http://www.forward.com/articles/main-anti-war-group-plans-rally-against/
Main anti-war group plans rally against Israeli policies
By Daniel Treiman
The Forward
February 2, 2007
The anti-war group behind the recent demonstration that
brought tens of thousands to Washington to protest the
Iraq War already has plans for another mass rally in
the nation's capital. This time, though, the target of
the protesters' ire will be Israel.
United for Peace and Justice, the convener of the
January 27 march, is joining with the U.S. Campaign to
End the Israeli Occupation to co-sponsor a two-day
"mobilization" in June, titled "The World Says No to
Israeli Occupation." The event will include a mass
rally, a "teach-in" and lobbying. It will mark the 40th
year since Israel's capture of the West Bank, Gaza and
East Jerusalem in June 1967.
"The purpose of the event is to hopefully call greater
attention both to the ongoing Israeli occupation of the
Palestinian territories, but also to call attention to
the role that the U.S. plays in supporting that, and
specifically the financial role, of course," said
UFPJ's national coordinator, Leslie Cagan.
The Jewish community has had an uneasy relationship
with the anti-war movement. While polls show that solid
majorities of American Jews now disapprove of the
decision to go to war in Iraq, most major Jewish groups
have been quiet on the issue. Many supporters of Israel
have been concerned that the anti-war movement has
become a vehicle for promoting the Palestinian cause to
a larger audience.
Josh Ruebner, grass-roots advocacy coordinator for the
U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, called
UFPJ's co-sponsorship of the June 10-11 mobilization
"very significant."
"The scale of what both of our coalitions are
attempting, I think, has never been attempted before on
the issue of Palestinian human rights in this country,"
he said.
But not all Iraq War critics are pleased by UFPJ's
activism on the Palestinian issue. Informed of the
group's plans for a rally criticizing Israel, Rep.
Jerrold Nadler, who appeared onstage at this weekend's
demonstration along with several other members of
Congress, said he was "very upset."
"I totally disagree with them on their view," the New
York Democrat said. "I obviously don't think the major
problem is the Israeli occupation, which would have
ended long ago if it weren't for the major problem,
which is the refusal of Hamas and the Palestinian
leadership generally to agree with the existence of
Israel."
UFPJ is a coalition of about 1,400 local and national
groups. It has successfully organized demonstrations
that have brought hundreds of thousands to the streets
to protest the Iraq War. Formed in 2002, UFPJ was
regarded within the nascent peace movement as an
alternative to the then-dominant anti-war coalition,
International Answer, which many believed was
controlled by the Workers World Party, a fringe Marxist
sect. Jewish groups, in particular, were alarmed by
International Answer's fervid anti-Israel rhetoric.
But UFPJ also has drawn accusations of extremism.
National coordinator Cagan, a veteran left-wing
activist, has been a particular lightning rod for
critics, who have accused her of being sympathetic to
Cuba's communist regime and of equivocating about the
Iraqi insurgency. In a 2003 interview with the Forward,
Cagan, former director of the Cuba Information Project,
called Fidel Castro "a very smart man who has worked
very hard to help organize his country in a way that he
thinks is valuable and positive." Asked in the same
interview about the then months-old Iraqi insurgency,
she said that UFPJ "doesn't have a position on that,
and personally I'm neither condemning them nor
applauding them."
The June mobilization will not be UFPJ's first foray
into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. UFPJ has
criticized Israeli actions repeatedly, adopting the
slogan "Occupation: Wrong in Iraq, Wrong in Palestine."
In 2004, UFPJ coordinated a national day of protests
against Israel's West Bank security barrier.
"I believe that historically the issue of Israel-
Palestine has been relegated to the sidelines or not
discussed at all by the larger peace and justice
movement in this country," Ruebner said. "I think that
that attitude and mind-set has changed a great deal
over the past five years, and that UFPJ has played a
role in bringing the issue of Palestine and Palestinian
human rights and U.S. support for Israeli occupation
into the mainstream of the discourse of the peace and
justice movement."
Cagan said that the June rally will likely be UFPJ's
largest action so far relating to Israel. She said,
however, that it would not be an anti-Israel event but
rather a protest against Israeli policies. She said
that UFPJ supports Israel's right to exist, although
the coalition's Palestine/Israel Just Peace Working
Group has stated that it "will not endorse a particular
solution [for peace], such as two states, one state,
the Geneva Initiative, the road map, etc.," since its
member groups have differing views on this issue.
***
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, February 04, 2007 6:25 PM
Subject: Don't forget to join us Monday and Tuesday
Please join us at Disney Hall either Monday or Tuesday, or both
evenings. We hope many of you will come out and light a candle in
support of a boycott of the Israel Philharmonic. We will provide signs
and candles. Greta Berlin for WIB LA
Women in Black-Los Angeles Invites You to Join Us
SILENT CANDLELIGHT VIGIL IN SUPPORT OF A
BOYCOTT OF THE ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC
WHEN: Monday Evening, February 5, 2007, from 6:30 to 8:00 P.M.
Tuesday Evening, February 6, 2007, from 6:30 to 8:00 P.M.
WHERE: DISNEY HALL (First Street and Grand, Downtown Los Angeles)
Disney Hall parking is closed so plan to park south of Disney Hall or
in the Music Center or other lots) WIB-LA will provide signs. Wear
black if you can. This is a silent vigil.
WHY: Palestinian and international civil society have asked
supporters worldwide to begin cultural and economic boycotts, along
with divestment and sanction campaigns to end Israel's Occupation of
Palestinian lands and to end Israeli Apartheid in Palestine. These
methods were part of the successful movement to end Apartheid in South
Africa.
Our letter to the Israel Philharmonic asking them to publicly oppose
Israel's occupation of Palestine was signed by nearly 1,000 groups and
prominent individuals, from former governmental officials to artists
and activists, all over the world. Since the Philharmonic did not
answer us, we are taking the next step of conducting vigils before
their concerts at Disney Hall on February 5 and 6.
See our letters to the Israel and L.A. Philharmonic orchestras on our
website at http://www.wib-la.org/
Why Boycott the Israel Philharmonic?
Palestinian and international civil society has asked supporters
worldwide to begin cultural and economic boycotts, along with
divestment and sanction campaigns. These methods were part of the
successful movement to end Apartheid in South Africa.
Zubin Mehta, the conductor of the Israel Philharmonic, calls it
"Israel's flagship." On its website, the Orchestra talks about its
role in playing for Israel's soldiers in the field and in celebrating
Israel's military victories.
The Orchestra, which is supported by the Israeli government, sees
itself as an instrument of its government's policies.
Those policies have imposed an Apartheid system on the Palestinians
living in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. This system is
maintained by a brutal military occupation. Within Israel, Palestinian
citizens of Israel face deeply discriminatory laws and practices.
We oppose Israeli Apartheid and oppose Israel's Occupation of
Palestine. Just as the international community imposed a cultural,
sports and economic boycott of South Africa in order to end Apartheid
there, we call for a similar boycott to end Israeli Apartheid.
Don't miss this unique opportunity to demonstrate your opposition to
Israel's occupation of Palestine.
Contact us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or at 323-993-3322
Endorsed by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, Campaign to End Israeli
Apartheid (CEIA), Middle East Fellowship of Southern California
###
----- Original Message -----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 10:20 AM
Subject: FYI: Jews for Jimmy (Carter) Petition
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/jewsforjimmy/
>From the petition: "President Jimmy Carter, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
for helping Israel and Egypt negotiate a lasting peace, is a perfect example
of a non-Jew who has no hatred of the Jewish people, but does have strong
and legitimate criticisms of Israeli policy. Debating the content of his
critique is expected and encouraged; attacking him as an anti-Semite, like
all similar attempts to demean and undermine the legitimacy of others with
strong criticisms of Israeli policies, must stop. We acknowledge the
tireless efforts of President Jimmy Carter to create a just and lasting
peace in the Middle East and do not subscribe to the notion that his book
Palestine: Peace or Apartheid constitutes a deviation from his undying
committment to peace. Debate: Good for the Jews. Careless use of the term
'anti-Semite': not good for the Jews."
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