Friday, April 27, 2007

WPnJ at the Peace Abbey

On Monday, the Walpole Peace and Justice Group held a planning meeting at the Peace Abbey in Sherborn. We all took a tour of the Abbey with Madeline:


The Abbey's courtyard features a monument to Emily (the cow) and a series of six walls covered with plaques containing statements of peace. It was a beautiful and warm evening, and we were able to enjoy the place with the setting sun.


An offering left at the monument to Emily.


Emily the cow escaped the slaughter-house by jumping a fence.


Madeline's Iraq War Casualties Project - each link in these paper chains has the name of an American soldier who has lost his or her life in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Links and Books on Israel-Palestine from John Spritzler

Here are some links to good books about the Israel/Palestine conflict.

Also, click here for links to my articles and books, many of which are about the Israel/Palestine conflict.

--John

BACKGROUND READING: PRO-ZIONIST AND ANTI-ZIONIST AUTHORS DISCUSS A JEWISH STATE

Articles by Pro- Zionist Authors:
Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001
by BENNY MORRIS

The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited (Cambridge Middle East Studies)
by Benny Morris


Morris describes the Israeli ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, but does not condemn it.

The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul
by Yoram Hazony

Hazony explains the anti-democratic foundation of a Jewish state. He also worries that many Israelis don't understand the importance of a Jewish state.

Perfidy
by Ben Hecht

Hecht supports the idea of a Jewish state, but was shocked to learn of the perfidy of Zionist leaders during WWII who betrayed European Jews for it's sake.

1949, The First Israelis
by Tom Segev , Arlen Neal Weinstein

I'm not sure if the authors consider themselves pro- or anti-Zionist, but they were the first to write the history of Israel's origin based on newly obtained archival records, and they challenged the pro-Zionist mythology.

Articles by Anti-Zionist Authors:

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine , by Ilan Pappe "This is a stunning and relentless collection of evidence. Pappe uses things such as military archives (opened in the 1990s), diary entries from Ben-Gurion, and oral histories from Hagana soldiers and Palestinians. He gives lengthy, village-by-village accounts of the destruction of homes and expulsion of residents. The expulsions were guided by files of the Jewish National Fund, which had been gathering intelligence data on the demographics of the villages for decades.

"It is hard to think of a book that is more opposite of a commonly accepted history than this one. According to Pappe, 1948 was not a desperate fight for survival by a surrounded Jewish enclave, it was a Zionist attack on the countryside. Most of the fighting stemmed from the Hagana's systematic destruction of 400 Palestinian villages. Most refugees were driven out BEFORE the main war started on May 15, 1948. Arab armies did intervene in a haphazard attempt to defend Palestinian sections (as set by the UN partition plan), but they were always out gunned, out numbered and out coordinated by the Hagana. Jordan, in particular, had a secret agreement with the Zionists to annex the West Bank in return for not joining an invasion of Israel. So the most effective Arab army, (and a Jordanian also commanded the pan-Arab "Arab Liberation Army") was not trying to destroy Israel, only protect its own designs on the West Bank and East Jerusalem." [a review on Amazon.com]

One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse, by Ali Abunimah "Clear-eyed, sharply reasoned, and compassionate, One Country proposes a radical alternative: to revive an old and neglected idea of one state shared by two peoples. Ali Abunimah shows how the two are by now so intertwined—geographically and economically—that separation cannot lead to the security Israelis need or the rights Palestinians must have. He reveals the bankruptcy of the two-state approach, takes on the objections and taboos that stand in the way of a binational solution, and demonstrates that sharing the territory will bring benefits for all. The absence of other workable options has only lead to ever greater extremism; it is time, Abunimah suggests, for Palestinians and Israelis to imagine a different future and a different relationship" [from Amazon.com]

Sharing the Land of Canaan by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, who proposes for the region, one single multi-cultural state, in which the rights of all peoples of the region, Muslim, Christian and Jew, are respected and preserved, and those who have been displaced and disenfranchised be granted the right, under the United Nations Charter, and principles of humanitarian justice, to return to their homeland.

The One-State Solution: A Breakthrough for Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Deadlock, by Virginia Q. Tilley

The One-State Solution by Edward Said (January 10, 1999)

Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years, by Israel Shahak

Apartheid Israel : Possibilities for the Struggle Within by Uri Davis

Davis describes in detail how the Israeli government officially discriminates against non-Jews and denies them their human rights.

FATEH - Palestinian Liberation Movement Palestine, 1/12/2003

This Palestinian organization position paper rejects the two-state "solution" and calls for "Return First, and Peace for Two Nations in One State"

Karma Nabulsi is a fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford, a former PLO representative and adviser at the peace talks 91-93

Nabulsi reports, "Across the board, from the mainstream political parties as well as from the refugee camps, the petitions and the declarations have flooded in. Just read any half-dozen and you see immediately that they are unequivocal. For the absolute majority of the Palestinian people, the refugee issue is right at the core of the conflict, and it has to be addressed .."

What Price Israel? 50th Anniversary Edition 1953-2003
by Alfred M. Lilienthal

Lilienthal examines the controversial origin of a Jewish state.

51 Documents: Zionist Collaboration With the Nazis
by Lenni Brenner

Brenner has collected primary source documents revealing the collaboration between Zionist leaders and Nazis during WWII, based on their agreement that Jews and non-Jews could not live together in the same nation.

Dignity, Solidarity and the Penal Colony by Edward Said (September 25, 2003)

Zionism is the Issue: Building a Strong Pro-Palestinian Movement In the US By Lana Habash and Noah Cohen

Look Upon Your Works, Ye Israel, And Despair by Anne Gwynne

Sigmund Freud's letter to Dr. Chaim Koffler, 1930

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Is Jimmy Carter Right on Israel?

The Walpole Peace and Justice Group (WPJG) is sponsoring a talk by John Spritzler, "Is Jimmy Carter Right on Israel?" He will examine former President Carter's controversial book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," and address the question: "Does Israel practice apartheid policies?" Mr. Spritzler will describe the history and issues behind the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and propose avenues for a peaceful solution.

Mr. Spritzler is an author: "The People as Enemy: The Leaders' Hidden Agenda in World War II" and co-author of "On the Public Agenda: Essays for Change". He is also a Research Scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health and a founding member of New Democracy. This WPJG talk will be held at the Walpole Public Library on Tuesday, April 3rd at 7:30 PM. The public is invited to come and consider an issue that is critical to achievement of peace in the Middle East.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Peace Vigil 4th Anniversary of Iraq War in Walpole

Please join us for a peace vigil on Saturday, March 17 to mark the 4th Anniversary of the Iraq war and to remember the U.S. and Iraqi dead. We will be joining groups across the country in calling on the U.S. to end this disastrous war and bring our country’s troops home to safety. This war, which should never have been started, has caused four years of death and destruction. A 60-foot banner with the names of many of the more than 3,100 U.S. solders killed in the war will be displayed. We may also have a chain of rings with all 3,100+ names. Seeing the actual names of our dead is sobering as we reflect on the terrible human cost of this war. Over 22,000 other solders have been wounded, many with serious debilitating injuries. Iraqi civilian casualties are estimated to be as high as 600,000. The high financial cost of the war is placing a huge burden on the U.S. budget and will continue to do so for decades, limiting funds available for human needs. The direct cost through 2008 will be over $500 billion just for Iraq or about $1,700 for every man, woman, and child in the U.S. The total cost will exceed $2 trillion.

A moment of silence with prayers will be held along with the reading of representative names of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed in the war. The vigil will be held on the Walpole Common, across from the Post Office, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon. Please attend for all of part of the vigil.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Walpole PnJ Events for March

Below is a schedule of Walpole Peace and Justice Group Events for March as well as a talk at Blessed Sacrament by Sheila Provencher on her first hand experiences in Baghdad.

March 3, 2007: Walpole Peace and Justice Group Vigil on the Walpole Common to protest the Iraq war, 10:00 to 11:00 AM

March 4, 2007: Sheila Provencher will speak about her experiences working in Baghdad with Christian Peacemaker Teams. Sponsored by Blessed Sacrament Church, the talk will be held in the Blessed Sacrament School Auditorium, Route 27, Walpole, starting at 7:00 PM. Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical organization dedicated to the reduction of violence and to human rights in areas of armed conflict around the world.

March 6, 2007: Walpole Peace and Justice Group Speaker Series - "Venezuela - What a Real Democracy Looks Like" by Paul Peckham. Paul, a member of the group, has just returned from a Global Exchange Reality Tour and will report on his first hand view of Venezuela and the Hugo Chavez presidency. While the Bush administration has been critical of Venezuela, the Chavez administration has embarked on a program to improve the basic social services for people. Paul’s talk will describe the major areas of social reform such as universal health care, free college education, government support for coops and small businesses, and land reform. He will describe what Venezuelans call "participatory democracy" in which the average citizen is involved in all levels of government, from the local to the national. He will also cover the Bush administration's involvement in the coup in 2002 to oust Hugo Chavez as President and the ongoing campaign by the Bush administration to discredit Chavez’s administration. The public is invited.

March 17, 2007: Walpole Peace and Justice Group Vigil on the Walpole Common marking the 4th Anniversary of the war in Iraq. 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon AM. We will be protesting this disastrous war by observing the 4th anniversary of the start as well as commemorating the American and Iraqi dead.

For the Walpole Peace and Justice Group
Philip

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Other Events at the Walpole Library

The Peace and Justice Group is happy to help spread the word about two seminars on the topics of "The Middle East" and "Climate Change" being organized by the Friends of the Walpole Public Library and the Boston College Lifelong Learning Institute. The seminars will present "compact discussions" from the Great Decisions course offered at the Institute. These are free and open to the public on a first come basis.

The Middle East Pt 1: Thursday, March 15, 7-9pm
The Middle East Pt 2: Thursday, April 5, 7-9pm

Climate Change Pt 1: Thursday, April 12, 7-9pm
Climate Change Pt 2: Thursday, April 26, 7-9pm

You can sign up or get more information at the Main Desk, or call (508) 660-7340.

Links from The Ground Truth Screening

Here are some links from tonights discussion following the screening of "The Ground Truth". First, here is the article from last Sunday's Globe about the Iraq War veteran who could not get medical services and committed suicide:


Told to wait, a Marine dies


And here is the obituary that Dottie wanted to share with everyone:

Cynthia Foster, at 99; was rebel against war


If you can think of other folks in the area who might want to attend a screening this Thursday, MoveOn is sponsoring a number of events that night:

Search MoveOn for screenings on Feb 15th