GRABER FOR CONGRESS ; GRABER FOR CYPRUS, ARMENIA, KOSOVO


“Regarding Cyprus. I believe the invasion of Cyprus by the Turkish  Government was not justified and was a land grab. The poor treatment of Cypriots of Greek ancestry was an abomination. The  U.S. policy of non interference was also a mistake. If Turkey  wants to be a NATO nation it needs to respect the territorial rights of it's neighbors. As a Congressman I will work to strengthen adherence to these principles. I will work for a diplomatic resolution of these issues. Further inclusion of Turkey in NATO and economic Euro trade would depend on these changes. I would welcome the support of the Hellenic movement.
Best regards.

Ben Graber”


(Letter from Congressional candidate Dr. Ben Graber to HOUGA Hellenic Organization of University Graduates of America, 12 Dec 2007)

For Immediate Release: December 19, 2007

Contact: Nikolaos Taneris Tel. 1-917-699-9935


WASHINGTON,--Who is Ben Graber, the man running against Robert Wexler?

Early 2007, Ben Graber announced his decision to run against Congressman Robert Wexler in the Florida 19th Congressional district Democrat primary. The 19th district is a safe Democrat seat, however, Wexler never had a challenger -- Republican, Democrat, or Independent-- in recent years. The 19th district includes the city of Boca Raton, Florida with a sizeable Greek American and Armenian American population. St. Mark’s Greek Orthodox Church is located in Boca Raton. What makes this race so important for Greek Americans, Armenian Americans, Serbian Americans, and human rights activists?

Robert Wexler was elected in 1996 in a four way race in the Democrat primary. Graber ran in that primary and ended up losing because three others ran which split the vote. As Wexler became involved in foreign affairs within Congress, he became a member of the House Turkish Caucus (the original pro-Turkish faction in Congress). Now, he is a co-chair and co-founder of the Turkish Congressional Caucus which has risen to around 70 members of Congress as of December 2007. Since the Democrats took over in 2006, Robert Wexler (D-19-FL) has since then been the chair of the Subcommittee on Europe in the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Cyprus

Wexler’s record is abysmal. His staffer flew illegally into the Tymbou airport in Occupied Cyprus in August of 2005 with a Turkish sponsored congressional trip which included pro-Turkish congressman Edward Whitfield (R-KY). The trip ignored international law because the legal entry points of Cyprus are through Nicosia, Paphos, Larnaca, or Limassol.

Wexler in an April 10, 2006 CNN Turk interview in Ankara said, “America also has an important role to play in the context of Cyprus. We need to step up our efforts to convince Europe to end the economic isolation of the northern part of Cyprus. We need to develop even more direct contacts between America and the Turkish Cypriots. “
During a German Marshall Fund talk on April 12, 2006 in Ankara, Turkey in 2006, Wexler said, “"I think the United States has made a historical error in permitting the Cyprus dilemma to be characterized for decades in the way it has been characterized. When I visited Cyprus for the first time, I was floored by what I saw and experienced in terms of the demonization of Turkey when the facts on the ground suggest something very different.
Unfortunately, most people in the U.S. don't know anything about Cyprus. Those that do will often understand it to be a Turkish attack, and not a response to a historical effort to unify Cyprus with Greece.”

Recently, Wexler became Chair of the House Subcommittee of Europe, following the Democrat take over of the House of Representatives in the 2006. It is policy by many Chairs to take a neutral stance on issues. For example, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) cosponsored H.R.857 (American-Owned Property In Occupied Cyprus Claims Act) in 2005 in the 109th Congress. When Lofgren became Chair of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Court, Claims, in 2007 for the 110th Congress, she did not cosponsor the same H.R. 1456(American-Owned Property in Occupied Claims Act) because that bill was also referred to her subcommittee. Although Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) supports the Armenian Genocide, she did not cosponsor H.Res. 106 because as Speaker of the House she has a policy to not cosponsor legislation.

Wexler in a March 2007 Subcommittee hearing on US-Turkish Relations said, “the amount of Turkish troops in Cyprus is overexaggerated”. According to Congressional sources, Wexler blocked any attempt to mark up H.Res. 405 in the Subcommittee of Europe. H.Res. 405 expresses support for the July 8, 2006 accord as a move forward to solve the Cyprus occupation which was agreed by Mehmet Talat and President Papadopoulos. Eventually, Congressman Lantos bypassed Wexler to pass this important resolution.

Armenian Genocide Denial and Kosovo Independence

During 2007, Wexler led the fight to defeat H.Res. 106, the Armenian Genocide Resolution, in the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing of October 10, 2007. He strongly persuaded his colleagues not to pass this resolution so as not to offend Turkey, an alleged U.S. ally. "It is clear that America can ill afford to lose the support of an ally as important as Turkey at this critical juncture," said Wexler. At the end of October, Wexler held a press conference with John Murtha (D-PA), John Tanner (D-TN), and Alcee Hastings (D-FL) urging House members not to pass the Armenian Genocide recognition resolution, because he claimed it would harm US troops in Incirlik Airbase. Turkey threatened the US by threatening to invade Northern Iraq if it passed this resolution. What happened? Turkey ,in recent days has led bomb strikes inside Northern Iraq regardless of the Armenian Genocide recognition resolution being passed or not.


On Kosovo, Wexler said he supports Kosovo independence to show the Muslim World that the US is their friend. He said this in a March 2007 Committee hearing on Kosovo. Yet, what is odd is that Wexler is a member of the Serbia Caucus in Congress and yet he takes an anti-Serbian position by supporting Kosovo Albanian independence.

Ben Graber Runs for Truth and Justice

Graber, who is Jewish and the son of Holocaust survivors, called Wexler an "embarrassment" to the Jewish community for opposing a resolution in the House of Representatives that recognizes the killing and deportation of Armenians under the Ottoman Turkish Empire as genocide.

Graber in a statement recently said, “I believe the invasion of Cyprus by the Turkish Government was not justified and was a land grab. The poor treatment of Cypriots of Greek ancestry was an abomination. The U.S. policy of non interference was also a mistake. If Turkey wants to be a NATO nation it needs to respect the territorial rights of its neighbors.”

Regarding Kosovo, he states it’s wrong to support Kosovo independence And says it was wrong for Serbia to be bombed. He says that Kosovo is part of Serbia.

Who is Ben Graber?

Ben Graber was born in Kassel, Germany and immigrated to the US in 1949. He is the son of Holocaust survivors. He was raised in New York City.

Ben Graber is a practicing physician in Gynecology and Obstretrics. However, Graber is a former Florida State Representative (1988-1996). He was elected to the Broward County Commission in 2000 and served as Mayor in November 2005. He ran unsuccessfully in a four man race for the Democrat primary in 1996 for U.S. Congress.

According to Graber's campaign website, he has a successful track record as State Representative. While he was a Florida state Representative, he was a prime sponsor of a 1993 bill that reformed insurance in Florida. He sponsored a bill in 1996 that improved the Florida Medicaid system. During these years, he was Deputy Majority Leader, Chair of the Health Committee, and Chair of the Broward Legislative Delegation.

As County Commissioner, he was the only one who voted against the new voting machines in 2001 due to their lack of paper trail. He led the effort to open the Port of Ft. Lauderdale to competition, which brought millions of dollars to Broward County.

In 2006, he led a trade delegation to China 2006 which secured multimillion dollar port services and tourism deals for the county. Graber led the clean up effort after Hurricane Wilma.

Robert Wexler has shown his true face in denying the truth on human rights issues. Ben Graber demonstrates a fresh voice with political experience and leadership. The Greek Americans in Florida and the USA have a chance to support a man who speaks out for truth and human rights, and is not a defender of Turkey’s violation of human rights in Cyprus.


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Cyprus Action Network of America (CANA)
2578 Broadway #132
New York, NY 10025
New York: Tel. 917-699-9935
Email: cana@cyprusactionnetwork.org
www.cyprusactionnetwork.org
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The Cyprus Action Network of America (CANA) is a grass-roots, not-for-profit movement created to support genuine self-determination and human rights for the people of Cyprus.


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