.@RepHankJohnson: Please Keep Speaking Out About West Bank Settlements

Georgia Democratic Representative Hank Johnson has been outspoken in his defense of human rights. For example, he is the lead sponsor of the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, challenging U.S. military and police aid to the government of Honduras because of the Honduran government's failure to address its gross abuses of human rights. [1]

Recently, the Washington Free Beacon, a Sheldon Adelson-funded newspaper that supports Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, manufactured a controversy out of criticisms that Rep. Johnson made of Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank. Rep. Johnson clarified his remarks.

J Street wrote, "The Congressman was clearly referring to the corrosive impact of the settlement enterprise on the two-state solution and not to individuals. The Free Beacon and its headline writers have, as is their habit, taken irresponsible liberties with the words actually spoken in an effort to advance their political agenda. The proper focus of media coverage here should be on the growing political opposition to Israeli settlement growth and not on the misrepresentations by an irresponsible media outlet." [2]

It is important that Members of Congress not conclude from this episode that they cannot criticize Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, as Peter Beinart, writing in Haaretz, suggested they might. [3] Urge Rep. Johnson to continue speaking out in the future about Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank by signing our petition.

References:
1. http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/cosponsor-the-berta-caceres?r_by=1135580
2. http://jstreet.org/blog/post/j-street-welcomes-rep-johnson-clarification-of-remarks-_1
3. http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.734850