Every country is different so you may need to adapt these guidelines for your situation. If you have comments or suggestions, please let us know.
- Research their statements. Check their social media accounts and parliamentary/government records and see if an established Palestinian solidarity group in your country can give you a summary of your elected representative’s position.
- Decide if your elected representative is, in fact, your best target. If they are very ideologically aligned with the Israel lobby, consider alternative targets for letter writing (government ministers, media executives, local decision-makers).
- Be clear about your agenda. Keep your communication short. There are four main options for engagement and it is recommended to choose one at a time.
- A. Inform them about new developments and ask a specific question which their research assistant will have to research/consider. For example, the ICJ ruling that Israel is plausibly committing genocide (do they support it, and if yes, how should the government respond? Or if no, why not?)
- B. Engage them on one aspect of the debate that you feel confident about. Disagreement is likely but they may be worried enough to tell the party elites that “well informed constituents are passionate about this issue, so we must do better”. Of course this will happen in private, so you will never know, and it also depends on other constituents doing this. Choosing one topic for each email/letter is a good way to sustain a dialogue.
- C. Tell them plainly they will lose your vote unless they do ___. Remind them why they should care (opinion polls, etc). This letter works best if lots of constituents do something similar – either independently or in a joint letter – and if your elected representative is at risk at the next election. The ‘asks’ need to be chosen carefully. The less asks, the better – keep it focused. Choose asks that are plausible, citing when possible other respected governments or leaders that have taken this action.
- D. Set a hurdle so high or use language that would make them likely to ignore your communication. This option is tempting but rarely gets results.
There is no “right” approach – it depends on your intent. If you intend to do (D) don’t waste a lot of time on it since it will only matter if many voters/donors do the same.
If you are going to do (A)-(C), it’s always useful to find something at the start to say thanks for or congratulate them on, and ideally you would call their office or ask for an appointment to talk in person. This shows that you really care.
Finally, the Israel lobby is very effective at this kind of organising – getting many constituents to engage persistently with elected representatives. If we want to see progress, we also need to get equally proficient at these skills.