Grassroots organizations have launched a national fax-and-phone campaign to convince MKs to vote against the government plan for a unilateral retreat from Gush Katif and northern Samaria. The effort has already led to hundreds of faxes and phone calls to key Knesset members whose votes are not yet certain. Former MK Chanan Porat, who is also involved in similar efforts, said today, "Even those MKs who are not 'wavering' [and who say they're certain to vote in favor] - we'll waver them!"
"Based on the tremendous numbers of people calling us for lists of MKs, we can see that this is having a major impact," said Susie Dym, a spokesperson for the Cities of Israel group. “It's nice to see this type of political activist response in a country in which this is not the usual modus vivendi. Some Yesha officials think that a few high-level meetings are all that's needed; these are very important, but what's also very important are tens of thousands of citizens on the phone and fax lines."
A list of the "targeted" MKs and their phone and fax numbers can be seen here.
The volunteers are provided with instructions stating, "You call and say to the aide or secretary who answers something like: 'My name is ___ and I would like MK ___ to vote against hitnatkut (unilateral withdrawal) on Tuesday.' If the aide or secretary refuses to accept your message, or insists that you 'have to' send a fax, insist that accepting telephone messages is -- with all due respect -- part of their job. If you get an answering machine, by all means, leave a message. If you have a fax, fax the same short message. Don't waste your time on long messages; they are not read. Your time is better spent calling a dozen or more friends and relatives and urging them to please, please participate in this campaign. Don't use email -- it is not effective enough. [If you're] willing to use YOUR fax machine to send a fax on behalf of somebody [else, call] friends or relatives who don't have a fax and ask them to dictate a message to you! ..."
"Based on the tremendous numbers of people calling us for lists of MKs, we can see that this is having a major impact," said Susie Dym, a spokesperson for the Cities of Israel group. “It's nice to see this type of political activist response in a country in which this is not the usual modus vivendi. Some Yesha officials think that a few high-level meetings are all that's needed; these are very important, but what's also very important are tens of thousands of citizens on the phone and fax lines."
A list of the "targeted" MKs and their phone and fax numbers can be seen here.
The volunteers are provided with instructions stating, "You call and say to the aide or secretary who answers something like: 'My name is ___ and I would like MK ___ to vote against hitnatkut (unilateral withdrawal) on Tuesday.' If the aide or secretary refuses to accept your message, or insists that you 'have to' send a fax, insist that accepting telephone messages is -- with all due respect -- part of their job. If you get an answering machine, by all means, leave a message. If you have a fax, fax the same short message. Don't waste your time on long messages; they are not read. Your time is better spent calling a dozen or more friends and relatives and urging them to please, please participate in this campaign. Don't use email -- it is not effective enough. [If you're] willing to use YOUR fax machine to send a fax on behalf of somebody [else, call] friends or relatives who don't have a fax and ask them to dictate a message to you! ..."