The Link's Links
by: John F. Mahoney
September - October
2009
The Link - Volume 42, Issue 4
David Hosey is director of media interest for the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. The Campaign’s website is www.endtheoccupation.org. His interview was conducted by John Mahoney.
Your home page invites visitors to join the Olive Branch Club and receive a poster signed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. What that’s about? The Olive Branch Club is our monthly giving program for those who want to sustain the important work of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. Currently we’re offering people a chance to win a poster signed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who endorsed our national anti-apartheid speaking tour last year, and who has been a vocal critic of the Israeli occupation and apartheid policies. He will soon be honored by President Obama, so it's a great time to win this poster.
You have a National Congressional Report Card that includes a user interface. How does that work? The Congressional Report Card grades members of Congress on major pieces of legislation and Congressional “Dear Colleague” letters on Palestine/Israel in the current Congress. The user interface allows supporters to select their state and see how their elected representatives voted on relevant legislation. Each state page includes descriptions of the legislation that we scored, and each Congressperson is given a score based on their votes on key bills and letters.
How many visitors come to your site? Of course this varies from day to day, week to week, and month to month. During the height of Israel's December-January assault on the Gaza Strip, we averaged around 3,000 visitors a day, as people were very concerned with the situation and wanted to know what they could do. During the past few months we've continued to have hundreds of "unique" visits to our site every day.
Visitors can also sign up for e-mail alerts. What information do they usually receive? Our e-mail action alerts let supporters know how they can take action around our various campaigns, such as challenging U.S. military aid to Israel or holding corporations such as Motorola and Caterpillar accountable for their complicity in Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Our e-mail alerts have information and online tools that supporters can utilize to take action.
You encourage visitors to your site to send personalized letters to members of Congress on the Appropriations Subcommittees with jurisdiction over military aid programs. Do you know how many have done so, and why is this important? Approximately 9,000 people sent members of Congress on the Appropriations Subcommittees on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs a total of 250,000 letters this year opposing the President’s request for $2.775 billion in military aid to Israel in FY2010. These subcommittees have jurisdiction over budget requests for military aid programs and have the power to recommend to Congress additions, subtractions, or conditions to these military aid programs.
Do you have any site programs under construction that you’d like to mention? We're in the process of building up the Media section of our site, where people can scan media coverage of the U.S. Campaign as well as headlines about boycott and divestment and Israeli apartheid. We'd also like to use this section as a resource for journalists who want to find out more about the work of the U.S. Campaign. We also have a blog on which we post unique content, video news, commentary from members of our Advisory Board and Steering Committee, and analysis. You can check it out at http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com.
If someone wanted to phone or e-mail you, can you give a number or address? Contact us by phone at (202) 332-0994, or use our handy web form to send comments and questions: http://tinyurl.com/l3vvwn.