Seven Years of Synagogue Vigils: Why We Still Do It
The above headline will serve as forum title for Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends’ public presentation on March 29th. Our event moderator will begin the evening with a 10-minute update of Israel’s criminal history, followed by 10-minute personal presentations from each of our five panelists, then we will wrap up with a half-hour Q&A. And no, Chuck*, you won’t have to fill out a three by five note card so that we can vet your question.
Our supporters are encouraged to bring a friend who may not understand why we continue to hold the Jewish community accountable for its support of Israel. We anticipate an audience that is curious, analytical, and aware of some of the Middle East events that appear in the news. Perhaps these folks could be described as “middle-of-the-roaders”, whose open minds will lead them to draw different conclusions about their current understanding of Palestinian resistance to Jewish power.
Free Speech Takes a Hit in Seattle
Since JWPF exercises our First Amendment rights every Saturday morning, we are keenly interested in any and every erosion of these rights. So we reported on December 18 on the violation of a written contract between King County Metro Transit and SMAC, the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign, to run political ads on some of their buses stating “Israeli War Crimes: Your Tax Dollars at Work”. Experiencing the onslaught of Jewish power, King County cried “Uncle!”, and reneged on their contractual responsibility.
Now, a preliminary injunction sought by SMAC, with support of the ACLU, has met a similar fate: U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones has denied the injunction, leaving free speech advocates speechless. Who knows what pressure the aggressive and vindictive Jewish community applied to hizzoner to get these results? The Seattle Times reports “County officials have suspended new noncommercial advertising while drafting a new policy.” So advertising tax preparation services, for example, is cool, but shedding a little light on Israeli war crimes, and the US government’s support of same? Fuhgettaboutit!
Double Digit Vigil
Yes, we broke into double digits last week, as ten activists took to the streets in front of the Zionist Beth Israel Congregation to continue to raise awareness of the atrocities committed by the Jewish state. Perhaps sensing a break from the cold and snow, we anticipate the return of others, and an infusion of some badly needed young blood into our organization.
Israel occupies Palestine, because Jews want the land
Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends
Comments on this report? Submit them @ https://blog.deiryassin.org/?p=428
* Chuck Warpehoski is Director of the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, a power-abusive group, which eliminated its Middle East Task Force for the crime of supporting Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions against Apartheid Israel in 2006.
