1/ Today - all being well - the Middle East Partnership Act of 2020 will pass the House - it provides a quarter of a billion over five years to grassroots peace building efforts and economic development for a bottom up approach to Israel Palestine.
2/ @NitaLowey and @JeffFortenberry have been tireless champions of this fund and have stuck with it despite the highs and lows over the years. Before @nitalowey it was Joe Crowley. It is a result of over a decade of advocacy and painstaking coalition building
3/ It has broad bipartisan support, has no amendments on it and is a capstone legacy of @NitaLowey 30 year commitment to peace. From @AIPAC to @ChurchesforMEP it is a rare positive piece of legislation that is both good politics and good policy.
4/ On a personal note, this bill has been a labor of love and my work baby for 6 years. @ALLMEP_usa team has managed to get it over the top and I'm so immensely proud of the role I played in getting it to this point.
5/ For anyone who is trying to get legislation passed which seems almost impossible, remember you will have far more setbacks then progress, that you play the hand you have not the one you want and find the good even in those you have deep political disagreements with.
6/ The legislation is embedded in the State and Foreign Ops bill that is going to pass and the challenge moves on to the Senate. There is already bipartisan support from the sub-committee chair there and the work continues to get this done before the end of this Congress.
7/ We have however won the argument that civil society work can no longer be an afterthought or a luxury for any serious attempt to bring peace, equity, freedom, security, coexistence or justice to Israelis and Palestinians. It is a necessary part of our foreign policy approach.
