Fifty-four House members are defying AIPAC and calling on President Obama to lift the deadly blockade of Gaza. Specifically, the House Members ask that Obama pressure Israel to permit:
* Movement of people, especially students, the ill, aid workers, journalists, and those with family concerns, into and out of Gaza;
* Access to clean water, including water infrastructure materials,
* Access to plentiful and varied food and agricultural materials;
* Access to medicine and health care products and suppliers;
* Access to sanitation supplies, including sanitation infrastructure materials;
* Access to construction materials for repairs and rebuilding;
* Access to fuel;
* Access to spare parts;
* Prompt passage into and out of Gaza for commercial and agricultural goods; and
* Publication and review of the list of items prohibited to the people of Gaza.
In short, the courageous 54 want the blockade lifted.
Please take a look at the list of these legislators who will, no doubt, catch hell from powerful AIPAC types in their districts and, more significantly, among their donor base.
Also note this. The fact that your favorite liberal is not among the 54 does not mean he or she disagrees with their braver colleagues. It only means that they are not ready to stand up and be counted.
The 54 deserve our thanks as does J Street and Americans for Peace Now, which supported the House effort that was led by three Minnesotans: Keith Ellison, James Oberstar, and Betty McCollum.