Mideast Just Peace

Fred Elmore of Suttons Bay will speak on his experiences and observations as a member of the Michigan Peace Team in the West Bank of Palestine. Wednesday February 17, 2010 at 7PM. Traverse Area District Library
All are invited. Opportunities for questions and discussion afterwards.
Sponsored by MidEast:JustPeace
See Fred’s blog: http://fredelmoreblog.blogspot.com/

The wall in Bethlehem.

Peace, Fred

Howard Zinn on Palestine: “[T]he advance of “civilization” involved what we would today call “ethnic cleansing.”

Howard Zinn, historian, activist, author of A People’s History of the United States, and advisory board member of US Campaign member group Jewish Voice for Peace, has died at the age of 87. His death is a great loss for all those involved in the struggle against U.S. militarism and violations of human rights.

Here is Zinn, writing in Tikkun Magazine about his developing understanding of Palestine and Israel (Tikkun is a member group of the US Campaign):

“It did not occur to me–so little did I know about the Middle East–that the establishment of a Jewish state meant the dispossession of the Arab majority that lived on that land. I was as ignorant of that as, when in school, I was shown a classroom map of American “Western Expansion” and assumed the white settlers were moving into empty territory. In neither case did I grasp that the advance of “civilization” involved what we would today call “ethnic cleansing.”….It was only after the “Six-Day War” of 1967 and Israel’s occupation of territories seized in that war (the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, the Sinai peninsula) that I began to see Israel not simply as a beleaguered little nation surrounded by hostile Arab states, but as an expansionist power….I had long since understood that the phrases “national security” and “national defense” were used by the United States government to justify aggressive violence against other countries. Indeed, there was a clear bond between Israel and the United States in their respective foreign polices, illustrated by the military and economic support the United States was giving to Israel…“

Check out today’s Democracy Now! special on Howard Zinn, and click here to find out how you can work against modern day ethnic cleansing made possible by the military and economic support the United States continues to give to Israel.

http://toshootanelephant.com/gallery

http://toshootanelephant.com/gallery

Global Screening of Film about Gaza / Monday January 25, 2010 at 6:30PM / Cuppa Joe Warehouse District in Traverse City. Gather at 5:30pm, plan to order your own dinner and/or attend free movie showing at 6:30 PM.

January 18 is the first anniversary of the end to Israel’s bombing of Gaza: a 23 day attack in which 1,412 Palestinians lost their lives. The documentary To Shoot an Elephant is an eyewitness account of those days. This direct and privileged narration confronts Israeli propaganda about what really happened in Gaza and exposes the silence of the international community.  More info: Toshootanelephant.com

TUESDAY DECEMBER 2, 2009: Meet at 5:30 in front of Horizon Bookstore in Traverse City.   Bring a candle,  any signs you wish, your commitment to oppose US imperialism and join us in the march.

On Tuesday, Dec. 2, the President is expected to announce a 30,000 troop increase for Afghanistan.  Join us in telling Washington that the citizens of the U.S. do not condone a continuation of imperialist, racist wars but need money for healthcare, education, the environment and jobs.

US out of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine! These struggles against US domination are beyond ever being defeated.

Check out US Campaign Steering Committee member Phyllis Bennis talking to Jared Sandersfeld of “Peace by Piece” about the Goldstone Report, international law, and the role of civil society in promoting accountability for human rights violations.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/phyllis-bennis-talks-to-peace-by-piece.html

On Wednesday, November 4, 2009 MidEast:JustPeace will host a dinner and movie screening of Robert Greenwald’s film RETHINK Afghanistan at the Warehouse Lounge behind Right Brain Brewery, Warehouse District in Traverse City.   Plan to buy your own dinner at 6PM. The movie will begin at  7PM.

This concerns raised by this film are urgent and timely. After eight years of U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan, violence and instability still prevail. When the problems facing Afghan society are economic, social and political in nature, RETHINK Afghanistan questions why ninety percent of U.S. funding in Afghanistan is directed toward military purposes. For more information: http://rethinkafghanistan.com

At the Bioneers Conference in Traverse City Saturday October 17, 2009
10:15 AM
Scholars Hall, Room 20
Palestinian resilience has kept alive traditions and practices of cooperative, fair trade agriculture and alternative home construction through much duress. Explore traditions and practices and learn concrete ways attendees can provide direct support from their home communities. This workshop will focus on Palestinian resilience from an environmental standpoint, including information on lobbying local businesses to carry Palestinian food products, starting local buying clubs, and placing economic pressure on the US and Israel to end disastrous practices. The three presenters, Marian Kromkowski, Gina Aranki, both founding members of Traverse For Peace and Jutice and MidEast:Just Peace, and Bronwyn Jones, a more recent participant in MidEast:Just Peace, will facilitate the discussion. Continue the conversation and organizing at a designated lunch table.

More info at http://www.glbconference.org

Monday June 29, 2009 at 7:30 PM at State Theater in Traverse City

Telling Strings is the very personal story of the Elias Jubran family who  remained on their land near the Galilee after the creation of the state of Israel. Swiss filmmaker Anne-Marie Haller’s 60-minute documentary provides a rare look into the profound workings of this Palestinian family of musicians. The film shows the intense interplay of music and politics in one of the world‘s most politically explosive regions and illustrates how powerful music can be in defining cultural identity.  The music of Kamilya Jubran, a member of Sabreen, a leading Jerusalem-based musical group will be featured.  http://www.kamilyajubran.com
Review: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10474.shtml

A scene from Telling Strings.

Also Easy, Easy, short film the same night………………

Set in rural Palestine in 1939 at the end of the Palestinian revolt against the British Mandate, Easy Easy follows a Palestinian farmer and his family whose traditional and stagnant lives get turned upside down when a Palestinian resistance fighter decides to hide out in their small farm home and brings revolutionary ideas into the family and challenges their traditional way of life.