Public Policy & NGOs
Here's a look at documents from public policy and non-governmental organizations
Featured Stories
Why Feeling Sick May Be Important for Surviving Infection
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, May 2 -- The Whitehead Institute issued the following news:
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Why feeling sick may be important for surviving infection
Symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, altered sleep, and social withdrawal are often treated as inconvenient side effects of infection. While some scientists have suggested that they may serve a protective function, it is widely assumed that they're byproducts of being sick.
Now, in a new perspective published in Trends in Immunology on April 30, Whitehead Institute Member Zuri Sullivan and colleagues propose a different way of thinking:
... Show Full Article
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, May 2 -- The Whitehead Institute issued the following news:
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Why feeling sick may be important for surviving infection
Symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, altered sleep, and social withdrawal are often treated as inconvenient side effects of infection. While some scientists have suggested that they may serve a protective function, it is widely assumed that they're byproducts of being sick.
Now, in a new perspective published in Trends in Immunology on April 30, Whitehead Institute Member Zuri Sullivan and colleagues propose a different way of thinking:what if these behaviors are part of an integrated immune strategy that operates across scales -- from individual cells to tissues and organs, to the whole organism -- and helps promote survival?
Sullivan studies "sickness behavior" to understand how the immune system communicates with the brain to produce these changes during illness -- and what they can reveal about how the body coordinates its defense. This work points to a broader biological question: how living systems, from single cells to whole organisms, detect and respond to threats.
We sat down with Sullivan to learn more about how the brain interprets immune signals, how these responses may help organisms fight infection, and what they could reveal about disease and immunity. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Whitehead Institute: What led you to start thinking about sickness behavior as a form of whole-organism immunity?
Zuri Sullivan: In graduate school, I found that immune cells in the intestine do more than defend against pathogens -- they also help regulate how the body responds to food by changing how intestinal tissue functions depending on the diet.
That work shifted how I thought about immunity, from a local defense system to something broader: a whole-body program that helps shape how we interact with the environment in ways that support survival, including avoiding foods that are harmful or allergenic.
That idea stayed with me in my postdoctoral work in neuroscience, where I studied sickness behavior -- things like reduced appetite and social withdrawal during infection. I was interested in how inflammation affects behavior, especially through the hypothalamus, a brain region that controls many of the body's responses during illness.
Putting those two lines of work together -- immunology and neuroscience -- led me to an integrated view in which immunity operates across scales, shaping both bodily function and behavior as part of a coordinated system.
WI: We often think of the brain and immune system as separate systems. How are they connected, and why does this connection matter?
ZS: For a long time, the brain was thought to be mostly separate from the immune system, protected by what's called the blood-brain barrier, which tightly controls what can enter the brain from the bloodstream. That barrier is still very important, but we now know the brain isn't isolated. The brain and immune system communicate with each other, and that communication can influence both brain activity and behavior. This connection is called the brain-immune axis.
The brain-immune axis is one of the ways the body senses and responds to what's happening in the outside world. The nervous system does this through our senses, while the immune system uses molecular sensors to detect pathogens and other signs of danger.
The two-way communication between these systems helps coordinate how the body responds to threats. We see this most clearly during infection, in what's called sickness behavior -- things like loss of appetite, fatigue, or social withdrawal. But this connection also matters beyond infection, including in conditions like long COVID and the effects of chronic inflammation on the brain.
In our work, we try to construct a bigger picture of how the body protects itself. Individual cells can defend themselves, tissues like the gut can mount local immune responses, and the brain-immune axis represents the highest level of this system, where the immune system and the brain coordinate to affect both physiology and behavior across the whole body as part of a unified defense response.
WI: Is the brain-immune axis disrupted in chronic diseases like long COVID or other neuropsychiatric disorders?
ZS: In some conditions, the immune response that is normally helpful can become dysregulated. This can happen after infections or due to genetic and environmental factors. When that happens, it can lead to chronic inflammation that starts to damage tissues--for example, scarring in the lungs after infection, or conditions in the gut like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
There are still two main possibilities being studied for long COVID. One is that a small amount of virus remains in the body and keeps the immune system activated. The other is that the virus is gone, but the brain-immune axis becomes dysregulated and keeps the immune system in an activated state. Researchers are still working to distinguish between these two.
What's also striking is that there are strong associations between inflammation and both neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. For example, people with autism have higher rates of inflammatory gut conditions like IBD and IBS, and many also experience gastrointestinal symptoms. People with IBD and IBS are associated with being at a higher risk of developing anxiety and depression, especially during a flare-up.
What this suggests is that brain-immune communication can influence both brain function and body function in both directions. The challenge now is figuring out causality -- whether inflammation drives changes in the brain, the brain drives inflammation, or if it's a feedback loop between the two.
WI: How can your proposed framework inform how we think about treating infections in the clinic?
ZS: I think it can inform treatment in a few ways. Right now, when people get sick, we often focus on treating symptoms: reducing fever with medications like Tylenol, overriding behaviors like reduced appetite by providing nutrition through feeding tubes in critically-ill patients. But if sickness behavior is part of an organized response, then it becomes important to understand what these behaviors are actually doing before deciding when to suppress them and when to support them.
A useful example comes from a 2016 mouse study. Researchers found that force-feeding sick mice using feeding tubes had a different outcome based on the type of infection they had. Mice with a bacterial infection became more likely to die, but mice with a viral infection had improved survival. What this tells us is that behavioral changes like reduced appetite may actually be tuned to the type of immune challenge the body is facing. So, if we could understand how these behavioral changes affect the course of infection, it could help clarify which interventions are helpful and which might interfere with recovery.
There are also implications beyond acute infection, especially for conditions like long COVID and other neuropsychiatric or post-inflammatory disorders. One key possibility is that the immune system is playing a causal role in either triggering or maintaining some of these conditions. If that's the case, it becomes especially relevant that the immune system is highly "druggable"-- there are already many therapies that target immune pathways. So, understanding how immune signals influence the brain could open up new ways to intervene in conditions where current treatments aren't working for patients.
What we need is a better map of how different infections affect the brain over time--what we might call "neural signatures" of infection. In animal studies, where we can track both immune responses and brain activity over time, we can start to build that kind of map: how you go from a healthy state and through infection to changes in brain function and behavior.
The hope is that this kind of framework would eventually help us interpret complex symptoms during and post-infection in humans and have more targeted ways to treat them.
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Original text here: https://wi.mit.edu/news/why-feeling-sick-may-be-important-surviving-infection
[Category: Healthcare]
No Labels Chief Strategist Clancy Warns of "Nightmare" Debt Crisis as National Debt Hits $39 Trillion
WASHINGTON, May 2 -- No Labels, a political organization that advocates for centrism and bipartisanship, issued the following commentary on May 1, 2026, by chief strategist Ryan Clancy:
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Nightmare
Titans of finance are joining No Labels in warning about our unsustainable national debt. The question is whether Washington is paying attention.
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This week, Fortune ran a feature on the No Labels booklet Nightmare on Main Street, our oral history of an American debt crisis told from the vantage point of 2029. The piece compared it to the viral AI doomsday essay that briefly tanked software
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 2 -- No Labels, a political organization that advocates for centrism and bipartisanship, issued the following commentary on May 1, 2026, by chief strategist Ryan Clancy:
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Nightmare
Titans of finance are joining No Labels in warning about our unsustainable national debt. The question is whether Washington is paying attention.
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This week, Fortune ran a feature on the No Labels booklet Nightmare on Main Street, our oral history of an American debt crisis told from the vantage point of 2029. The piece compared it to the viral AI doomsday essay that briefly tanked softwarestocks earlier this year and zeroed in on a line that captures why we wrote it: Washington is not going to solve this debt problem until it is forced to.
We wrote Nightmare on Main Street as a wakeup call. On our current course, something like the scenario it describes is going to happen. The country is sleepwalking toward it.
Consider the reporting in the past two weeks alone:
* The gross national debt crossed $39 trillion, and Washington added the last trillion dollars in less than five months.
* Just this week the publicly held portion of the debt surpassed 100 percent of our nation's GDP, the first time that has happened since 1946.
* Net interest payments are now expected to hit $1 trillion this fiscal year, which is more than the entire defense budget.
* The Congressional Budget Office now projects the federal deficit will balloon from $1.9 trillion in 2026 to $3.1 trillion by 2036.
The most respected voices in finance see what is coming. Jamie Dimon, the longtime CEO of JPMorgan Chase, told an investment conference in Oslo this week that on the current trajectory there will be some kind of bond crisis, and then policymakers will have to deal with it. Hank Paulson, who served as Treasury Secretary during the 2008 financial crisis, warned this month that confidence in U.S. Treasury securities is starting to break down and that demand could eventually collapse. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has called the trajectory unsustainable and said it will not end well.
These are the people who have firsthand experience with the plumbing of the global financial system, so when they sound the same alarm at the same time, it is worth listening.
The chart below shows six warning signs that typically precede a sovereign debt crisis. Not one of them currently reads as stable for the United States.
[View image in the link at bottom.]
The reason No Labels keeps returning to this issue is that a debt crisis affects every aspect of our politics and public lives, not just our economy. The Great Depression sent millions of Americans into the arms of demagogues at both extremes. The Communist Party of the USA was filling Madison Square Garden in the 1930s, and fascist movements began to take over Europe. When ordinary life breaks down, people become more willing to back whoever promises to burn the system down. And in every case, the result is worse than what came before.
Right now, the debt is an issue most Americans do not think about, but that can change overnight. In early 2020, COVID went from a story most people skimmed past to the central fact of every life in a matter of weeks. A failed Treasury auction, a sudden spike in yields, a bank that cannot meet withdrawals: any of these could move the debt from page A14 to the only thing anyone is talking about.
Washington has shown no real appetite for getting ahead of this. The most recent budget proposal from the White House would push defense spending past $1.5 trillion while leaving the structural deficit untouched. Congress has yet to advance any serious plan to bring annual deficits below the 3 percent of GDP benchmark that economists across the political spectrum agree is sustainable. Both parties have signed off on the binge, and neither has taken responsibility for the bill.
This issue will not be solved until the American people force it to be solved. That is the work in front of us, and it is the work we are going to keep doing.
Join us on Thursday for the next call in our fiscal series (http://join.nolabels.org/050726), where we will dig into one of the largest pieces of the puzzle: healthcare. The decisions Washington makes about Medicare and Medicaid in the next few years will help determine whether the debt crisis we wrote about stays fictional.
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Ryan Clancy is Chief Strategist at No Labels.
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Original text here: https://nolabels.org/the-latest/nightmare_wall_street/
[Category: Political]
LISTEN: Keeping Wild Sheep on the Mountain
BETHESDA, Maryland, May 2 -- The Wildlife Society, a wildlife conservation organization, posted the following news:
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LISTEN: Keeping wild sheep on the mountain
WATCH EPISODE
Wild sheep are known for their tenacity to endure some of the harshest landscapes around the world. Yet, the global population of the subfamily continues to decline due to a bacterium, Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi). Pneumonia caused by this bacterium can wipe out entire herds.
In this episode of "Our Wild Lives," Kurt Alt and Corey Mason from the Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) join us to talk about all things sheep
... Show Full Article
BETHESDA, Maryland, May 2 -- The Wildlife Society, a wildlife conservation organization, posted the following news:
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LISTEN: Keeping wild sheep on the mountain
WATCH EPISODE
Wild sheep are known for their tenacity to endure some of the harshest landscapes around the world. Yet, the global population of the subfamily continues to decline due to a bacterium, Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi). Pneumonia caused by this bacterium can wipe out entire herds.
In this episode of "Our Wild Lives," Kurt Alt and Corey Mason from the Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) join us to talk about all things sheepconservation. They discuss the role of the WSF, the unique way sheep conservation is funded, the disease challenges wild sheep face and more.
"Our Wild Lives" is The Wildlife Society's biweekly podcast, sharing compelling stories from wildlife professionals doing critical work around the world. Your hosts, Katie Perkins and Ed Arnett of The Wildlife Society, bring you thought-provoking conversations with leading experts and emerging voices.
Podcast by Katie Perkins, Digital Content Manager
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Original text here: https://wildlife.org/listen-keeping-wild-sheep-on-the-mountain/
[Category: Environment]
House-Passed Farm Bill Needs Changes to Address Child Hunger - Save the Children and SCAN
WESTPORT, Connecticut, May 2 -- Save the Children, an organization that says it is giving children a healthy start in life, opportunity to learn and protection from harm, posted the following news release on April 30, 2026:
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House-Passed Farm Bill Needs Changes to Address Child Hunger - Save the Children and SCAN
WASHINGTON -- Following final passage of the Farm Bill in the House of Representatives today, Save the Children and its political advocacy arm, Save the Children Action Network (SCAN), express disappointment in the bill and urge lawmakers to take stronger action to protect children
... Show Full Article
WESTPORT, Connecticut, May 2 -- Save the Children, an organization that says it is giving children a healthy start in life, opportunity to learn and protection from harm, posted the following news release on April 30, 2026:
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House-Passed Farm Bill Needs Changes to Address Child Hunger - Save the Children and SCAN
WASHINGTON -- Following final passage of the Farm Bill in the House of Representatives today, Save the Children and its political advocacy arm, Save the Children Action Network (SCAN), express disappointment in the bill and urge lawmakers to take stronger action to protect childrenfrom hunger and to reinforce critical supports for children and families as the legislation moves toward consideration in the U.S. Senate.
"Every child deserves a healthy start in life, including access to nutritious food and safe, affordable child care. The Farm Bill is one of the most important tools Congress has to support children and families in rural America and beyond. We appreciate that the House bill supports rural child care, including provisions of the Expanding Childcare in Rural America Act. Families across rural communities face severe child care shortages, and investing in - and expanding access to - high-quality care helps parents work, strengthens local economies and ensures young children learn and thrive," Save the Children Chief Policy Officer Christy Gleason said.
"At the same time, we are concerned about the needs of children and families when it comes to fighting hunger. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the first line of defense against child hunger in the United States, especially in rural communities where families are often already struggling with higher food costs and fewer economic opportunities. The House Farm Bill does not provide states the support and flexibility they need to ensure families don't lose access to food assistance."
Several states have raised concerns about the potential impact of the upcoming SNAP benefit cost-share shift set to take effect on October 1, 2026.
The bill also reauthorizes Food for Peace, which for decades has been a cornerstone of U.S. leadership in combating global hunger and delivering lifesaving food assistance to children. However, we are concerned that new provisions in Food for Peace, including new directives, floors and earmarks, will constrain the program in ways that compromise emergency food assistance as well as programs that address the root causes of hunger.
"We urge the Senate to ensure that the Food for Peace program has the flexibility to get lifesaving food aid to the world's hungriest children, no matter where they live, and that the program retains the ability to give communities the tools to break the cycle of humanitarian crisis," Gleason said.
"We applaud language to reauthorize McGovern-Dole Food for Education and appreciate the inclusion of a new provision that allows these programs to better adapt to local conditions and prepare for graduation from U.S. assistance. We urge the Senate to adopt this proposal.
"As the Farm Bill moves ahead, we look forward to working with the Senate to address our remaining concerns and build on the positive steps in this proposal."
SCAN has been mobilizing supporters across the country to urge Congress to prioritize children's needs. Since January 2025, SCAN's nationwide grassroots network has generated more than 1 million messages to policymakers calling for stronger investments in nutrition, early education and global food security.
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Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Since our founding more than 100 years ago, we've been advocating for the rights of children worldwide. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children - every day and in times of crisis - transforming the future we share. Our results, financial statements and charity ratings reaffirm that Save the Children is a charity you can trust. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and YouTube.
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Original text here: https://www.savethechildren.org/us/about-us/media-and-news/2026-press-releases/house-farm-bill-needs-changes-child-hunger
[Category: Sociological]
Environmental Defense Fund: IMO Continues Work on Net-Zero Framework as Path to Global Action on Shipping Decarbonization
NEW YORK, May 2 -- The Environmental Defense Fund posted the following news release on May 1, 2026:
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IMO Continues Work on Net-Zero Framework as Path to Global Action on Shipping Decarbonization
Statement from Mark Brownstein, Senior Vice President, Energy Transition at Environmental Defense Fund
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(LONDON, United Kingdom) Member States at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) today took a step forward toward the effort to decarbonize global shipping. At the close of the 84th meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 84), countries confirmed that the IMO Net-Zero
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, May 2 -- The Environmental Defense Fund posted the following news release on May 1, 2026:
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IMO Continues Work on Net-Zero Framework as Path to Global Action on Shipping Decarbonization
Statement from Mark Brownstein, Senior Vice President, Energy Transition at Environmental Defense Fund
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(LONDON, United Kingdom) Member States at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) today took a step forward toward the effort to decarbonize global shipping. At the close of the 84th meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 84), countries confirmed that the IMO Net-ZeroFramework (NZF) -- which would turn a plan to phase out fossil fuels from the maritime sector by 2050 into practice -- will serve as the foundation for upcoming negotiations in addition to alternate proposals. With the architecture of the NZF preserved, Member States will work through the concerns and priorities of all parties to develop a binding regulatory measure to reduce emissions from the sector. Two intersessional working groups (ISWG-GHG 22 and ISWG-GHG 23) will convene in the coming months, alongside a technical expert workshop on fuel supply chain traceability, to address outstanding concerns and advance the detailed guidelines needed to bring the framework to adoption at the next MEPC meeting in November 23-27, 2026.
"Decarbonizing shipping isn't just good for the climate -- it's good for business. The market is ready. Investors are ready. What's needed now is certainty -- and the Net-Zero Framework is the foundation to build it on."
* Mark Brownstein, Senior Vice President, Energy Transition at Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is working across modes to ensure that global transport is a thriving part of sustainable development, the global economy, and can deliver the goods and mobility people need to thrive without compromising clean air or climate stability. EDF is committed to making the shipping sector's transition away from fossil fuels as efficient and fair as possible. EDF brings relevant scientific knowledge and research to the IMO and serves as a trusted partner and advisor to both Member States and industry. EDF also works with industry partners to ensure their projects are scientifically sound and to minimize the impacts of marine fuels on the climate, human health and the environment. For more information, please visit: https://www.edf.org/reducing-shippings-climate-impact.
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With more than 3 million members, Environmental Defense Fund creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. To do so, EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships to turn solutions into action. edf.org
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Original text here: https://www.edf.org/media/imo-continues-work-net-zero-framework-path-global-action-shipping-decarbonization
[Category: Environment]
Environmental Defense Fund Opposes Reported Proposals to Weaken New York's Climate Law
NEW YORK, May 2 -- The Environmental Defense Fund posted the following news release on May 1, 2026:
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Environmental Defense Fund Opposes Reported Proposals to Weaken New York's Climate Law
EDF urges lawmakers to reject reported changes to the climate law that would delay pollution reductions, raise costs for constituents, and weaken the clean energy investments New Yorkers need now.
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ALBANY, N.Y. - This week, Environmental Defense Fund urged New York legislators to reject the latest reported proposed changes to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and advocate for a mandatory
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, May 2 -- The Environmental Defense Fund posted the following news release on May 1, 2026:
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Environmental Defense Fund Opposes Reported Proposals to Weaken New York's Climate Law
EDF urges lawmakers to reject reported changes to the climate law that would delay pollution reductions, raise costs for constituents, and weaken the clean energy investments New Yorkers need now.
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ALBANY, N.Y. - This week, Environmental Defense Fund urged New York legislators to reject the latest reported proposed changes to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and advocate for a mandatoryinterim emissions reduction target in 2040, near-term cap-and-invest regulations, increased funding for the Sustainable Future Fund, and stronger protections and investments for disadvantaged communities.
"Reported changes threaten the core integrity of New York's landmark climate law at a moment when state leadership to cut climate pollution and scale clean, affordable energy could not be more important," EDF wrote in the memo. "Environmental Defense Fund urges the Legislature to advance a counterproposal that ensures New York can continue to lead on clean, affordable energy, protect communities from health-harming air pollution, and reduce greenhouse gas pollution at the pace and scale necessary to confront the climate crisis."
Reported changes to the law could weaken enforceability of any emissions targets before 2050. An interim, mandatory emissions target in 2040 is essential to drive near- and medium-term emissions reductions to limit the worst impacts of climate pollution.
"Kicking New York's first pollution reduction target 14 years down the road and making it optional would only prolong our reliance on increasingly expensive fossil fuels, saddling New Yorkers with higher energy bills and more pollution." said Kate Courtin, Senior Manager, State Climate Policy & Strategy at Environmental Defense Fund. "The legislature must reject these changes that will cost their constituents and hold the line on mandatory interim pollution targets that will save lives and speed investment in clean, affordable energy solutions that New Yorkers need today."
The memo also emphasizes that a well-designed cap-and-invest program would deliver significant affordability and economic benefits, including average net savings of more than $1,000 for 85% of New York households over its first decade, while raising sustained revenue for clean energy, pollution reduction, and cost-saving investments in disadvantaged communities.
New Yorkers have already missed out on two full years of benefits from cap-and-invest, amounting to well over $3 billion in investments in energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, pollution reduction, and utility bill rebates. Regulations for cap-and-invest should be adopted by 2027 and reduce emissions on a declining trajectory consistent with science-based recommendations to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
New Yorkers deserve the cleaner air, lower energy bills, better health outcomes, and community benefits that the climate law promised. EDF urges lawmakers to preserve the integrity of New York's landmark climate law and advance an alternative proposal that meets the scale of the moment.
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With more than 3 million members, Environmental Defense Fund creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. To do so, EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships to turn solutions into action. edf.org
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Original text here: https://www.edf.org/media/environmental-defense-fund-opposes-reported-proposals-weaken-new-yorks-climate-law
[Category: Environment]
CAIR Welcomes Response From Rep. Ivey on Efforts to Secure Release of Md. Resident Kidnapped by Israeli Forces From Gaza Aid Flotilla
WASHINGTON, May 2 -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations posted the following news release on May 1, 2026:
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CAIR Welcomes Response from Rep. Ivey on Efforts to Secure Release of Md. Resident Kidnapped by Israeli Forces from Gaza Aid Flotilla
The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a response from U.S. Representative Glenn Ivey (MD-04) regarding efforts to secure the release of Dr. John Reuwer, a Prince George's County resident reportedly kidnapped after Israeli forces
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 2 -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations posted the following news release on May 1, 2026:
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CAIR Welcomes Response from Rep. Ivey on Efforts to Secure Release of Md. Resident Kidnapped by Israeli Forces from Gaza Aid Flotilla
The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a response from U.S. Representative Glenn Ivey (MD-04) regarding efforts to secure the release of Dr. John Reuwer, a Prince George's County resident reportedly kidnapped after Israeli forcesintercepted a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza.
In response to messages from community members, CAIR urged Rep. Ivey to take swift action following reports that Dr. Reuwer was among approximately 175 activists kidnapped by Israeli forces during the seizure of civilian vessels participating in an international humanitarian mission.
SEE: CAIR Md. Urges Rep. Glenn Ivey to Act to Secure Release of Retired Physician Kidnapped by Israeli Forces After Gaza Aid Flotilla Interception
In a statement to CAIR, Rep. Ivey's office said:
"Thank you for reaching out with your concerns regarding Dr. John Reuwer, a constituent who was traveling aboard one of the vessels in the flotilla seized earlier this week. Congressman Ivey's office is closely monitoring Dr. Reuwer's situation, remains in contact with his family, and is working with the appropriate authorities to secure his release and ensure his safe return home."
CAIR's Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry said:
"We welcome Congressman Ivey's engagement and support for Dr. Reuwer's immediate and safe release. The kidnapping of civilians participating in a humanitarian mission amid dire conditions imposed by Israel in Gaza raises serious legal and human rights concerns. We urge all members of Congress to use every available diplomatic and legislative tool to ensure the safe return of all detained flotilla participants, and to end the illegal siege and blockade of Gaza."
CAIR reiterated its call for transparency regarding the status and treatment of those kidnapped, and urged federal officials to prioritize their protection.
The organization reaffirmed its support for humanitarian efforts aimed at delivering aid to civilians in Gaza and called on policymakers to uphold international law and human rights protections.
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CAIR's mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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Original text here: https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-welcomes-response-from-rep-ivey-on-efforts-to-secure-release-of-md-resident-kidnapped-by-israeli-forces-from-gaza-aid-flotilla/
[Category: Sociological]
