Middle East
Burton (R-IN) 9/14/12: Foreign Affairs
Gohmert (R-TX) 9/14/12: Current Events and Lessons from History

4. From the Press

JTA 11/16/12: Ileana's oddly adversarial Israel affirmation
San Francisco Bay Guardian, 11/15/12: GUEST OPINION: Roots of the Gaza violence (by former House staffer Zahir Janmohamed)
Washington Post. 11/9/12: Senators working on tougher Iran sanctions as Obama seeks another diplomatic push
The Cable, 11/7/12: Berman's loss reshuffles the foreign policy deck on Capitol Hill
The Hill, 11/6/12: President Obama has kept US-Israel relations strong (By Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-VA)