The local Radio has done one interview with me the same day and announced it twice a day.
The local TV came, have done three interviews and have filmed the vigile. I will send you the emission.

Friendly, Karin.

We had an excellent vigil here in Berne/Switzerland with about 60 people - nearly all of them very committed in the struggle - attending. The media coverage was good, newspapers, photografers and even the national television were here. We shall later provide you with some material.

All the best, with solidarity and many thanks for your work

Matthias

Well by High Noon, we already had our fifty and people in black could be seen coming from different directions.  By 1PM the crowd of Women and Men (we spent our time looking for giant bugs :-) in Black numbered around 200 !!, but seeing no obvious signs of any confrontations the cops just said to stay put.

We lined up in rows facing 1st Avenue and the Secretariat Building with our signs held high.  The response from the passing traffic going up town was mostly favorable.  Several people yelled "Free Palestine" out their windows, while many of the taxi cab drivers (no surprises there as there are many Arab-Americans in NYC driving cabs) honked their horns in approval.  So did some truckers.  Only one passing van cursed at us.  He yelled "Get a Job!"  ???  Yup, that's what he yelled.

The group included Jews, Gentiles, especially Episcopalians, whom I was told by one of their congregants are currently very pro-Palestinian as well as Arab-Americans and a young Pakistani woman from Texas wearing a black Hijab.   She was actually crying.  She was amazed to see "so many people", especially Jews against the injustices being done.  She said that would never happen in Texas.  Well yippee kiyay y'all.

I took a few panoramic pictures which I'll send to anyone on the list who knows how to put in on here as an attachment as soon as I get the roll developed.

Many passersby, including many tourists coming from the UN, inquired as to our purpose, were very courteous and took our literature.  Watch out, Avi Weiss, we're gainin' on ya.

Zevei

Media coverage was somewhat scarce.  FOX TV was there briefly.  The religious editor - Patricia Rice - of the St. Louis Post Dispatch was there, plus a photographer.  She interviewed a number of the attendees, including myself, & will do a feature article this weekend.  A photographer from a local African American newspaper also was there.

We hand-delivered a letter to Senator Christopher Bond's office (our vigil was in front of his office), handing it to his administrative assisstant, who was aware of our presence outside.  An identical letter is being mailed to Senator Jean Carnahan.

We handed out several hundred leaflets to passers-by.  We had approx. 25 posters, with a demand for more.  Most were dressed in black.  We provided black armbands to those who did not wear black.

I spoke with one of the Palestinian women, whom I know from past joint activities.  We agreed that we will try to arrange a get-together, hopefully soon, of Palestinian & Jewish women for dialogue & getting to know each other.  I strongly believe that when we get to know & understand each other, there is no longer a need for fear & hatred.

I am anxiously looking forward to reports on events worldwide.

Peace, Shalom, Salaam,

Hedy

--------------

Update from St. Louis, MO., as well as further to my e-mail to you of June 8.

On June 8 at 5 P.M. FOX-TV in St. Louis showed pictures of our demonstration.

In the June 9, St. Louis Post Dispatch, there is an excellent article with an equally excellent photo of our demonstration on June 8.  The article, written by Patricia Rice,  photograph by Andrew Cutraro, appears on page 2 - TOP OF THE NEWS.  The paper's address is:  900 No. Tucker Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63101-1099.
Toll free phone number: 1-800/365-0820.

Peace, Salaam, Shalom,

Hedy Epstein

We maintained our vigil across the street from the consulate (which we called on to be
silent, but the excitement chatty bug got the better of us, I'm afraid) for an hour along with a memorial to the those who have been killed during the intifada. We then crossed the street where we waited for two representatives to deliver letters to the consulate from individuals in the vigil. (An aside: a local florist who we contacted to solicit donations and happens to be a Jewish woman already knew of the vigil but couldn't make it and was so excited that we had called her that she donated about 100$ worth of flowers for the memorial.)
We had the local Channel 7 news bring a camera and I was told by my room-mate that we were given a mention in the noon news, although I personally did not see it - there was a reporter from a local ecumenical paper there, but alas the major press ignored us. We did have some minimal pre-vigil coverage in the local LGBT press, as well as mention on two seperate radio stations (the local NPR affiliate WBEZ and a local African-American talk radio show on WVON).

After we get the pictures developed, I hope we can post them on the internet along with the text of the lit piece we distributedat the vigil. Out lit piece took a slightly different
approach - I interviewd seven women (3 Jewish, 3 Palestinian and 1 Quaker) ahead of time who participated in today's vigil and used their comments to emphasize the realities of Israel's occupation and their thoughts for what specifically needed to happen in order to end the violence. The sentiment I got following this vigil is that Jewish and Palestinian women in Chicago really want to work together more closely as women and hold regular joint vigils and other forms of solidarity actions. On a personal level, I just want to extend my love and respect to all of you who worked to put on similar vigils in
your communities, especially the brave women in Israel/Palestine who have been doing this for so long, too long. There is something so awesome about knowing that women (oh yeah, and men, too) of principle all over the world were standing together for justice at the same time, even though it is through such a tragedy that we have united. If i wasn't trying to be so butch through all my rage I might get a little more sentimental here. Just let me say, Thank you all so very much.
Love, Charity.

Women in Black is protesting to promote peace in the Middle East and an end for the violence and human rights abuses. They believe that without justice for the Palestinian people, there will be no peace for Israel.

The demands of the campaign are:

*an end to the Occupation and a just and viable settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in accordance with international law.

*an immediate end to all human rights abuses in Occupied Territories and international protection for the Palestinian people.

*suspension of all arms shipments and military aid to Israel until the achievement of a just and lasting peace.

*the evacuation of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

S. Al Maneer - IMC/Atlanta

We want to thank all the participants! Thank you all very much!
Tirza/IMC

We carried signs saying
No more Jewish Deaths, No more Palestinian Deaths,
Stop U.S. Support of Israeli Occupation,
This Jew Says No to the Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Land
Palestinians Need a Homeland Too
Justice is a Jewish Tradition

Immediately before the vigil we held a prayer service at Emmanuel Mennonite
Church.

Passers-by encouraged us to "Do it again," so they could partcipate.

As a result, and also of the publicity preceding the vigil, we have had substantive conversations with leaders of the local Jewish and Moslem communities, and are planning to sponsor an inter-faith event for conversation on peace and justice.

Eve

We were a primarily silent vigil , with handouts. (Anthony Lewis's Op-ED piece in the New York  Times, Saturday, June2).

We gathered on the Arcata Plaza  (it is a one-block square park in the middle of our small city) at noon for a one -hour vigil.  We had one large poster which said  WOMEN IN BLACK - STOP THE OCCUPATION BY ISRAEL. and several small hand- held signs. Fourteen people  (3 men) showed up )They each had their own story  to tell.
All of them dressed in black, one woman in a Palestinian embroiered black dress. Almost every one of them had lived and worked in the Mideast, Palestine, Israeli kibbutz , Jourdan.J In the begining I told of the Women in Black vigils I had participated in, in Jerusalem. Each of them was anxious to tell her/his first -hand experience and their reason for coming, so we went around the circle and each shared, before we sat down and had our silent time. IT WAS SACRED!!!!
Then a videographer appeared and joined us for the last four minutes of silence....and then filmed  each person telling his experience in Palestine and the Mideast.

His videotape is available to you. He is sending it to Santa Cruz, the local TV stations and Paris. He is putting it on Channel 12 here. It has short, interesting testimonials, is set with lovely green lawn behind us, and the cameraman is sympathetic to our event.

He taped continuous, it will not need editting.

I am thrilled with meeting these persons who showed up,(most of them strangers to me)  and then to have their words go out to the wider audience. They were grateful for a chance to express themselves.

Thank you for putting this worldwide event on. It was wonderful here, and wonderful to know that there were vigils going on all over the world.

Edith

Here is  a summary of our action today. At noon we met in Place du Chatelet. About 100-150 people, women and  men. We were calling for this meeting with in conjunction with your efforts. We as the French Jewish  Union for Peace, and France Palestine Solidarité. A lot of feminist and  other associations were also represented: "association of palestinian students in  France"," women citizens from both mediterranean sides" , different women "collectifs", groups of women  against sexism, mediterranean solidarity,
and so on ..
There was quite a good proportion of women from Maghreb, that was very interested and very  moved by this demonstration. We started the gathering with a flyer explaining who are the "coaliton of  women for peace in israel", and  their actions. Then I spoke for the UJFP and explained the international call of "Women in  black", and  also spoke as a jewish woman for my association, and  as a french citizen. What we condemn and what we claim: stop the occupation.  Finally I read a part from the message of the palestinian women from  jerusalem link. We professed our solidarity with palestinian and jews acting for peace like yourself.
Then Isabelle Avran :the president of France Palestine Solidarité spoke about what we are demanding from the European community and  France. Stop  the economic cooperation, obtain a protection force for the population of  Palestine.
She described the terrible conditions of life in the territories since October. A member of the palestinian students of France  also spoke, and some other  members of associations. This action was very well received by people and a lot of women from feminist or  other associations asked for organizing a regular vigil in Paris,  at least once a month by  women in connection with "Women in black" , and with the link of palestinian  women in jerusalem: Their message was also very appreciated. We  are going to work on it. By the way, I'll be in Israel in July and I'll come to  see you, in Jerusalem .
Unfortunetly,  there was no french press!!  A south american journalist asked for  the text of the speach for his newspaper, and an egyptian for his website. Pictures have been taken and I'll send them to you as soon as I receive  them.
 I must say it was a great emotion to share this event with so many other towns in the world and with you, and a lot of women expressed their specific emotion today. Look forward to read you soon michèle (UJFP)

We were joined by many members of WILPF, AFSC, local Jewish congregations, and feminist peace activists. Photos of this action are posted on-line at http://www.pbase.com/gallery/jmjp
A second Philadelphia vigil, at the Liberty Bell, was attended by 23 people.

Speakers took turns emphasizing that there was no military solution to the violence that has erupted between Israelis and Palestinians in recent months.

"We have to keep ourselves focused on the root causes of the conflict," said Marilyn Kleinberg Neimark. "We cannot end the violence until we end the occupation."

Israel seized the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem during the 6-Days War of 1967. It has since held the territories by military force, although U.N. Resolution 242 calls for the restoration of Palestinian sovereignty inside of pre-1967 borders in return for recognition of Israel's right to exist.

Women in Black, a network of Israeli Jews and Palestinians, originated in Jerusalem during the first Palestinian Intifada (or, "Uprising") from 1987-1993. On Friday, women and men held rallies and vigils in 142 cities throughout the world including 57 cities across the U.S.

Alison Pepper recently returned from a 16-day visit to Israel. She said that Israelis are afraid to go to malls, movie theatres and other public places due to a recent wave of suicide bombings while Palestinians are besieged and slowly starving to death.

"It's horrible," Pepper said. "The time I lived there in the '70s, I could feel peace at work. There was a tremendous intermingling of peoples."

The Israeli government has continued building settlements ("laying facts on the ground," as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon once called it) under both Labor and Likud led governments since the signing of the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords. Pepper visited the West Bank and found prefabricated "suburbs" plopped down on hilltops overlooking traditional Palestinian villages. Israeli-only roads criss-crossed the landscape.

"I was really blown away by how much development had gone on in the West Bank," Pepper said.

170,000 Israeli settlers live scattered among 2 million Palestinian settlers in the Delaware-sized West Bank. Another 1.1 million Palestinians (and 6,500 Israeli settlers) are crammed into the 360 sq. kilometer Gaza Strip. Kleinberg Neimark said that the Israeli "matrix of control" over the Palestinians has tightened and that previous offers to return as much as 95% of the Occupied Territories are deceptive.

"In a prison, 95% of the prison is occupied by the prisoners," Kleinberg Neimark said. "The other 5% is controlled by the guards and the wardens. And, you would never call the prisoners free."

Kleinberg Neimark called for the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in the Occupied Territories and a greater European involvement in peace negotiations. She said local Jewish women were starting to plan actions for late September in the days leading up to Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement").

"I think a lot of Israelis and their American supporters are too traumatized to think clearly," she said. "More violence is not going to bring them the peace and security they want."

For those who were unable to attend, I wanted to give a brief initial report on yesterday's Women in Black vigil in downtown San Francisco.
Someone is writing a more comprehensive account, but here are my  impressions of yesterday's very powerful vigil.

As you probably know, the SF Jewish Federation, JCRC, AIPAC, ADL and  a number of other organizations decided a few days ago to organize a separate vigil to (cor)respond to ours.  This apparently resulted from the fact that they had been receiving calls from their members anxious about the WIB vigil.  Many of us showed up at 4:00 to attend their earlier vigil, where we distributed our information and listened to some of their speeches.  Their vigil was actually rather mild, with an emphasis on "peace and support for Israel." It was attended by about 200 people wearing white T-shirts bearing a slogan saying "I support Israel."  Their speeches were relatively low-key and not at all antagonistic.  They said Kaddish for the dead of the recent suicide bombing, and they continually emphasized that they were mourning the dead on both sides.  Their participants carried Israeli flags, which looked incongruously nationalistic. A few carried ugly signs, such as one which read "Women in Black support terrorism" and another that had the picture of the Ramallah lyncher's bloody hands with a caption that read something like "These are not peacemakers."  There were some offensive comments about putting children into the line of fire -- the usual sort of thing.  But generally, the tone was respectful.

Meanwhile, our numbers were growing and by 5:15 we had a large crowd (police estimated us at about 500).  Women in Black supporters had created dramatic signs in the form of large black hands, on which were written "End the Occupation" in Hebrew, Arabic or English.  We had many signs, large banners, dozens of the black hands, and lots of people, who spread out to the four corners of the intersection of Montgomery and Market downtown.  The remaining few from the prior demonstration were pushed off to a corner, and the police prevented them from bringing their flags into our demo.  With people in black at all the corners of the intersection, the whole scene was very dramatic.  The vigil began with a song by a local Jewish singing group, and then we had about 20 minutes of silence, with a drum keeping a rhythm.  After that we heard speeches by former Knesset member Marcia Freedman, by Berkeley Assistant Mayor Maudel Shirek, Penny Rosenwasser and an Arab woman, Eman Desouki.  Maudel Shirek introduced a resolution that she is bringing to the Berkeley City Council, written by one of the JVP members, criticizing Israeli use of excessive force and calling on it to end the military Occupation. There was an incredible sense of collective power in the demonstration.

One of the most fascinating things about the afternoon was that we had managed to bring out at least twice as many people as the JCRC, Federation, AIPAC, ADL and others combined, with their extensive network and resources.  (I think we even brought out more people than did the Israeli or New York vigils.)  It's true that we had some lead-time over them in publicizing our vigil, but no one could fail to see that the Jewish community is very divided on these issues.  I think this impacted the kind of "counter" demonstration they felt they could hold, and I think it will continue to impact the tenor of discourse within a community that is realizing that there are real differences of opinion about peace and justice issues.  I have no doubt that this will affect everything the Jewish community does, from allocations to fundraising to public relations and internal dynamics.

While the reasons for the vigil cannot be celebrated, I was pleased that the Jewish activists in this town are anything but silent now, when we must speak out against ongoing injustice in Israel and the Palestinian territories.  With the settlers openly calling for war, and the siege unrelenting, organizing efforts must get stronger now. Many thanks to those who spent so much time and effort organizing this event -- particularly Penny, Marcia, Ellie, Adam, Mitchell, Sandor and Faye, and the Women in Black folks.  I think it was incredibly important that we had this vigil.

Keep well,
Lincoln

The first was attended by between 25 to 30 people, and was held at 12 noon-1 pm. Signs said: End to Israeli occupation and Stop Israeli violence. 250 info leaflets - containing relevant extracts of the Canadian foreign policy, quotes and website addresses for more info - were printed and all were distributed to passers-by and cars. We were in front of the Israeli Embassy, and because of the barriers raised tfor the demo, the road narrows - perfect for talking to drivers stopped at the red light! Only the CBC International showed up and we gave interviews in French, English and Arabic. We had amongst us Gail a participant in the Montreal vigil who was on holiday in Ottawa. We are very happy with the outcome - hope for media coverage but...- and will meet soon to see what can be organized given the various links we were able to establish.

The second had more participants. The Citizen says about 100 hundred but it seemed more. They had good coverage but I don't know what appeared on  TV. If any one on this list has seen something, please post it. The Citizen run a good article, unfortunately not online, with a very good photo of  Mahmoud Abutaha (13) and Ahmed Issa (12) is quoted: "It's time to get our land back... There is no reason for the killing". The tone of the article was very good and talked of "peaceful group" and Omar Hassan, VP of APAC was quoted ("We'd like to see the Canadian government takes a leadership role in this conflict... why are they so ilent....Why has the world turned a blind eye to the human tragedy in Palestine... The root cause is Israeli illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip"). Perhaps a line to compliment the Citizen for their fair coverage of the event?

Well done Ottawa!

We held a small vigil on the last Friday, June 8, from PM6:00 to PM8:00 in front of Osaka station, Japan in solidarity with world-wide action to memorize the martyrs of intifada and to apeal:

1)Israeli government must stop massacre, land confiscation, house demolition and closure immediately,
2)Israeli government must let their settlements and army withdraw from Gaza and West Bank including East Jerusalem,
3)Israeli government must acknowledge the rights of refugee's return in accordance with the UN Resolution 194,
4)Japanese Government must approach Israel, USA, UN to realize the above 3 items.

Our slogan is:
"End the Israeli Occupation!" and
"No Return = No Peace".

We put panels with pictures of intifada and list of martyrs, lighting with candles.

In solidarity,
Yoshi
Palestine Forum Japan

At some point, people from both communities joined together, to read loud and in unison our SSP Statement of Principles, under the flags of Israel, Palestine and Brazil - definitely a very moving moment!

A remarkable point was also the presence of 20-30 teenagers from Colegio Friburgo, one of the best middle class high schools in Sao Paulo. They have recently received one of our members, together with a Palestinian leader in Brazil, in the first experience of our "open dialogues", where the students join the speakers in the search for the solution for the conflict, after been presented a balanced view on the conflict, stressing the hope for a just peace on the part of both speakers.

The vigil was highly criticized by the main Jewish discussion lists on the Web, resulting in a statement by the Jewish Federation of Sao Paulo (FISESP) recognizing the right of Jewish minorities to dissent from official positions, later contradicted by another statement denying recognition to our group, which has been presented by some opinion makers as a petty and ridicule group in search of self promotion. A woman, who leads
opposition to Shalom_Salam_Paz attended the vigil in order to take pictures and to
present a report to her readers, with personal offenses to several of our members.

The event was covered by the main media: Radio, TV, Newspapers and Jewish Magazines. The most important newspapers in Sao Paulo, "O Estado de Sao Paulo" and "Folha de Sao Paulo", brought texts, today, and a photo with Rabbi Sobel shaking hands with Stella Maris Chebli, a Lebanese-descendant psychoanalyst. See report in http://www.estado.com.br/editorias/2001/06/09/int406.html.

We were supported by Security Police protection and Traffic Police organization, and the event took place in order and with no problems at all. We've given the participants stickers (part of it inspired by the Junity's logo) shown in attachment, as well as distributed our Statement of Principles.

Maybe the end of the occupation will not happen tomorrow - maybe the day after tomorrow, who knows? - but we have certainly made our point of view clear, we've given an example that Arabs and Jews can be friends and respect each others, and, summoned up with the other 144 organizations holding the vigil, we've presented the world the good side of being human!

Sao Paulo, June 9th, 2001.

SHALOM! SALAM! PAZ! PEACE!

Susana and Sergio - members of the SSP

I plan to write a short article on the experience (from which I am still revving!)  I will send it to you as well as try to get it published here somewhere.

Best wishes to you all.    Margot,   Brisbane   Australia

I'm copying below the poem I wrote yesterday morning which I read during the service.

We're looking forward to hearing the news which we're sure we'll get from Women in Black. Were any of the Palestinians able to be attend? Was Rena Nashashibi there? I believe we met her a year or so ago when we taught a clown workshop (!) in East Jerusalem as part of the ISIS-Israel training program in expressive arts therapy. We have fourteen Palestinian students who were supposed to come to our Summer school program in Switzerland, but last we heard they couldn't get to the airport because of the closing.

We admire your ability to keep going in spite of all opposition. It's a good model for us and for others.

Love, Steve
 

Tonight in Hagar Square in Jerusalem,
women dressed in black will stand together,
Jews and Arabs, and speak for peace.
They will be derided, screamed at and
ignored by almost all the people
of Jerusalem.

Perhaps Tal, Dafna's daughter,
will go there.
What will she think when she sees them?
That they are enemies of Israel,
fools who have deluded themselves
into thinking they could reach
across an abyss?

Will she shrug and pass on?
Or will she say, Yes,
I could do that,
I could stand there, too.

I remember a man named Scott
speaking out for peace in 1958,
asking for an end to war.
I remember saying, Yes,
I could do that,
I could speak out, too.

But years went by and I spoke
rarely, only when I could not
stay silent -
against the testing of weapons
of destruction,
against the war,
against the bombing.

Mostly I went about my business,
worked, had kids, wrote poems
now and then.
I was never a prophet willing to be without honor
in his own country.

Now when I see the women
dressed in black in Hagar Square,
I stand and watch.
I take Tal's hand and say,
"Look, they are standing there for you.
How will you live your life?
How will you find your way
in this world?
I think you are stronger than I was.
I think you are the hope of your country."

From  miles and years away,
I take your hand,
as someone took mine years ago.
I stand there with you
and wish you peace.

We tried to have a lot of articles on the table (perhaps too many) -- websites, information which the media here never mentions, and a few aesthetic touches as well  -- poetry of Erich Fried, the great Austrian Jewish writer who passed away some years ago, and Mahmud Darwish, the Palestinian poet, which we printed on light-green heavy paper, decorated with leaves and presented to people as they came by.    We chose poetry with a meaning,  of course!

The atmosphere was excellent and people were happy to finally do something or to discover that something was being done -- no extremism on either side, as I had feared.  In Austria people are constantly worried that if they criticize Israeli policy they will be accused of being anti-Semitic.  I believe, for this reason, that it was easier for them to join us because an American Jewish woman was heavily involved in the initiative.   And, most important, we were all supporting the progressive Israeli peace groups!!!

What made the two hours very satisfying for those of us who were involved in the preparations was the fact that we collected many signatures of those who want to be informed about future actions and might, too, become involved!  I believe we will do something on a regular basis and perhaps in a bit more organized way next time. All of us were very "high" with the success of the activity, which grew out of an idea.

Oh, yes, although we tried over and over again to get media interest - even with personal connections - nothing wwas printed except for a small paper catering to foreigners in Austria.  We do intend to do a press release but I am not hopeful.

In closing, I should like to express my personal thanks to you for giving me the chance to focus on something which I could put my heart into.   And I certainly hope that this movement will gain momentum and  change  political thought in all parts of the world.  (Am I too naive and idealistic?)  With very best wishes and thanks,

Paula
Vienna, Austria

We decided to have Marcia call one of the Jewish Federation leaders ahead of time, and he indicated a willingness to cooperate with us and to try to undercut some of their ‘harsher voices.’  Via email and phone, we mobilized our constituency to present a calm, nonconfrontational presence at their vigil with signs indicating our point of view.  We also had many trained security monitors in place.  We distributed our information and listened to some of their speeches.  Their vigil was actually rather mild, with an emphasis on "peace and support for Israel." It was attended by about 200 people wearing T-shirts bearing a slogan saying "I support Israel."  Their speeches were relatively low-key and not at all antagonistic.  They said Kaddish for the dead of the recent suicide bombing, and they continually emphasized that they were mourning the dead on both sides.  Their participants carried Israeli flags, which looked incongruously nationalistic. A few carried ugly signs, such as one which read "Women in Black support terrorism" and another that had the picture of the Ramallah attackers’ bloody hands with a caption that read something like "These are not peacemakers."  There were some offensive comments about putting children into the line of fire.  But generally, the tone was respectful (Lincoln’s perspective, I was busy organizing our vigil).

Meanwhile, our numbers were growing and by 5:15 we had a large and lively crowd; police estimated us at about 500.  It was a very diverse group of people (we think mostly Jewish) from across the political spectrum, center to left, from observant to radical, multi-generational, at least two progressive rabbis (Burt Jacobsen and Michael Lerner), a small group of Arab-Americans, and some people who we doubt had been to this kind of vigil before.

As organizers we had made 60 dramatic hamzas on sticks -- signs in the form of large black hands, on which were written "End the Occupation" in Hebrew, Arabic or English.  We also had many other signs, large banners from the Coalition of Jews for Justice and Jewish Voice for Peace, and others. Meanwhile, people were distributing our vigil leaflets and petitions for international protection and suspending arms shipments.

People spread out to the four corners of the intersection of Montgomery and Market downtown, and it made quite a visual display. The remaining people from the prior vigil were pushed off to a corner, and the police prevented them from bringing their flags into our demo.  (Earlier the police had separated their vigil from us with barricades.)

With people in black at all the corners of the intersection – and a huge black (10 feet tall??) Shechina Puppet moving her arms and holding the space for us in the center of the plaza -- the whole scene was very dramatic, dynamic and powerful.  We began with a brief welcome and intro about women in black, and then went into  20 minutes of silence, including a moment of silence for all Palestinians and Israelis who had died so far in the 2nd intifada -- while a woman drummer kept a heartbeat rhythm going.  The
wonderful Jewish women’s singing group Vocolot brought us out of the silence,
with a peace chant in English, Arabic and Hebrew, followed by a song about  Sarah and Hagar.

After that Marcia Freedman spoke about our calls to action, followed by Berkely City Councilwoman Maudelle Shirek who introduced a resolution that we are trying to get through the Berkeley City Council (initiated by the Coalition of Jews for Justice), criticizing Israel for its use of excessive force and advocating for international protection for the Palestinian people, and for an end to the Occupation. (At 90 years old, Maudelle is possibly the oldest African-American legislator in the U.S. and has been a longtime supporter for ending the occupation). After another beautiful peace chant/song, an Arab feminist activist Eman Desouky spoke – focusing on her perspective that the occupation was 53 years, not 34 years – and Penny followed her talking about the growing movement of activism against the occupation and encouraging others to become involved. Our 4-speaker sound system helped get our message across and could be heard across the street.

There was an incredible sense of collective power in the demonstration, and despite the cold and wind, people seemed to be very energized and enthusiastic.  As far as we know at this point, one major television station was there and covered both vigils, interviewed some of us and broadcast that night, along with one cable tv station, and the Jewish Bulletin.

One of the most fascinating things about the afternoon was that we managed to bring out at least twice as many people as the JCRC, Federation, AIPAC, ADL and others combined, with their extensive network and resources.  It's true that we had some lead-time over them in publicizing our vigil, but no one could fail to see that the Jewish community is very divided on these issues, and that there is a very strong and vocal Jewish voice to end the occupation, a voice that insists on being recognized. We suspect that this will affect everything the mainstream Jewish community does, from allocations to fundraising to public relations and internal dynamics.  Marcia actually expressed that she thought some new bridges were built – more on this later.

I was most struck by the tone we managed to set – by the hamzas, the giant puppet, the silence, the drumming and beautiful singing, the heartfelt talks. Without meaning this in an essentialist way, I felt that our vigil clearly reflected feminist leadership and vision, following the lead of our sisters in Jerusalem – of embodying peace and justice, not just talking about it.  It was completely uplifting and seems to have given our rapidly growing activist community a great boost, and even, hope.

--Penny (Women’s Caucus of Junity, Coalition of Jews for Justice, Middle East Children’s Alliance)

We believe that a follow up is necessary to such an important action.

Warmly
and congratulations
Simone

Many of us are just returning to the office after, I would say, a very successful gathering.  There were approximately 150 people lined up on both sides of the street, mostly all wearing black (okay, some in dark blue), carrying various posters and signs while others handed out flyers and information sheets.  Maybe it was because of the beautiful, sunny day here but I didn't see any negative responses (at least I didn't notice any)  I heard that there were a few people gathered on the street across from our group that were waving Israeli flags, but nothing seemed adverserial.  Most passerbyers seemed interested in our material and curious about who we were. We even got a few honks - although they may have thought that we were a cheering parade for the Sixers!

I'm curious to see what the coverage will be; I didn't see any TV cameras, but I did see a few reporters floating around.

Please share how your experiences were; I'd like to hear how the other vigils went.

Paula

The Philadelphia Jewish Exponent covered it, and the reporter  said he had also seen and was covering the Women-and-Men in Black vigil at the Israeli consulate. He said it was just under 100 people, so kol hakavod (All Honor!) to both vigils and especially to their organizers.

Among the Liberty Bell participants were Rabbi David Mivasair and Michal, JUST back from a year in Israel where they worked closely with Rabbis for Human Rights.

The headline mottos at the Liberty Bell were "End the Israeli Occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, & East Jerusalem; Bring the Settlers & Soldiers Safely Home; End Suicide Bombings and All Other Attacks Against Civilians."

Shabbat shalom,
Arthur
The Shalom Center

There were approximately 100 women and men at the Cambridge vigil (of whom perhaps a dozen also attended the later vigil in Boston). Among those who participated were many members of Jewish Women for Justice in Israel/Palestine, Women in Black, Visions of Peace with Justice in Israel/Palestine and Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring, several Israelis visiting or living in the area, the former head of the local chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, staff of Radcliffe and of the New England Regional Office of the American Friends Service Committee, Director of the City of Cambridge Peace Commission, Christian clergy, participants in Women in Black from other parts of the country, long-time peace and justice activists and even passersby who were so moved by what we were doing that they decided to join us!

The spirit was fantastic.  We held end-the-occupation banners, Women in Black "stop" hands, and a special Cambridge sign, complete with beautiful olive tree on a black background, painted by group member Jude Glaubman who had recently returned from a delegation to Israel/Palestine.

We handed out a detailed flyer that had been worked out between members of Boston Women in Black and Marcia Freedman in the Bay area (a sort of bi-coastal flyer!).  At a meeting two days previously, however, we decided that we wanted to acknowledge in some way the pain of the most recent suicide bombing, so our second paragraph, following just the introduction of  the fact of the international protests, read as follows:

"The current round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has caused death and injury to unarmed civilians on both sides.  Every week brings fresh horrors and new heartaches.  We deeply lament the suicide bombings that have tragically cut short Israeli lives.  At the same time, we recognize that the occupation is the root cause of these actions, and that the Israeli government has in most cases responded to them with disproportionate aggression, thus intensifying the conflict and thwarting efforts to work for a peaceful resolution." (The rest of the flyer text can be found at www.junity.org.)

People handing out flyers said that passersby were generally extremely receptive and obviously impressed by the highlighted sections of the piece:  "We call for an end to the Occupation and a just and viable settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in  accordance with international law"; "We call for the evacuation of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land"; "We call for an immediate end to all human rights abuses in the Occupied Territories and international protection for the Palestinian people"; "We call for suspension of all arms shipments to Israel until the achievement of a just and lasting peace."  We kept running out of flyers and having to get more copies printed.

We also handed out stamped post-cards addressed to the U.S. President and Secretary of State, part of a campaign initiated by the American Friends Service Committee, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Christian Peacemaker Teams, COPRED, Fellowship of Reconciliation and Institute for Policy Studies. (Our Jewish Women for Justice group and other U.S. Jewish groups, as well as the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace in Israel, had recently indicated support for this campaign, but there was not time for new cards to be printed up by June 8). The cards were extraordinarily well received, and hundreds were distributed. Text is as follows:

STOP THE KILLING!       STOP THE DESTRUCTION!

Dear_________,

U.S. produced military helicopters and other U.S. produced weapons are being used against Palestinian civilians, their homes, and their institutions in the West Bank and Gaza.

Palestinians need protection from these weapons and from Israeli settlers and soldiers.

Please instruct our Ambassador to the United Nations to support international protection, under the auspices of the UN, for Palestinians in the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.

                                                  Sincerely yours,

(name)
(address)

Although Ruby Polterak had put in endless hours reaching out to the media, the response was somewhat disappointing--with only one local TV station (Channel 7) and the Cambridge Chronicle showing up.  We did, however, receive a considerable amount of attention from the Harvard University police ( as we were on or at the edge of university-owned property adjacent to a public sidewalk).  Fortunately, we had (through a
friend who heads up the Cambridge Women's Commission) notified a high-ranking female officer of the Cambridge Police Department of our plans; so when the Harvard police started giving us a hard time we repeatedly assured them that we had informed the Cambridge Police of what we were doing.

One of the officers kept asking who was "in charge," who could speak for the group, etc. and we kept saying that it was a communal effort, that many of us had worked on it, etc.  I did at one point acknowledge that I was the person who had sent out the initial invitations, but by that time I think he was so worn down by the many strong and vocal women who were refusing to be intimidated that he just gave up!

The weather was glorious and we were energized and inspired by the success of our  small piece of Friday's extraordinary international event.  Photos are being sent separately.

Hilda

Our Vigil version was most satisfying and successful.....held at Noon on Friday the 8th at 1st Unitarian Universalist Church near downtown Houston...and attended by perhaps 70 people of good-heart.  Our diversity ran a fairly well-balanced gamut of age, gender and ethnic origin.  Since my Vigil vision was for this to be somber and reflective.....I did not choose to be at the Israeli Consulate, as many of you had.

A young woman lit one candle to symbolize the singleness and universality of our human spirits.....while most of us read the names of all victims of the Intifada....creating a discordant cacophony of languages.  The readers tapered off until the only sound was that of one female voice plaintively struggling with the pronunciation of names not of her own ethnic origin.  We then fell silent for some moments.

After expressing my story and perspective, several others also did the same...finally broadening until about a third of the participants had spoken.  One pointed comment and question came from a Palestinian-American woman, revealing just how long her people have both wanted peace AND a productive dialog with Israelis/Zionists.....and wondering whether there were any other Jews 'out there' like me, as she had heard of none.

Several Palestinian/Arabists seemed to be scrutinizing us.....trying to determine whether they could really trust us as Partners in Peace....or whether we were just more Jewish liberal do-gooders who have not done our own internal work to rid ourselves of internalized Jewish oppression, which generates from the collective oppression of centuries.  This is the oppression which a part of us actually believes.......just as an abused child believes that they have done something to deserve their abuse.  It is the most difficult to 'get at', since we seldom even know of its presence, and intellectually would surely deny its existence.  Our would-be allies know that we cannot be good partners unless we come to the table... already having done our personal work.  They can 'smell' that incompleteness.

We closed on a note of guarded hopefulness....with an expressed willingness to open new a dialog between the invested parties.

I need information and guidance to learn what you trailblazers have developed.  Please contact me.

In Peace,

JAY

Another report from the New York city vigil:
 

Dear Friends--

On Friday June 8, I attended the Women in Black Vigil at the Isaiah Wall of the U.N. in Manhattan.  I drove down from Kingston and joined a small crowd of about 150-200 people, as we stood together with signs and posters, facing 1st ave. in silence.  There were some speeches and an open mic.  I spoke about the need to raise our voice loud and united, not waiting for something even more tragic to happen, as the peace camp did in 1995 when Prime Minister Rabin z'l was assassinated.  I spoke about the need to end the settlement construction, as well as remove the army from the current settlements, which are serving to deter the road to peace.  It is possible to love Israel and care for her future while still critiquing policies that are detremental to safety and peace.  Solidarity with Israel is not blind following and unyielding agreement, but unfortunately, that is still to be believed by the majority of Jews in America.

Unless the voices of peace can unite, the armies of war will win again and the bloodshed will continue.  It is not always popular to love your neighbor as yourself, especially when some of your neighbors are terrorists.  By generalizing and making blanket stereotypes we will get nowhere.  The Bible commands us to love, not to hate.  And not just love your friends, but most importantly, love your enemies, love back even those who hate you.  It is through this dedication that peace can come.  We must continue to support peaceful negotiations and dialogue over retribution and violence.  We must see the face of the other, experience their pain and understand their sorrow.  As a Jew, I can only ask Israel to own up to its mistakes and try to make amends for the wrongs committed.  It is not shameful to admit fault, but on the contrary, it is one of the first steps in the teshuva
(repentance) process.
I urge everyone to write a letter to the editor, speak to your elected officials, have discussions with your friends, synagogues, churches, mosques.  Tell your community that there are those of us who do not want to fight another war, continue to hate or blame the other side for the terrible situation.  We want to reach out, help those living in sub-human conditions to better their lives; teach the children that Israel is not the enemy, not the great occupier that is ruining the lives of Palestinians.  However, for this to begin, both sides must alter the direction of their current course. Palestinians must stop the violent terror acts against innocent Israelis and stop teaching their children to martyr themselves in name of God.  They must change their textbooks and begin educating a new generation that can know peace.  Israel must get out of the settlements, end the military dominance and allow the Palestinians to live their lives without constant, daily intrusions and violations of their basic human rights.  These are painful steps, but they are the only way to peace.  And right now, they are the only hope for averting an all out, regional war that will only serve to devastate the Middle East for years to come.

May God guide our ways and may shalom, salaam come soon and in our day.

Blessings--
Rabbi Joshua

It was sunny and many people, dressed in light colors, were out celebrating the last school day before the summer. We were standing quiet in our black circle, holding our signs, for one hour, between 15.00- 16.00, in one of the most important squares in the center of the city. Many people could see us. Some people approached and asked questions. We had fly-sheets with information.
Our sings:

Stop the israeli occupation!
The occupation is killing us all!
Let women peace negotiate!

Two different radio stations reported on our vigil and on the international event. A feminist radio program broadcasted the day before the event - information about Women in Black and about the feminist peace groups in Israel, and a short interview with me. The other station - Stockholm's local station - broadcasted live from the event. One daily
paper had a short note about it today with a picture!

It was wonderful to hear about the powerful demonstration in Jerusalem. We are waiting for the pictures!

Your sister in Stockholm,
Yael
THE OCCUPATION IS KILLING US ALL!

It was great, we were about 50 women constantly under the rain, with a big banner "Israel hors des territoires" and a smaller "femmes en noir". We had good press in "Le Courrier" + a radio interview with "Radio Cité". The best was the national TV. They took images in Bern at 12. 30 (also under the rain) and the comment was coming from Geneva, 105 cities bla bla bla. It came in the news in the evening and this is great. Some palestinian women were there with us in black and also the president of the ass. of palestinian in Switzerland, good contacts.

Now I don't know why all our demos are under the rain, the 8th of march in Lausanne was already hard enough. It is really unfair considering the rain missing in the middle east!

I also tried twice the ambassador at the israeli mission once in french and once in english, but never got an apointment.
Anyway, they must have enjoyed the news on TV!
Rina

Here in Uppsala, Sweden, we were about 18-20 women, who stood for one hour dressed in black, holding up signs.Our message was: Stop the Israeli occupation! There was a lot of opportunities to talk to people and handing out flyers to those who were interested.

My main impression was that many people were interested. Personally I had a number of good discussions with people, who didn't know so much or started to discuss with us from a lot of prejudices, but turned out to be interested in trying to understand what is going on, and to reflect on it.

We are now going to take a break for the summer, but in the autumn we will start the Women in Black vigils again.

Best Regards
Women in Black, Uppsala
and
Women for Peace, Uppsala
Gull

We started at 5:30 PM during rush hour and had many cars and people look our way.  A few passerbys smiled and agreed. It was a beautiful early summer evening and many of us were very pleased to be back together protesting in the old spot.  We took lots of photos with the intention to make a collage to display at the Annual Arts for Peace and Justice Exhibition in Harrisburg, PA.

We were disappointed that the local press didn't show up and found that unusual as when we had special events before, for the Women In Black Lancaster, we  were always covered.  We had received a call the day before from a reporter saying he would come but he never showed. We did however get into the afternoon paper on the day of the vigil - just a small piece - please see below.

At 6PM, we did a silent vigil for 15 minutes.  And at 6:30 PM departed with heightened spirits and happy to have done it.  There were a number of other local Women In Black members who couldn't make the event but their spirits were with all the women around the world.  We hoped and prayed that the vigils in Israel would go well and that everyone would be safe.

Please extend our love and solidarity to all the brave women and men who attended the Israeli vigils.  We feel certain that our efforts will help this tragic situation.

In Peace and Solidarity
From The Lancaster Women In Black
Annie Goeke

Paper: LANCASTER NEW ERA (LANCASTER, PA.)
Headline: Vigil here focuses on Palestine occupation
Date: 06/08/01
Day: FRIDAY
Section: NEWS
Page: D-6
Subject: DEMONSTRATION;LAW;BUILDING;FOREIGN;LANCASTER;CITY;DOWNTOWN

The Lancaster Women  In Black  Chapter is leading a vigil this evening on the steps of the Lancaster County Courthouse on East King Street to demand the end of Israeli occupation in Palestine.
The vigil begins at 5:30 p.m.
The Women  In Black  movement involves men and women  who hold vigils around the world to protest violence everywhere.

We had good attendance from the left (about 22 people).  About half the people who participated were Jews.  Three people active in Palestinian solidarity came.  About 70% women, both of the Jews and non-Jews.  No new people,  though many of us have not been active on this issue for a long time.

Little media attendance.  One reporter, one TV news camera.

We had some good interactions with passersby, great leaflet and signs. Good planning process.  An announcement that we wrote about the vigil was printed in the newsletter of a local synagogue.   We had some good discussions with other people leading up to the vigil, and want to continue to engage with them. We will meet soon to decide how to continue our momentum.  Thank you all for your work and inspiration!

we had signs that read End the Israeli Occupation, End the Violence, and Stop the Settlements.   Unfortunately, we did not have as much media as we had hoped.  there were reporters from Jewish Week, 2 radio stations, and Lilith (a Jewish feminist magazine). There was someone videotaping for the Independent Media Center, and I understand that a story has been posted to IndyMedia NYC about the vigil.  One of the Lilith editors also works with the Religion News Service, and did a story for them that may get picked up by some mainstream press.  It feels good to know that the story on the vigils put out by the Religion News Service will be written by a Jewish feminist (we are everywhere).

THE PROGRAM CONSISTED OF READINGS BY THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OF STATEMENTS AND POEMS BY ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS.

Program

WELCOME: Why We Are Here

WOMEN IN BLACK: ORIGINS

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE NOMINATION

STATEMENT FROM PALESTINIAN WOMEN, JERUSALEM CENTER FOR WOMEN

CHANT BASED ON DAFNA GOLAN’S WORDS:
LET THE WOMEN TALK! LET THE WOMEN ACT!

LIST OF CITIES WHERE VIGILS ARE BEING HELD

TRIBUTE TO FAISAL HUSSEINI

POEMS:

“ON THE ATTITUDE TOWARD CHILDREN IN WARTIME”
                    (Dalia Ravikovitch)

“MY BROTHER WAS SILENT” (Amir Gilboa)

LETTER FROM A PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN WOMAN STUDYING IN ISRAEL

POEMS:

“GAZA” (Rachel Tsvia Back)

“THE SONNET AGAINST THOSE WHO SPEAK FOR SPILLED BLOOD”
(Meir Wieseltier)

“EXILE” (Mahmoud Darwish)

“WILDPEACE” (Yehuda Amichai)

CHANT, again,
        LET THE WOMEN TALK!  LET THE WOMEN ACT!
OPEN MIKE: People’s statements on why they had come

(Organizing Committee: Minnie Berman, Naomi Braine, Lila Braine,
Donna Nevel, Karen Judd, Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz, Irena Klepfisz,
Cynthia Madansky, Marilyn Kleinberg Neimark, Nancy Ordover,
Ros Petchesky, Meredith Tax)

in minneapolis 65 people participated in a vigil and then a pot luck and presentation - very minnesota, we do potlucks often.

at the vigil we held a beautiful sign that was sewn in 1988 that says Israel End the Occupation.  as there was a city jazz festival at the plaza there were many people and a  lot of chaos.  our people included jews, palestinians, arabs, communitists, greens, african-americans, secular americans, and a wonderful contingent from the women against miliatry madness group. people came from hours away....eau claire wisconsin, marshall minnesota, and philadelphia (on conference).  three of us were at vigils in Jerusalem during the past ten years.

two men came as a counter-protest and held a sign that said No Palestinian Terrorism....many people went and talked with them  one reported later that one of the men was a russian, the other an israeli.  the russian guy commented that we peaceniks didn't know history....and when asked who he thought the best historian was he said Leon Uris....in the Exodus.  that blew me away.

as for press, the MN News Network did a story which played i don't know where....and the community radio station did an evening news piece and aired a whole half hour during the Northen Sun News on resistance to the occupation.  the Women Against Military Madness people walked over to WCCO, the major hometown station, on the corner of the vigil, and got inside to protest lack of coverage....but that didn't even get on-air.  the other major hometown station was broadcasting live from the jazz fest and we walked by them with our signs, but no one thinks that was covered either.

a police guy came and told us we were on the edge of our right to assembly.  that got the Women Against Military Madness irked so they went into the crowd to make sure the one TV camera would film the banner that said Israel End the Occupation.

after the vigil we went to a community church for a potluck. four women (and they spanned lots of communities: two muslim (traditional and secular), one christian, one palestinian, one jewish).  the women, just back from gaza and ramallah, spoke.  we had a fabulous conversation as there was no one denying the reality of the Occupation.  one women showed a video about protests in Ramallah and  what I think is Harres (she didn't say).  we saw the brutality of israeli miliary visited differently on palestinians, israeli activists, and internationals. she called for a large international presence.  is this something Women in Black or the Israeli Women's Coalition for a Just Peace want?

 we spoke about political strategy, about personal stories, about the log jam the media creates in our abilities to communicate with each other, and about our need to continue.  we're having a potluck bar-b-q soon.

we're also meeting on June 27 to plan for other vigils.  there is a company nearby the twin cities that has a US contract to provide military equipment of some sort to israeli military.

i think something else international during the days of awe in September would be awesome.  and perhaps the press would like to redress their mistake in not
telling our stories.

thanks for all the work and the inspiration
for justice
sharon j

Sincerely,

Lissa

We had a silent vigil at Lake Junaluska.  There were not nearly as many people as I had hoped.  We saw a lot of apathy, but there was some interest in what we were doing as well.  One minister whom I have known for many years was surprised to learn that Women in Black were Israeli women protesting against the occupation and violation of human rights.  A couple of the ladies experienced some verbal abuse against what we were doing, but other than that, the vigil went well.

My love and prayers are with you every day, and I pray that God's loving care with envelop you always.

Joyce
---

We feel very good about our vigil at Lake Junaluska at the Western North Carolina Annual Conference.

It had rained all morning and we prayed for clear by 11:00. And the sun came out just at that time and it was a beautful day.

50 Women in Black participated and a about 4 men. We held signs and it was mostly silent and mostly affirmative. We raised much consciousness for the people of Western North Carolina about the need for the occupation to end. Our signs read:  34 Years of Occupation is Enough: Closure means starvation, no water, no jobs; Israel is Boming Bethlehem. Do You Care. End the Occupation, etc.

Also a resolution about the Israeli occupation and the dermolition of homes and the settlements came to the floor of the conference and passed by a large margin. This also was consciusness raising!

So we feel that this was a major victory-and we will keep telling the story.

Shalom and Salaam.
Bonnie

Regards, Erminia

by Rachelle Marshall

The turnout was great -- at least 50 people, although the San Jose Mercury News reported only 30. The crowd included a great many people who came simply because they had heard about the vigil from KPFA radio or some other source. And there were people of all ages and kinds, including three Lutheran pastors. I found this heartening. On the other hand, most passersby were unwilling to take the very good one-page leaflet that Paul George prepared and that explained why we were there. There are probably many reasons for people's reluctance to face the issue, but it is nevertheless disturbing. For an hour or so the vigil was uneventful. Two young men from a Jewish congregation in Oakland filmed the event and interviewed several people. When I asked why they were doing this, one of them said very seriously, "We're thinking of joining your movement." Meanwhile a demonstration was going on at City Hall with signs saying "Stop the bloodshed," and "Pro-Israel, pro-peace." When it was over, several of the demonstrators came to our vigil, waving the Israeli flag. After they arrived, according to the San Jose Mercury report, "there was a heated debate: finger-pointing, jostling for space in front of a television camera, and raised voices." The group I spoke with did not "raise" their voices -- they screamed steadily. I'm sure they weren't representative of most Israelis, but I think I can understand better the mentality that allows settlers from Chicago to beat Palestinian children to death and soldiers to fire tank shells into a crowded refugee camp. The write-up in the SJ Mercury on Saturday was less than satisfactory except for a brief quote from Joel Beinin. "Joel Beinin ... said Israel should give up the disputed (sic) territory and allow for an independent Palestinian state. 'Peace but no occupation,'Beinin said. 'The Arabs have lived there for thousands of years, and that cannot be erased as if it had no consequence.'" I'm sure Joel did not say "disputed territory." The report went on to remind us of the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv last week but said nothing about the death of Palestinians or the total blockade Israel has imposed. I have just returned from the annual picnic of our local WILPF (Women's International League for Peace and Freedom) branch. I think that if we decided to have a weekly vigil some of those who are still spry enough would like to take part. One more good thing that happened: a couple with two small children happened by and stopped to talk. They were from Lebanon and were absolutely delighted to see us and to know that so many people were sympathetic. I think this one encounter made the whole event worthwhile, and I hope we do it again.
Best to you all,
Rachi

-Nyons (Drome), friday, 8th :
About 150 women and men participated at the vigil in Nyons. A first speech was a brief history of the conflict and a reading of the call of the ³Coalition of Women for a Just Peace². After a minute of silence in memory of  all the deaths in the conflict, a jewish woman read the call of  ³Union Francaise des juifs pour la paix², then a woman read the message from Palestinian women (from ³Jerusalem Center for Women²). After that, the participants demonstrated in the streets of Nyons. Local news paper will publish a report of this demonstration
 

-There were another vigil in Gap (Hautes-Alpes) with about 30 people on friday, 8th, with placards, and collecting signatures for a public petition.
 

-Aubenas (Ardeche), saturday, 9 th :
On the steps of the Castle of Aubenas, about 40 people participated at the ³women and men in black² vigil under a large banner  ³Stop à l¹occupation israelienne². Saturday is the market day on that place. We distributed handouts (500) with the message from ³Coalition of Women for a Just Peace² and some with the message from Palestinian women (from ³Jerusalem Center for Women²). We also collected signatures for a public petition in order to pressure the French Government and European Union Parliament to have a real action against the occupation and to obtain an International Protection for the civil Palestinian people.
There were no press !
 

-Privas (Ardeche), saturday, 9 th  :
On the market of Privas, on the Town-Hall place, about 30 women and men demonstrated with placards ³Stop à l¹occupation israelienne². They distributed handouts (250) with the message from ³Coalition of Women for a Just Peace², some with the message from Palestinian women (from ³Jerusalem Center for Women²) and others with the UN resolutions which are not applied par Israel.
They also collected signatures for a public petition in order to pressure the French Government and European Union Parliament to have a real action against the occupation and to obtain an International Protection for the civil Palestinian people.
A local journalist was here and he will write an article.
 

-Romans (Drome), saturday, 9 th  :
Its was raining that Saturday afternoon in Romans. No matter ! about 100-120 people came on the Gaiily square with umbrellas (black umbrellas when they had it !). Among them was Henri Bertholet, Mayor of the town and Deputy, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French Parliament. Placards and banners asked the ³Fin de l¹occupation israelienne². They also collected signatures for a public petition in order to pressure the French Government and European Union Parliament to have a real action against the occupation and to obtain an International Protection for the civil Palestinian people. Local journalists was there

-on Tuesday, 12th, another vigil in Tournon (Ardeche), with the same petition and a motion to be tabled at the Tournon's sub-prefecture.

pictures and newspapers clippings will be send as soon as possible.
In Solidarity,

Catherine

We had pre-typed letters to send to President Bush....over 100 were signed and mailed!

Also, a petition was signed to send to President Bush as well.

The vigil was put together by an exciting coalition... mainly people from Jews for Equal Justice, Al-Awda, U.S. Out Now, and the Madison Mennonite Church.  The consensus here is that more of these coordinated events, national and international, must take place!

We will send a photo when we get a chance.

Thank you, Coalition of Women for a Just Peace, for spearheading this vigil, and keep up your courageous work!

The vigil was held across the street from the Israeli Consulate, on Bloor Street near University Avenue.  This is an upscale downtown shopping area, near the Royal Ontario Museum and the Royal Conservatory of Music. The significance  of the location is not obvious, as the Israeli Consulate is on the 7th floor of an office building.  By contrast, the US Consulate has a monumental building just a few blocks away, in the heart of the business district.

The vigil was a silent one.  The most prominent banner was:  "End the Israeli occupation".  In addition, people held homemade signs.  There were the Women in Black trademark black hands reading:  "Dai La'Kibbush", and "End the Occupation".

A few passersby joined the vigil, took Al-Awda educational material, signed the petition of the Campaign to Defend Palestine, and expressed an interest to become active.

The vigil was organized by the "Coalition for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine".  The prime mobilizing vehicle for the vigil was "Jewish Women's Committee to End the Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza" (jwceo@hotmail.com)  This is the group that had carried the banner of opposition to the occupation throughout the first years of the Intifada that began in December 1987.  While the JWCEO participated recently in founding the Campaign to Defend Palestine (Defend_Palestine@canada.com), it does not
limit itself to the organizational capabilities of the CDP.  JWCEO is the formation, in Toronto, that has the commitment, the network, and the leadership to do significant work on this issue.

The vigil was well-publicized by e-mail.  Shlomit Segal of JWCEO was interviewed on CBC radio on Friday afternoon, and publicized the vigil.

The JWCEO leaflet called for an end to human rights abuses in the Occupied Territories, an end to the Israeli Occupation, and "international protection for the Palestinian people". Apparently, well-intentioned activists do not realize that "international protection" would be a trap for the people of Palestine.  The only way to protect the people of Palestine, and end the occupation, is through organization and mass action, in the occupied territories, in Israel, and overseas.

Activists of some political organizations were present at the vigil,with their leaflets and newspapers.  Most of the political organizations, that could have been expected to support the demand to end the Israeli occupation, were absent.

Precious few Arab activists of the Campaign to Defend Palestine were present.  In general, the vigil was poorly attended by Toronto subscribers to Al-Awda.  Clearly, in Toronto, we must do a better job of reaching out to Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, and the community generally.

The organizers have planned vigils on Friday June 22, and Friday July 6, at 5-6 pm across from the Israeli Consulate.

Toronto supporters of the Palestine Right to Return should reach out to and embrace the Women in Black vigils, and, through joint struggle, education, and debate, raise public awareness of the need to support the people of Palestine and "End the Israeli Occupation".  At present, Women in Black is the only game in town.

I'm sorry, though not surprised, that the news media carried so little of this important piece of information, but then, what would happen if the whole world joined in?  I mean, the munitions business might suffer...can you tell how angry I am?

Thank you for your share in organizing and helping to spread the word.

Shalom, salaam,
Barbara
Cairo, Egypt

In the words of Gandhi "Non-cooperation with evil is a sacred duty".

---
Just to give you a brief description, we were quite small in number, about 12 people in the Maadi location (Cairo), and the format was probably a little different to most. Most of us wore black and we had a black hand sign. The tone of the meeting was solemn and our focus was on meditation to contribute to a shift and healing in the collective consciousness from the paradigm of hatred, violence and retaliation towards the new paradigm based on Oneness, compassion and mutual recognition and respect. After some initial chanting and visualisation to bring our intent into alignment, we had one hour of totally silent meditation and prayer.

After the meditation we read texts, quotes and poems that were uplifting and inspiring, (related to the theme of course), and spoke together in intense and moving dialogue that lasted about an hour. We all felt it was a beginning and intend to build and expand on what was created in this wonderful and poignant time of shared pain and hope, so that more in Egypt may join in solidarity with our aims.

The group in Zamalek reported a similar meeting, I'll get details tonight and forward.

Nothing appeared in the daily Arabic press, though they were contacted. If anything appears in any of the English Language weeklies I'll send it on.

Shalom/Salaam
Lesley

Thank you all for organizing this special event!

Mieka

Well, despite a press release and follow up calls, we did not get media coverage for the Denver Women in Black/End the Occupation of Palestine vigil.

Too bad, because the media might have enjoyed the spectacle of what happened.  As 20 to 30 of us arrived in black clothes, carrying our signs saying "End the Occupation" and "Free Palestine", to our surprise we were engulfed by 20 - 30 opposition activists carrying
Israeli flags and a loudspeaker.  We don't know where they came from, but their intent was pretty clearly to disrupt our vigil.

As we attempted to distribute our flyers and send our message to passersby, we had to deal with members of the opposition who encircled us and engaged us in loud debate while they also passed out their own flyers. They were quite confrontational, blared their loudspeaker, and in at least one case made someone feel close to threatened.  No actual violence broke out, however, thanks be.  We unfortunately lacked a permit, so we could not call upon the police to send the counter-demonstrators away.

But their arguments were pretty silly.  Their flyer states such things as "Jews pray facing Jerusalem, Muslims pray with their backs toward Jerusalem" to justify Israel's abusive occupation.  They kept claiming that 85% percent of Arabs surveyed support terrorism, which I told them was absurd.  They also told me personally that by demostrating against the occupation I was supporting terrorism (even Nazism!) I pointed to one of our signs which read "We oppose terrorism and violence of all kinds - One atrocity does not justify another."&nbbsp; They replied that I was "confusing the issue with slogans".

I am deeply chagrined that that members of Colorado Coalition for Mid East Peace and others who showed up to support this vigil had to be subjected to this.  Everyone held their own quite well and debated with skill and great presence of mind.  But the experience was not at all what I had planned.  I wished to deeply thank all those who participated and I apologize for the uninvited "guests".

I will close with a quote from Wadi Muhaisen, member of the Colorado Coalition for Mid East Peace:

"The Arab-American community in Colorado categorically condemns any and all acts of violence committed  against innocent civilians in the Arab-Israeli conflict. This includes the recent suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, which is anti-peace and does not reflect the views of the Arab people in general."

Here in Portugal we are building a Healing Biotope. This  is a community of humans, animals and plants whose relationships are based upon trust, co-operation and mutual support. The global plan is to establish several Healing Biotopes on the different continents. As the initiators of the project, we are basing our actions upon the hypothesis that a small number of  these centres will be sufficient to establish a global healing field. We are very interested in co-operation with peace-workers all over the world who deeply want to overcome violence. More information about this work you find at www.tamera.org

At the end of this mail you find the English version of the press release we distributed during the vigil. And as attachment 2 photos of our action.

Many greetings from Portugal

Jonas (IGF-Institute for Global Peace Work)
 

VIGIL FOR PALESTINE AND ISRAEL.
Press Release

Today in 142 cities around the world vigils take place for the cessation of violence in Palestine and Israel. We follow a call from the Israeli peace movement ´ Women´s Coalition for a just Peace`. War can only be avoided if Israel returns the occupied areas to the Palestinians, as stipulated by International law.
Palestinians fight with stones and desperate hatred against the Israeli occupation. A few days ago a 20 year old Palestinian exploded a bomb that was strapped to his own body. Through his actions in an Israeli disco, 22 Israeli youth between the ages of 14 and 25 died. On television we witnessed the pain of their friends and parents. This pain occurs everyday on many senseless slaughter fields, where people try to impose domination over
others.
More and more young Israelis are coming together with young Palestinians for a co-existence in peace and friendship. Therefore, the world wide appeal to Israel is: Give back the occupied territories to the Palestinians, as they belong to them. Support the Peace movement on both sides. For the friendship of youth in all countries, for a free Israel, for a free Palestine, for a free Earth!
Shalom and Salaam
Movement for a free Earth, Monte do Cerro, P- 7630 Colos

In solidarity
Christine

We had more than a dozen participants, about half of them from Emmanuel  Mennonite Church, whose pastor organized the local vigil. Others came from local peace and justice groups.

Passersby encouraged us to "do it again," with their participation.  Local Moslems were supportive, as were University of Florida Palestinian students.   Several conservative Christians came by with their own signs to counter ours.  They were advocating total support by the US of the Israeli government.

The Gainesville group carried signs reading "No more Jewish Deaths, No more Palestinian Deaths," "Stop U.S. Support of Israeli Occupation," "This Jew Says No to the Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Land," "Palestinians Need a Homeland Too "Justice is a Jewish Tradition."

Immediately before the vigil some participated in a prayer service at Emmanuel Mennonite Church.

It was largely a silent vigil. After 20 or 30 minutes, we formed a large circle, holding hands. We stood for a few moments in silence, visualizing a peaceful Israel and a peaceful Palestine, side by side. A few vigilers were moved to speak briefly about their hopes for change in the Middle East. Then we walked slowly with our signs three blocks along the main street, which was quite busy with pedestrians and cars. We had a sheet to hand out, explaining the reason for our demonstration, the Women in Black movement in Israel, and the fact that the coalition sponsoring  the world-wide demonstrations included peace groups in both the Middle East and the U.S.  Altogether we gave out 100 of these sheets.

We also had copies of two booklets,  "The Israeli Occupation" and "the Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict."  put out by Jews for Justice in the Middle East, P. O. Box 14561, Berkeley, CA, 94712. The booklets were given to vigilers who didn't already have them, and also to passers-by who showed particular interest.

Our route also went through part of the large park which lies at the center of Ashland, and we ended  at a central city square, the Plaza, where we held our signs up for the many passing motorists to see. The vigil ended about 6:45.

We felt very pleased with the turnout, in our town of nearly 20,000 people. A number of students from the local university joined us, and they also had helped plan the demonstration, actively publicized the event on the campus, and made a large number of signs. The Muslim community was represented, and many citizens who are consistently active on peace and justice issues participated.

Yesterday this wonderful letter arrived from our indomitable and spirited friend, Irene, which I wanted to share with you:

        "Congratulations to you and friends for organizing the Women in Black
        demonstration on Friday!  I had planned to join you, with full certainty
        on Thursday, but I have learned that well-hoped for plans are always at the
        mercy of advanced age.  I was painfully reminded of that on Friday morning.
        I had to be content of being with you in spirit.

        "I hope you and your friends will continue this important message.  As you
        know WILPF has long supported an independent Palestinian state with its
        capital in East Jerusalem.  I understand that the first step is to end the
        violence, as you and friends have made clear.

        "Very best wishes for boundless energy and good will in this important work.
        Peace, Irene Bernstein"

It was a learning experience for me to be confronted by a group of counter- demonstrators determined to see us as the enemy and refusing to take in our signs which so clearly expressed our concern and prayers for Israelis as well as for Palestinians.  I was grateful for the remarkable restraint and respect with which everyone in our group responded to those who came to express very different views.

If I have failed to send this to someone who stood with us last week - for lack of an email address or no email aaddress - I would appreciate your forwarding this.

Special thanks to each of you for sharing in the spirit of this time together and for your ongoing efforts to work for justice and security for all.

Salaam/shalom, Margee