Forum Draws Forty People

Our forum, “Seven Years of Synagogue Vigils: Why We Still Do It,” played to a receptive audience this week. Approximately forty people, including a strong showing from the Unitarian Universalists and Dearborn communities, witnessed five presentations, followed by a Q&A period.

This writer attempted to explain the origin of the vigils, and why Beth Israel Congregation remains a legitimate venue for protest. Vigiler L gave a detailed accounting of how taxes collected from US citizens are used to oppress the Palestinian people, as well as other peoples suffering under Zionist-sponsored dictators in the Middle East. Vigiler M presented a long list of war crimes committed by “Israel”, Vigiler S explained what a “nice Jewish boy” was doing protesting at a synagogue, and Vigiler T expressed shock at the behavior of a Jewish state which was acting in a manner which he described as a betrayal of Jewish morality.

Thanks go out to our sound technician, panel moderator, and four members of the Michigan Peace Team, who took time out of their busy schedule to provide a peaceful presence.

Islamic Verse Versus the Vigils

Our friend Mo (we will protect his real name from a potential Jewish onslaught) claims to understand the source of Imam Dawud Walid’s charge that our non-violent vigils are “un-Islamic”. He writes:

From the Islamic viewpoint on insulting other religions and their religious symbols, Allah (God) commands believers not to engage in any of this. The following verse in the Holy Qur’an makes it very clear:

“And (O Believers), do not revile those whom they invoke besides Allah lest they should, in their ignorance, revile Allah.” 6:108

A different translation: “And insult not those whom they (disbelievers) worship besides Allah, lest they insult Allah wrongfully without knowledge.”

We tend to agree with our Muslim sister S, who claims this passage is a misapplication of the teachings of the Prophet, and suggested to Mo that our actions – protesting in front of a synagogue – do not revile or insult either the god or the religion of Judaism (although there’s a disturbing overlap between Judaism and Zionism). If anything, the death-dealing Zionist ideology and practices of Beth Israel Congregation are the real insult to God. By contrast, our vigils challenge the Congregation’s support for Israel, praying to the State and its soldiers, taking children there to be indoctrinated in Zionist ideology, etc.

We also received this comment from Brighton, UK:

I think the question when challenging any community in the way you do is: How much power do they have, and how much damage could they do if not restrained. At the moment I think Muslims have relatively little power in relation to their numbers. The West is rightly aware that this could change in the future, but we’re not there yet. … Jews, on the other hand, have a grossly disproportionate amount of power in relation to their numbers, and the damage they can inflict is huge. Challenging their power in ways like [JWPF’s] therefore seems fully justified.

Comments continuing this dialogue will be moderated at https://blog.deiryassin.org/?p=457 Please feel free to submit your opinion…

Six Vigilers
Building walls is necessary because Jews want the land
Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends

Vigils Debated in Arab American News Article

Two weeks ago we reported that the Washtenaw Jewish News published, in their March edition, the opinion of Imam Dawud Walid that our vigils are “Un-Islamic”. Arab American News reporter Nick Meyer followed up with a short phone interview with this writer, and assembled an informative “dialogue” between the participants. At the core of the article lies Walid’s claim that Muslims would be “hypocrites” if they were to condemn mosque protests while “endors[ing]” it in front of other places of worship. We believe he conflates tactics and legitimate reasons for protest by doing this, and attempt to point that out in the article. Full article follows signature.

City Council Reminded to Attend Forum

From the Ann Arbor Chronicle, reporting on City Council Meeting Monday, March 21, 2011,

Henry Herskovitz addressed the council with two items he said he thinks will help promote peace in Palestine: (1) passing a human rights resolution for the cessation of military aid to Israel; and (2) his group’s forum to be held on March 29 at 7 p.m. at the Mallets Creek branch of the Ann Arbor District Library. He told the council that they might think it was risky to challenge the local Jewish community, but he gave them an example of a food co-op in Olympia, Wash. that had passed a boycott of Israeli goods, and had become stronger as a result of it.

Herskovitz told the council that he’d joined the Olympia food co-op and and showed them a picture of himself standing in front of the co-op.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~hersko/Photos/Co-op%20lg.JPG

He told councilmembers that standing for social justice can, in fact, have an impact. He quoted Rosie the Riveter from World War II: “We can do it!” He asked council members to “shed past acrimonies” and to attend the Mallets Creek forum on March 29.

Readers can view video of presentation at
http://a2govtv.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=a4c91dac84c3f7c5357b3426d46f473c

[forward to 00:33:00]

One Final Reminder

“Seven Years of Synagogue Vigils: Why We Still Do It” – A Panel Forum on our efforts to raise awareness of Israeli atrocities and Palestinian dispossession

Date: Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Time: 7:00 – 8:30PM
Place: Mallets Creek Branch, Ann Arbor District Library
3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Flyer here

Six Vigilers
Are Jewish Peace Activists Confronting Jewish Racism?
Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends
Comments on this report? Submit them at https://blog.deiryassin.org/?p=452
#

http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=Community&article=4013

Since 2001, Henry Herskovitz and his friends from the Jewish Witnesses for Peace organization have held peaceful demonstrations in Ann Arbor to spread awareness about Israel’s inhumane, internationally illegal occupation and alleged war crimes against Palestinians.

Herskovitz and his group have also held peaceful weekly protests at Beth Israel Congregation in Ann Arbor each Saturday for the last seven years, pledging to stop in exchange for the synagogue’s removal of the Israeli flag inside. A prayer is also said for Israel at the synagogue as well, according to Herskovitz.

The vigils were debated at a January discussion titled “Can I Get Some Respect? Flashpoints and Controversies On Religious Freedom,” at the Ann Arbor Public Library, during which Imam Dawud Walid of the Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit, who is also the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Michigan, was quoted in the Washtenaw Jewish News as saying that he denounced the vigils.

Walid referred to numerous incidents of harassment suffered by Muslim congregations around the country as part of the reasoning behind his denunciation of the synagogue vigils.

“We at CAIR-MI have expressed numerous times throughout the year our issues with people protesting in front of mosques on our most holy day and even badgering children,” Walid said in an interview last week.

“We’d be hypocrites to say it’s not civil in front of mosques yet to endorse it taking place at other houses of worship.”

Walid said that he and his group stand behind Palestine but not the methods of the demonstrators in Ann Arbor. He said that a member of JWP told him only a few others had joined their vigils over the years.

“We believe in the First Amendment and we are definitely against the illegal occupation by the Israeli regime of Arab lands, however there’s a time and place for everything and it would not be fitting for us as Muslims to protest in front of Jewish synagogues on the Sabbath day, there’s nothing in the example of Muhammad and the imams of his household to justify such behavior.”

Herskovitz said that it was “unfortunate” that Walid made the remarks and said that approximately 9 out of 10 people passing by support their message. He said many people in the area have expressed that they are “tired of paying for Israeli crimes with U.S. tax dollars.”

He also said that the synagogue has funded programs that sent kids to Israel to pose with armed soldiers in military vehicles and have shown their support for Israeli military actions against Arab countries in other ways.

Herskovitz added that he believed the numerous hate-filled protests in front of mosques and other Islamic events came about for different reasons.

“I think he’s talking about misinterpretations of Islam and it’s highly regrettable that people would use those misconceptions to launch a protest in front of a mosque. I am aware of the rise of Islamophobia and I find it highly regrettable,” he said.

“I would say that if a mosque was a Zionist mosque, as strange as that may sound, I would certainly not attack a group for protesting in front of such a mosque; we have protested in front of Zionist churches and synagogues before.”

Walid said he believes that other forms of protest would be more effective.

“For activists regarding the Palestinian issue my sincere advice is that they need to start thinking about the long-term good instead of things that make them feel good, that’s the fundamental issue at hand.”

Herskovitz said he believes the vigils have been effective, however.

“I have heard (criticism) for seven years and during that time I have yet to see a tactic that is as effective politically and media-wise that matches our vigils; if I were shown a better way I would do it,” he said.

Heard on the Road

Mazin Qumsiyeh, Professor at Bethlehem University, gave an excellent presentation this week on non-violent resistance in Palestine, and documented a full history of non-violent actions from 1939 onward. He noted that after the expulsion of Palestinians in 1948 (al-Nakba), that orders were given to shoot Palestinians attempting to return to their homes. Indeed, 3,000 were shot, but he pointed out that 20-30,000 did successfully return. He reported on the non-violent, ongoing protests in the town of al-Walaja, which is being split by Israel’s apartheid wall, and reported that due to that wall and Israeli-created “Concentration Areas”, Jewish-only roads and the presence of vast, illegal settlements, only 8.3% of Mandate Palestine remains.

Asked to comment on Netanyahu’s demand that Palestinians recognize Israel’s “right” to exist as a Jewish state, Mr. Qumsiyeh responded, “Nonsense!” He pointed out that white South Africa demanded the same thing of the majority black population, and that “99.999%” of Palestinians reject Netanyahu’s demand.

What struck this writer, however, was a comment from a white male, who disagreed with Mazin’s call for non-violent resistance. After describing the 1967 attack on the USS Liberty, and the impact of the Jewish-dominated American media, he claimed that all Jews should be killed. One of the event’s organizers quickly and correctly pointed out that this man’s comment was personal, and did not reflect the feelings of the community. But the comment was made. We can ignore it as the ravings of an angry racist, or we can try to understand the underlying anger that caused such a comment.

Because certainly, there exists the possibility that he exemplifies a number of people who agree with him but never vocalize their feelings. The question: “Do Jews have too much power in America?” is a question that almost never gets asked, and maybe it should. In protesting at the synagogue, the message of Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends is one of reform, not vilification. Our original goal was to convince congregants that supporting the Jewish state was counter to Jewish interests, and had deadly effects on our Palestinian brothers and sisters. If Jews are seen as intransigent supporters of apartheid, if they are seen as manipulating US foreign policy (ref: authors Mearsheimer and Walt), if they are seen as too influential in the media, Hollywood (ref: writers Neal Gabler, Joel Stein), Wall Street and other avenues of influence in American life, then maybe we need to listen to those who are critical of this influence and intransigence, and allow true dialogue to happen.

Resistance in Palestine

Mazin also commented on the weekly protest in the village of Bi’lin, now in its seventh year. Protest leader Iyad Burnat reports that the Israeli Occupation Forces were firing tear gas canisters directly “at the protesters’ heads, rather than up in the air” at this Friday’s protest. He reports that five non-violent protesters were injured, as the crowd was attacked with tear gas canisters, rubber coated bullets, sound bombs and chemical spray.

Support for Bahrain

This writer attended a demonstration for the people of Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, and others demanding democratic reforms in the Middle East. The demonstration was held Friday at a public park in downtown Detroit. See photo below.

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

Reminder

“Seven Years of Synagogue Vigils: Why We Still Do It”

Date: Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Time: 7:00 – 8:30PM
Place: Mallets Creek Branch, Ann Arbor District Library
3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Event flyer here

Double Digit Vigil (10)
Boycott, Divest, Sanction Israel
Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends
Comments on this report? Submit them @ https://blog.deiryassin.org/?p=446

JWPF Invites City Council to Forum

Vigiler S took to the podium last Monday to invite Ann Arbor City Council members to our Open Forum on March 29th. From Thursday’s Ann Arbor Chronicle we read:

S told the council he’d been working a long time against the genocide of the Palestinian people, which he said began in 1948. He allowed that here locally, it’s difficult to have an impact on the issue. However, he noted that the mayor and councilmembers often attend an annual fundraiser held by the Jewish Federation, which he said helps fund the continued genocide of the Palestinian people.

He also noted that he was a member of an organization that had been the subject of a city council resolution that had condemned that organization’s activities. [The group to which S was referring demonstrates every Saturday outside a local synagogue, holding signs that typically call for actions like divestment of U.S. funds from Israel.]

When members of his group had addressed the council, councilmembers did not listen, he said, but instead worked on their computers.

On one occasion, a councilmember had turned their back on the speaker. [The councilmember S meant was Joan Lowenstein, who no longer serves on the council. She had swiveled her chair around during the public commentary.] His group had asked for the city’s human rights commission to pass a resolution, but subsequently, that commission had been reorganized, he said.

S concluded by inviting the mayor and the council to attend a presentation on March 29, at 7 p.m. at the Mallets Creek Library.

http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/03/10/beyond-pot-development-liquor-parks/

JWPF Under Attack from Strange Quarters

In 2009-10, the Washtenaw Jewish News mounted a one-sided, unjournalistic campaign against our vigils, and this month’s issue represents no exception. In what appears to be an odd move, they quote Imam Dawud Walid as claiming “Synagogue protest ‘un-Islamic’“. We see this as odd, because as the Washtenaw Jewish News employs one Muslim voice to disparage our vigils, other prominent Jewish activists and groups have been slamming the Muslims with nary a peep from the News. There’s Pam Geller, David Horowitz, and Michigan’s own Debbie Schlussel.

Another prominent example that comes to mind is the wide dissemination of the Islamophobic film Obsession prior to the presidential elections of 2008. This DVD was provided to 20,000 members of the Republican Jewish Coalition (source: The Shalom Center) as well as distributed in countless newspapers in swing states. Even The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg – himself a former IDF soldier and guard at the infamous Etzion prison – writes “… high-level officials of Aish are up to their chins in this project.” Goldberg refers to the Jewish religious group Aish Ha Torah (Fire of the Torah), which boasts Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz as member. This writer can also attest from personal experience of a religious ceremony at an orthodox congregation where negative comments about Islam were heard from the pulpit. That Islam is often in the crosshairs of the Jewish dominated mainstream (and local, alternative) media comes as no surprise.

Our work is exposing and criticizing Zionism, especially Jewish Zionism, both right- and left-wing. We try not to be critical of other faiths. But when Dawud Walid makes remarks like the above, we are moved to ask our Muslim friends what is “Un-Islamic” about standing up for Muslim and Christian justice in an area of the world in which there is little? A handful expressed surprise that the Imam would make such a comment, since they can find nothing in their reading of the Koran or Hadith that supports the claim made. Indeed, these folks tell us that Islam encourages its adherents to speak up in cases of injustice … they are compelled to do so.

We remember trying to correct Mr. Walid’s impression of our vigils (see our vigil report of January 15) and hope that he makes the effort to visit our group on any Saturday, or that he attends our Forum.

CTN Announces our Forum

Vigiler T and this writer filmed a five-minute “Access Soapbox” at Ann Arbor’s Cable Television (CTN) studios this week. We used the occasion to announce our upcoming event. The show schedule for cable subscribers will be (this week and next):

Sunday 5:00 PM
Monday 6:30 PM
Tuesday 11:30 AM and 9:30 PM
Wednesday 10:30 AM and 6:30 PM
Thursday 7:30 PM
Friday 12:30 PM
Saturday 3:30 PM

Readers can verify this schedule on CTN’s website.

Reminder

“Seven Years of Synagogue Vigils: Why We Still Do It”

Date: Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Time: 7:00 – 8:30PM
Place: Mallets Creek Branch, Ann Arbor District Library
3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Flyer here

Rain, wind, 32 degrees and eight vigilers
Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends
Comments on this report? Submit them @ https://blog.deiryassin.org/?p=440

Uncomfortable Bedfellows

Last fall we reported on a visit to Central Michigan University campus to hear Shirley Phelps-Roper speak about Westboro Baptist Church, and their reliance on the Constitution’s First Amendment to have their views heard. And though their issues and those of Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends are different, there is a commonality between the two groups in our reliance on our rights to free speech, recently upheld in the Phelps’ case by the Supreme Court.

The Supremes voted 8-1 in favor of the Phelpses this week, and JWPF’s legal department flashed us a knowing nod, cognizant of the deleterious effects that an adverse opinion might have had on our weekly, non-violent vigils at Beth Israel. Reading from the Court’s opinion, we find affirmation: “Accordingly, “speech on public issues occupies the highest rung of the hierarchy of First Amendment values, and is entitled to special protection.” Additionally, “[W]e have repeatedly referred to public streets as the archetype of a traditional public forum,” noting that “‘[t]ime out of mind’ public streets and sidewalks have been used for public assembly and debate.”

The public issue that JWPF has raised on Wasthenaw Avenue for over seven years has been the criminal, violent effects of Jewish Zionism on the Palestinian people, and the corrosive effects from same on Americans, as we are seen as aiders and abettors to Israel’s continued ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Thanks to the Supreme Court, our cries, and the cries of peace activists everywhere will still continue to be heard: “Stop US Aid to Israel”, “Israel Commits Atrocities”, “End Jewish Supremacism in Palestine”, etc.

Flyer Available for our Upcoming Forum

Our Forum, “Seven Years of Synagogue Vigils: Why We Still Do It”, is planned to address any concerns that interested passersby, friends and colleagues might have in reference towards our vigils. Consequently, we ask that readers make the attempt to not only attend, but they bring a friend who might not know enough about us … or Palestine … or of their country’s involvement in supporting the Jewish state. Please feel free to download our flyer and distribute it as you see fit:

Click to access 2011Forum%20Flyer.pdf

Date: Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Time: 7:00 – 8:30PM
Place: Mallets Creek Branch, Ann Arbor District Library
3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Seven Vigilers
Toast the Supreme Court’s decision on Snyder v. Phelps
Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends
Comments on this report? Submit them @ https://blog.deiryassin.org/?p=437

The Angry Arab Visits UM Campus

Speaking to a group of about 25 activists, Professor As’ad Abu Khalil (California State University, Stanislaus) gave a short talk about the recent democratic uprisings in Arab countries. His happiness was evident, and his humor shined throughout his talk. He underscored the tension rampant within the Jewish Israeli population, and said that Israel is restrained now and cannot conduct business as before. He went as far as saying that “No one now thinks that Israel will attack Iran”. Perhaps he was alluding to the possibility that Israel’s puppet – the US – will be selected to do the “wet work”.

Television Soapbox

Vigil Supporter E and this writer had five minutes on Ann Arbor’s Cable Television Network’s (CTN) “Access Soapbox” this week. The topic was “Non-Violent Resistance in Bi’lin”, and we focused on the tragic brother-sister deaths of Basem and Jawaher Abu Rahmah, both of whom were killed by Israel’s IOF (Israeli Occupation Forces) in the Palestinian West Bank. Basem posed for a photo with this writer in April 2005 and he was killed by a high velocity tear gas canister which was fired directly at him on April 17, 2009. His sister Jawaher died this past New Year’s Day after being overcome from tear gas made by Combined Systems, Inc. of Jamestown, PA, which genetics professor (and peace activist) Mazin Qumsiyeh described as a highly toxic one, “a much stronger version with unknown chemicals than used in the West.” We sourced our presentation in part from our friends at Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel.

Local cable customer will be able to view our presentation Sundays at 5:00 pm, and Mondays at 6:30 pm. Other times are available and are listed on CTN’s website.

Upcoming Forum: Seven Years of Synagogue Vigils: Why We Still Do It

All are invited to attend our second open forum coming up next month.

Date: Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Time: 7:00 – 8:30PM
Place: Mallets Creek Branch, Ann Arbor District Library
3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Nine Vigilers
Settlements continue to be constructed, because Jews want the land
Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends
Comments on this report? Submit them @ https://blog.deiryassin.org/?p=431

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.