State News Release

McReynolds Calls for Halt to US Aid to Israel.

David McReynolds for US Senate
www.mcreynoldsforsenate.org

October 26, 2004

For More Information:
David McReynolds (212) 674-7268; (646) 942-7118
Mark Dunlea, 518 286-3411
Gloria Mattera (718) 369-2998 or (917) 886-4538

Senate Candidate Cites Construction of the Wall and Illegal Occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

McReynolds Supports Making the Middle East a Nuclear Free Zone

David McReynolds, the Green Party candidate for US Senate, said today that peace in the Middle East would not be possible until the US became an honest broker in the dispute.

"The US cannot tell Israel and Palestine how to solve their conflict; that is for them to figure out. But for the US to become neutral in this dispute means we must cease all economic and military aid to Israel, particularly when they continue to build the illegal separation wall on Palestine territory and continue to impose an illegal military occupation in the Gaza strip and the West Bank," stated McReynolds, who was a senior staff person with the War Resisters League for 39 years.

McReynolds opposes all military aid to countries in the Middle East.

McReynolds also called upon Israel to support the creation of a nuclear free zone in the Middle East. "It is in Israel's interest to agree that no country in the Middle East, including them, can possess nuclear weapons. This would need to be backed up by strong international inspections," noted McReynolds. Israel is widely thought to already possess nuclear weapons. Iran and Iraq have been cited as countries that have been interested in obtaining such weapons.

McReynolds said that he supports groups within both Israel and Palestine that are willing to discuss peace. While he said that any solution needed to guarantee the right of Palestinian to their own state, he said that the issue of one state versus two states needed to be decided by the two groups.

"If Israel isn't willing to leave the occupied territories, it would have to be a one state solution. Such a one state solution however will not be possible unless it was secular, without granting special rights and power to only one religious group. Any solution would have to guarantee the security of both Israelis and Palestinians," McReynolds added.

"Both sides must renew their commitment to end violence. Israeli must end the occupation of Palestinian territories. The soul of any nation, particularly one espousing democratic ideals, is invariably stained through the act of enforcing a military occupation. One might strongly hope for a leader such as Gandhi or King to emerge within Palestine, but the tragedy of the violence we have seen, including the heartbreaking suicide bombings, are a response to Israeli Occupation," added McReynolds.

McReynolds said however he opposed the deployment of international peacekeepers to effect an end to the Israel occupation of Palestine.

The national Green Party has adopted a similar position on the Middle East."We reaffirm the right of self-determination for both Palestinians and Israelis, which precludes the self-determination of one at the expense of the other. We recognize the historical and contemporary cultural diversity of Israeli-Palestinian society. We support equality before international law rather than appeals to religious faith as the fair basis on which claims to the land of Palestine-Israel are resolved. We recognize that Jewish insecurity and fear of non-Jews is understandable in light of Jewish history of horrific oppression in Europe. However, we oppose as both discriminatory and ultimately self-defeating the position that Jews would be fundamentally threatened by the implementation of full rights to Palestinian-Israelis and Palestinian refugees who wish to return to their homes. As U.S. Greens, we refuse to impose our views on the people of the region; rather, we would turn the U.S. government towards a new policy, which itself recognizes the equality, humanity, and civil rights of Jews, Muslims, Christians, and all others who live in the region, and which seeks to build confidence in prospects for secular democracy," states the national party platform.