The Reverend Ed Pinkney Stands With JWPF
The Reverend Ed Pinkney, fighting a battle of land theft and appropriation in Benton Harbor, came to stand with members of JWPF, who protest the theft and appropriation of Palestinian land. Whirlpool Corporation and Harbor Shores are the aggressors in Benton Harbor, and European and American Jews are the aggressors in Palestine. Ed and I share the belief that people of conscience ought to band together in common cause: No to genocide in Palestine; No to injustice in Benton Harbor.
We have a few “mild” signs in our stash, and these were offered to Ed and his wife, because of the first time nature of their visit. No way, said Ed, and picked up “Our Tax Dollars Should Not Support Genocide” sign. Then, in typical Pinkney fashion, he started barking out orders about how we should face the traffic. I’m sure, if you look up the word “fireplug” or “freedom fighter” in your lexicon, you’ll most likely see a picture of Ed Pinkney. We celebrated his appearance by an after-vigil meal at a local Arab restaurant, then said goodbye to our Guest Celebrity Vigilers.
And did we mention that Ed boosted our attendance to 12?* The first time JWPF has seen double digits since last March. Here’s our group photo:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~hersko/Photos/Ed%20Pinkney%20Visit/CIMG1592.JPG
An interesting sideline: We wonder why the People’s Tribune refuses to cover Palestine, when they so thoroughly cover Ed’s battle for stolen land in Benton Harbor. [See “Zionists Have a Friend in the People’s Tribune“, from our 08-07-10 Report] Even in their September edition, they accurately quote Larry Pinkney (from Minnesota and no relation to Ed), who spoke at the Harbor Shores opening day protest. Larry exhorted the crowd to rise together to fight the common enemy. “I want to see unity. We must have unity. Black, white, red, brown, yellow. You must link the issues. It’s all about divide and conquer. We will not be divided and Lord knows we will not be conquered.”
So how about it, People’s Tribune? If the Pinkneys can see the worth in uniting common struggles, why can’t you print articles about US-backed Jewish land theft in Palestine?
Jerusalem Quartet Protest Plans Begin
OK, we now know the date, time and place of the protest, which is called by Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends:
Date: Thursday, October 21, 2010
Place: Rackham Auditorium, North University Street, Main Campus
Time: Protest starts at 7:00pm, will go till 8:30. Concert starts at 8:00
Note: There are two entrances to Rackham, affording high visibility to protesters, so we need people to hold signs at both locations.
And we know the names of the Boycott-Breakers (one’s a substitute):
Alexander Pavlosky, violin
Sergey Bressler, violin
Amichai Grosz, viola
Kyril Zlotnikov, cello
Guy Ben-Ziony, viola
What we don’t know at present is who in this group is currently serving in the Israeli Occupation Forces, who is in the Reserves, and who is not serving. Any material in this regard will be helpful to us, please contact this writer to advise.
Israel: A Jewish – not a Zionist – State
Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends
* Also present was former college roommate L, who chatted us up, and joined the luncheon – thanks!
