December 11, 2023
Dear editor;
My name is David Cannon and I am the Democratic Party Precinct Committeeperson for Aurora 38.
I mailed all PCs a letter in early November, asking them to encourage our congressman, Bill Foster, to sign on to a resolution calling for ceasefire now.
Currently, more than 80 Democratic Party leaders from IL-11 have signed the letter, which prompted Bill to meet with 10 of us Saturday, Dec. 9 for an in-person meeting on the topic.
To summarize the meeting, it seems that Bill understands the situation well. He acknowledges that Israel is committing war crimes, arresting and detaining Palestinians without just cause, that they are allowing illegal settlements, that there has been no accountability for the Nakba or subsequent crimes, etc.
He gave two justifications for why he hasn’t yet signed on to the ceasefire now resolution:
1) Cori Bush’s bill made no mention of Hamas.
2) He believes that Israel should be able to retaliate.
We have made it clear that we simply want him to call for ceasefire. It doesn’t have to be tied to Cori Bush’s bill. And it is clear that Israel has retaliated already and to excess. How much retaliation would merit a call for ceasefire? How many dead? What kind of war crimes?
We have asked Bill to release a statement by EOD Tuesday, Dec. 12 calling for a ceasefire.
That said, I ask you to take five minutes to contact his office today to let him know we support him in this action:
Phone Numbers:
(630) 585-7672 (Aurora)
(202) 225-3515 (Washington, D.C.)
Quick Script:
“Hi, my name is __ and I am a resident of IL-11. Can you please ask the congressman to call for a permanent ceasefire in Palestine? I look forward to reading his statement on the issue Tuesday, Dec. 12. Thank you.”
It’s that simple. Please respond to this Email once done so I may be encouraged to continue this fight.
He must hear from us all and now. There can be no political solution until the violence is stopped. Hundreds of innocent people are dying every day and we are complicit through our inaction. We must apply pressure to get justice here. Thank you for everything.
David Cannon, Aurora