3rd Thursday Action Alert: Call on Congress to block further arms provisions and press Israel to avoid further violence against Palestinians
As the US sends a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, signaling a readiness to engage Iran militarily, conditions in Gaza and the West Bank continue to worsen. While the Senate may consider an Iran War Powers (Senate Joint Resolution 104), the US should use its leverage to end Israeli violence against Palestinians.
At a time when PM Netanyahu, wanted as a criminal by the International Criminal Court for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, joins Pres. Trump’s “Board of Peace,” Israel’s assault there has continued. More than 500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the October 2025 ceasefire, and aid has not reached those in desperate need. Israel has acknowledged that the Gaza Ministry of Health’s report of more than 71,000 Palestinians killed since October 2023 is accurate.
More journalists in Gaza have been killed since October 2023 than in other wars, and foreign journalists are still denied access to cover the reality on the ground there. Israel’s prevention of international media to cover contradicts democratic principles, and gives cover to Israel’s ongoing occupation of more than half of the Gaza Strip, as well as the inadequate access Palestinians have to evacuate Gaza to seek urgent health care. In December, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem called on Israel to allow children with cancer from Gaza to travel to Jerusalem so they can “receive specialized treatment only available” at Augusta Victoria Hospital, a Lutheran hospital on the Mount of Olives.
The US continues to provide Israel with massive quantities of weaponry, including a new $6.67 billion in new arms sales approved by Pres. Trump and bypassing Congress, adding to an already staggering $31 billion by Oct. 2025. More than three-fifths of US citizens oppose sending more arms to Israel, and the “Block the Bombs” Act in Congress (House Res. 3565) responds by seeking to limit “the transfer of defense articles and defense services to Israel.”
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, Israel threatens Palestinian rights to land Palestinians have owned and lived on for generations. Intense settler violence continues with government support, the semi-nomadic Bedouin communities are forced from their lands, and Israel presses to annex more land and expel more Palestinians, all contributing to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian communities and land, and diminishing hopes for Palestinian self-determination.
The US must do all it can to end Israeli violence against Palestinians. Call on your Senators and Congressional representative to:
- Prevent the Trump administration from delivering more major US weapons to Israel by passing the “Block the Bombs” Act (House of Representatives Resolution 3565)
- Oppose violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and authorize sanctions against those who do by passing respective legislation (Senate Res. 2667 and 2672; and House Res. 3045)
- Urge Israel to allow Palestinians in Gaza – especially children – to travel with their families to seek urgent medical care in Jerusalem or elsewhere with guarantees of return.
Sample letter:
Dear Senator/Representative,
As the US signals a readiness to engage Iran militarily, conditions in Gaza and the West Bank continue to worsen. The US must use its leverage to end Israeli violence against – and promote healing and recovery for – Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
The US has continued to supply Israel with massive quantities of military arms, including the Trump Administration’s approval of $6.67 billion in new arms sales, while bypassing Congress. More than 60% of US citizens oppose sending more arms to Israel, and I am among those. Israel has killed more than 500 Palestinians since the October 2025 ceasefire, and has acknowledged that Gaza’s Ministry of Health reports of more than 71,000 Palestinians killed since October 2023 is reliable. Even so, Israel continues to deny Palestinians permits to travel to access to urgent medical care in Jerusalem and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Israel threatens Palestinian rights to land Palestinians have owned and lived on for generations. It continues its military occupation and annexation of the West Bank by expanding settlements, denying Palestinians their rights and expelling them from their land, including the Bedouin communities. Settler violence continues with government support. Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said that Israel is implementing “de facto sovereignty” there that “actually establish[es] a fact on the ground that there will not be a Palestinian state.”
As a person of faith, I am deeply concerned about the ongoing and potential new violence and war in the Middle East. I write you to ask you to:
- Prevent the Trump administration from delivering more major US weapons to Israel by passing the “Block the Bombs” Act (House Res. 3565)
- Oppose violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and authorize sanctions against those who do by passing respective legislation (Senate Res. 2667 & 2672; and House Res. 3045)
- Urge Israel to allow Palestinians in Gaza – especially children – to travel with their families to seek urgent medical care in Jerusalem or elsewhere with guarantees of return.
Sincerely,