US CAMPAIGN TO END THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION

Protests Tue. in DC & NY; Take Political & Media Action

US Campaign Responds to Escalating Crisis in Middle East

In this email:

* Protests Tomorrow in DC and New York; SF Today

* Contact Congress on Resolutions to be Voted On Tomorrow

* Media Activist Resources

PROTEST
TAKE ACTION: The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation has endorsed two protests in Washington, DC and New York City scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, July 18 (details below). If you would like to organize a protest in your community, please post the details to our events calendar at: www.endtheoccupation.org/

WASHINGTON, DC

WHAT: Peaceful Rally to Protest Ongoing Israeli Violence in Gaza and Lebanon

WHEN: July 18, 2006 from 5-7pm

WHERE: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW —in front of the White House. Take Metro to McPherson Square

NEW YORK CITY

A CALL TO ACTION: DEMONSTRATION AT ISRAELI MISSION TO THE UN ON TUESDAY

PROTEST ATTACKS ON LEBANON AND THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE!

DEMAND FREEDOM FOR LEBANESE AND PALESTINIAN POLITICAL PRISONERS!

When: Tuesday July 18, 4:30 p.m.

Where: Israeli Mission to the UN, at 2nd Ave. between E 42nd and 43rd Sts., NY

SAN FRANCISCO

When: Today, Monday, July 17, Noon Pacific

Where: Israeli Consulate, 456 Montgomery St.

POLITICAL ACTION

TAKE ACTION: Congress to Vote on “Unwavering Support for Israel” on Tuesday

Last Friday, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) announced that on Tuesday the House and Senate are expected to pass “bipartisan resolutions reaffirming Congress’ unwavering support for Israel. The resolutions strongly back the Jewish state’s right to defend itself and to take steps to beyond its borders to deter further aggression by the terrorist groups and their state sponsors, Iran and Syria.”

Contact Congress today and ask your Members of Congress to vote against unbalanced resolutions that fail to mention Israel’s acts of aggression, collective punishment, and the purposeful targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure in violation of the Geneva Conventions and US Arms Export Control Act. Demand that Israel is held accountable for using US tax-payer supplied weapons to injure and kill dozens of Lebanese and Palestinian civilians and demolish crucial civilian infrastructure.

For a more detailed action alert, click here: www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1215

For contact information for your Members of Congress, click here: www.congress.org/

Call your Members of Congress today!

MEDIA ACTION

TAKE ACTION: Affect our media’s coverage of the crisis by writing op-eds and letters to the editor.

For a template letter to the editor (scroll down to action item #2), click here: www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1215

For talking points on the crisis, written by US Campaign Advisory Board Member Phyllis Bennis, click here: www.ips-dc.org/comment/bennis/tp43GazaLebanon.htm

Below are some guidelines for writing op-eds:

WRITING AND SUBMITTING OP-EDS TO US NEWSPAPERS AND WEBSITES

Once you master some basics and get some practice, you’ll probably find that getting op-eds published in the US media is easier than you expected. Still, even the best, most insightful writers won’t succeed all the time. Persist even after a number of failures.

1) WRITING OP-EDS

a) Op-ed length: Most US newspapers publish op-eds of a maximum of 700 words. Consider checking on the websites of relevant papers for their specific word limits. Remember, submitting op-eds of over 700 words can give newspapers an excuse not to publish op-eds that they are very reluctant to publish anyway. Don’t give them that excuse. Send them 700 words or less.

b) Tie your submission to a major news story: Newspapers want to publish op-eds that shed light on stories that the public is hearing about today in the news. Include sentences in your first paragraphs showing a link with a major news story (”Today at the White House President Bush said…” “Israel’s bombing of Beirut’s airport today reminds me of attacks on civilian infrastructure that I witnessed last year in the West Bank”). Tell the story you want to tell and make your points, but link them to major news stories.

c) Introductory paragraphs are key: If you don’t draw the op-ed editor in with strong writing at the very beginning, the editor may never read the rest of your submission.

d) Personal stories help: A personal story about something you’ve experienced that sheds light on a major news story can make your submission more attractive. For example, it can help to mention an event you witnessed or something you learned during a recent visit to Israel/Palestine, if you can show that it illustrates your thesis.

e) Editing: Have at least two friends whose judgment you trust and who are good writers give you feedback on your op-ed. Keep your sentences and paragraphs short. Look at a few op-eds in major paper as examples.

f) Fact checking: If you cite statistics, or historical events, check your facts and find a credible reference to serve as a source for your information. You will lose credibility with editors if you can’t easily back up statements that you make with respected sources. You may sometimes want to include those sources in your text (”In a July report, Amnesty International stated that Israeli settlements violate international law…”).

g) Helping other people write: Experience shows that Palestinians and Israelis can be strong candidates for publication in the US, especially if they cite personal experiences. Consider urging your Palestinian and Israeli friends to write. Give them English editing support and help in understanding a US reader’s expectations if that might make the difference.

2) SUBMITTING OP-EDS

a) Op-ed Contacts: Attached is a list of email addresses and phone numbers for 37 major US newspapers, two major Canadian newspapers and a few major US websites.

b) Timing of submissions: If you can submit an op-ed a week to three days in advance of a planned major event – a political summit or visit, a document signing, Martin Luther King’s birthday, a planned troop withdrawal, etc. – this will strengthen your cause. Sometimes major papers work on finding an appropriate op-ed well in advance of these planned events. So you may be too late for major papers if you submit just before the event.

Sometimes, however, you will be writing in reaction to an unexpected event, or tweaking an existing op-ed to fit that event. In that case, getting your submission in very quickly, before most other writers, increases your chances.

c) Submitting to which papers?: The more op-eds from “our side” that we submit to newspapers, the greater pressure they will feel and the greater likelihood that they will publish someone from “our side”. So submit to bigger papers, even if it’s not very likely they’ll publish your submission. Your rejected submission may indirectly help someone else to get published.

The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post like to publish heads of state. So, if you are not one, your chances of getting published by those papers are not very high. But submit anyway to increase the volume and pressure, and maybe one of us will get lucky.

If you feel your chances of being published by the biggest papers are not so great, consider focusing more on selling yourself as a “local expert” to the papers in the state or town where you live or grew up. If you write using the local angle, it can help to mention why people from your state/town should care.

d) What to include in your submission?: Send a brief message explaining in a few sentences who you are and why you have an expertise in the subject matter. Note if you have been published in other papers. Include a “tagline” of 1-2 sentences that the newspaper can use to identify you if they wish to publish your submission. Include your phone and email contact information. Include your op-ed submission in the text of your message and not as an attachment.

For submissions to newspapers, do not include your own title. They feel it is the editor’s job to choose the title, and may even be turned off by the fact that you included a title. If you do submit a title, expect it to be changed without your knowledge or consent. It is rare that a newspaper editor will clear his/her preferred title with the author.

e) When to submit to different papers: Few newspapers demand national or international exclusivity – i.e. few require that they must be the only paper anywhere to publish your piece. Among the papers generally requiring broad exclusivity are: The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, LA Times, USA Today and Boston Globe. However, unless you are the political leader of a country, it is highly unlikely that more than one of those papers will want your submission. Therefore, despite their exclusivity requirements, it’s probably safe for you to submit to all those papers at the same time.

Most papers require only regional or local exclusivity. For example, The Philadelphia Inquirer requires only that you don’t publish in another paper in their readership area around Philadelphia, To be safe, if a paper wants your article, make sure you understand and follow their exclusivity policy.

f) Weekends: Most US newspapers have decided by Friday mid-day at the latest what they will publish over the weekend. Remember that if you submit later than Friday AM, or over the weekend, no one is likely to look at your submission until Monday.

g) Following-up with Editors?: It’s not clear that phoning the largest newspapers helps a great deal. They have systems to track and review submissions. As the papers get smaller, the more likely the editor will be willing to take the time to discuss your submission. When you phone, be prepared to make a very brief pitch in not more than four sentences, but be prepared to then provide more information if the editor seems open to discussion. However, if the editor responds that they are not interested, it’s highly unlikely that you will change their mind. Arguing won’t help you now or for the future.

If you are submitting as a “local expert” make sure to call that to the attention of the editor when you submit it and when you call.

If you have received no feedback, some editors will respond to a brief, polite email request for an update on the status of your submission. If you don’t specifically follow-up, most of the larger papers will never respond to your submission, and you can just assume this means that they were not interested.

h) Sending letters of support to the editor: On the day your piece is published encourage people to send supportive letters to the editor. They will get a lot of angry letters about your piece. You want to make sure they also see evidence that readers appreciate that the paper published your piece.

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