Dozen Picket DeLauro

(continued)

Stanley Heller, Chairperson of MECC, said, "We received word that an Israeli court decision now allows the Israeli army to tear down a home of a Palestinian in Anata, Jerusalem because it lacks a building permit. Thousands of Palestinian homes have been torn down for the same reason in the Occupied Territories. The ruling defies international law. Israeli occupies the West Bank illegally and has no right to force its legal system on Palestinians. Anyway Palestinians who have tried to get a permit from the Israeli almost never receive one."

"The home in question belongs to Salim Shawamreh. He has never been granted a permit despite spending $15,000 in application fees and using the best Israeli legal help. His house has been torn down 4 times. It's been rebuilt each time by the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, a mostly Jewish organization. Now it will be torn down for the fifth time unless there is international pressure."

"The United States has a special responsibility in this area because it lavishes Israel with billions in aid and because U.S. made Caterpillar bulldozers are the main devices of destruction of Palestinian homes."

"I called Rosa DeLauro's office in Washington on this matter and emailed her and got no response. It's no surprise. For a decade DeLauro has been uncritical in her support of the Israeli government. We're going to peacefully picket her house to try to make her understand the terrible violation to a family that occurs when a home is demolished."