World Please join us for Platmed Parenthood Mid and South Michigan's Renewed Support oan Rivers Amid violence, members of Congress focus on Israel. Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency April 26, 2011 12 to 2 PM Washington at the I Troy Marriott Luncheon tickets start at $85 per person. Sponsorship opportunities are available. email ppluncheon@ppmchoice.org call 734-926-4813 online PlannedParenthoodDetroit. org Seating is Reserve your place today! All proceeds are used to benefit the women, men, and teens served by Planned Parenthood Mid and South Michigan. Thank you for your support. ruby's balm 20% OFF one item exc. Laura Mercier, Kiehl's, Nars hersh's 20% OFF one item. $75 maximum discount marguerite 20% OFF one item. $100 maximum discount stones jewelry 30% - 50% OFF selected jewelry steven franklin optics 20% OFF in stock frames w/purchase of rx lenses closet nv 20% OFF select designer fashions, shoes & accessories. Some hand bags excluded nadwa hair/spa _ 20% OFF any hair, nails, massage, makeup... ..... peek-a-bootique 20% OFF one item sundance shoes 10% - 20% OFF STOREWIDE president tuxedo $20 student discount for prom rental Satisfy your cravings at Dairy Queen, Dakota Bread, New York Bagel and Stage Deli Semi Annual t happens almost like clockwork: Something happens in the Middle East, and it reverberates across the Atlantic with new letters from the U.S. Congress. With so many relatively new members looking to establish their pro-Israel credentials, the reaction in Congress to the recent violence in Israel was particularly swift. "American pressure needs to be exerted on the Palestinians, not the Israelis, to make steps toward achiev- ing peace," said a March 18 letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton from the Republican Study Committee, the conservative cau- cus of Republicans in the House of Representatives. A close reading of the letters reveals the differences over what the authors believe constitutes being pro-Israel. Some place the burden exclusively on Palestinians to restart peace talks, and others call on the United States and Israel also to take steps to tamp down tensions. After the March 11 slaughter of a couple and three of their children in the West Bank settlement of Itamar, bipartisan letters to the Obama administration from each congres- sional chamber urged pressure on the Palestinians to return to peace talks. Each letter outlined what it said were examples of incitement sanc- tioned directly or indirectly by the Palestinian Authority. It is not yet clear who carried out the killings, though Palestinian terrorists are believed the culprits. The U.S. House of Representatives' letter to President Obama, circulated by Reps. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) and Steve Austria (R-Ohio), calls on the president to "insist" that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas re-enters peace talks, without precon- ditions, and demand that President Abbas eliminate all vestiges of incite- ment coming from his government, Palestinian entities, or officials." Abbas withdrew last September from renewed direct peace talks with CC With ad. Expires 4/30/11. Previous purchases and sale items excluded. Some restrictions apply. One redemption per person. THE BOARDWALK orchard lake road I south of maple I west bloomfield 32 Nflarch 31 • 2011 iN Israel after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to extend a partial settlement morato- rium in the West Bank. The letter to Clinton circulating in the Senate, initiated by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Mark Kirk (MTh), made similar calls. "The Itamar massacre was a sober- ing reminder that words matter, and that Palestinian incitement against Jews and Israel can lead to violence and terror',' the letter said. "We urge you to redouble your efforts to impress upon the Palestinian leadership that continuing to condone incitement is not tolerable?' Political Divide The self-described "pro-Israel, pro- peace" lobbying group J Street blasted the Rothman-Austria letter, saying such statements should tackle all sides responsible for the peace impasse. The organization already had made clear the kind of letter it preferred. A March 15 letter to Obama signed by 116 House members backed the president's proposal for keeping funding for Israel and the Palestinians at current levels — $3 billion for Israel and about $500 million for the Palestinians. "We are thrilled to see so many members of Congress stand for the continued assistance to Israel and the P.A. that advances America's inter- ests and the prospects for peace and security in Israel:' J Street said in that statement. All but one of the signatories on that letter, initiated by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), were Democrats, under- scoring a fact of Washington's political landscape that is frustrating efforts by dovish pro-Israel groups to win bipar- tisan support: Republicans are loath to sign on to anything that signals sup- port for the Palestinians. Indeed, the Schakowsky-Eshoo letter was prompted by Republican threats to slash funding for the Palestinians. Democrats, even those who signed Schakowsky-Eshoo, are likely also to sign onto efforts singling out the Palestinians and other Arab nations as bearing the burden of peacemak- ing. That's partly a reflection of the Renewed Support on page 34