JWPF Adopts Bus Stop

Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends has adopted a bus stop under the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority’s (AATA) “Adopt-a-Stop” program. The stop pictured below is located at 2000 Washtenaw, which happens to be the same address as Beth Israel Congregation — talk about luck! Since we will be there at least once a week, we have fulfilled our duties to maintain and police the area for about three weeks now. Thought we’d share this new information with our supporters.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~hersko/Photos/AdoptaStop.jpg

Jewish-led Peace Groups Disappoint (Again)

Our Jewish friends at the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) and at the Middle East Children Alliance (MECA) again advise us to “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain” as they once again shield – whether intentionally or not – the Jewish community from criticism. The same Jewish community that unabashedly has supported the ethnic cleansing of Palestine for 64 years, and “celebrates” this genocide. The same Jewish community of which they are a part. There is room on the sidewalk for IJAN and MECA to join us. Why don’t they?

On IJAN’s invitation to “commemorate the Nakba”, the crimes of Jewish gangs in support of the violent creation of a Jewish state are conveniently whitewashed. If Jews themselves do not hold their own community accountable for the support it offers Apartheid Israel, who else will? As Jews, no one is better positioned to perform this task than they, yet they refuse. And we ask: Why?

Last Chance to Join our Protest

We still need two more volunteers to hoist our 30-foot flag for Sunday’s protest. Our excellent rigging system should assure that superhuman strength will not be required, so we look forward to many volunteers. From our flyer we note:

Where: The Jewish Community Center
2935 Birch Hollow Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48108
When: Sunday, May 20, 2012
Time: Noon – 5pm

Directions from I-94 and State St:
North on State to Eisenhower
East (right) on Eisenhower to Stone School Road
Right on Stone School Road to Birch Hollow Drive
Right on Birch Hollow Drive to 2935

We also mention that folks attending our protest will also have time to attend the “Nakba Commemoration” at the Dearborn Hyatt Regency at 6:00 pm (Our protest ends at 5:00 and the Hyatt is 45 minutes away). Call 313-945-9660 for ticket purchases for this event.

JWPF in AnnArborChroncle.com

Reporter Dave Askins once again reports on our presentation to City Council on May 7. He writes:

Comm/Comm: Warpehoski’s Ward 5 Candidacy
Henry Herskovitz said that the report that the director of the Interfaith Council on Peace and Justice had entered the race for the Ward 5 seat on city council had come as a shock to members of the former ICPJ Middle East task force. [Herskovitz didn’t name the director, but he was referring to Chuck Warpehoski.] Under the leadership of Warpehoski, Herskovitz said, the task force was summarily disbanded by the ICPJ’s board of directors. The task force had voted unanimously in 2006 to support the Palestinian call for boycotts, divestments and sanctions against Israel. Herskovitz attributed the disbanding of the task force to a few powerful supporters of Israel on the ICPJ board of directors. The task force, Herskovitz continued, had sought to resolve the dispute with outside professional mediation. Herskovitz characterized the board’s action, supported by Warpehoski, as overrunning democratic procedures. Voters in Ward 5 deserve representation by someone who embraces democratic ideals, Herskovitz concluded.

Comments?

Six Vigilers
“Mourn the dead and fight like hell for the living” – Mother Jones
Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends