Dear (Rep. Maloney / Sen. Gillibrand / Sen. Schumer)

The Israeli government is refusing to help administer COVID vaccinations to Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza territories.  Israel should help vaccinate everyone in Israel, including Palestinians - on a humanitarian, medical and legal basis.  I’m asking for your assistance to encourage Israel to help vaccinate everyone.

Israel defends its refusal citing the Oslo Peace Accords, which put Palestinian authorities in charge of healthcare in the West Bank and Gaza, home to 5 million people.  Some aid groups say Israel and the Palestinian Authority both share responsibility. But Palestinian authorities are facing obstacles in launching their own vaccine campaign, including a shortage of money, lack of access to vaccines and lack of infrastructure to distribute a vaccine.  The vaccine also needs to be stored at minus-94 degrees Fahrenheit, which is nearly impossible in Gaza and the West Bank as residents often go for hours each day without electricity. 

In order to reach herd immunity from the virus, it’s in Israel’s interest to have Palestinians in the territories be vaccinated, as this is a densely populated area with much interaction between both groups. Tens of thousands of Palestinian workers cross into Israel from the West Bank for work on a daily basis. Meanwhile, the infection rate keeps rising.

Physicians for Human Rights recently said, quote, “Israel bears moral and humanitarian responsibility for vaccinating the Palestinian population under its control,” unquote. Israel is vaccinating Jewish settlers living in the West Bank, yet even Palestinian medical personnel facing high-risk on the frontlines of care have not yet been vaccinated.

Amnesty International is calling on Israel to “stop ignoring its international obligations as an occupying power and immediately act to ensure that Covid-19 vaccines are equally and fairly provided to Palestinians living under its occupation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.”

Additionally, hundreds of rabbis from multiple denominations, organized by Rabbis for Human Rights, have signed a letter arguing that Israel has a moral imperative to deliver vaccines to Palestinians, especially in Gaza.

Israel receives some $3 Billion in support of our U.S. tax dollars each year.  This money should be used to help all of the people in Israel, including the Palestinian territories. 

There has already been so much suffering and hardship due to this pandemic.
Please do what you can to help save lives and avert catastrophe by ensuring everyone in Israel and the Palestinian territories gets vaccinated.  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Tom Midgley