We started the day with a media training where we broke into groups and practiced answering some of the hardest media questions. Many of them involved the issue of Hamas (we don't support any party; we don't support the targeting of civilians; we are doing this to support the civilian population, most of whom are under 18); others were questions about why we were willing to put ourselves at risk to go on the boat. People spoke from the heart about their reasons for going, which is quite compelling. Many have been to the West Bank and/or Gaza and seen the abuses by the Israeli military firsthand. Others are Jewish and feel a particular responsibility. Almost 30% of the group is Jewish, which is amazing given that Jews are less than 2 % of the U.S. population![...]
At the end of one of my first journeys to the Israeli-occupied West Bank in 2004, I endured a shocking experience at Ben-Gurion Airport. I never imagined that Israeli security forces would abuse a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor, but they held me for five hours, and strip-searched and cavity-searched every part of my naked body. The only shame these security officials expressed was to turn their badges around so that their names were invisible[...]
At 1 a.m. on Wednesday, February 2, I was speaking to one of the thousands of protesters planning to spend the night in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. “I hope you’ll get at least a few hours sleep,” I said, as we parted. “We don’t need to sleep,” he smiled. “We have been sleeping for 30 years.”
And we say, “no kidding.” Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was quoted in an AP report yesterday as saying,”We cannot succeed … in Afghanistan by killing Afghan civilians”. While he stays tight-lipped about the disastrous unmanned drones, he goes on to say that it will take at least 2 YEARS [...]
TAKE ACTION HERE In our recent visit to Iran, we saw among the young university women what an important role model Shirin Ebadi is to them. As a female law student told us, “Shirin is our hero. That’s why many of us decided to study law. We want to be like her and help the [...]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Women’s peace group creates petition to Iranian president Calls for safe reopening of Iranian human rights centers, commitment to human rights work WASHINGTON, D.C. — After learning of the shutdown of two renowned Iranian human rights organizations Sunday, CODEPINK Women for Peace have created a letter of petition to Iranian President [...]
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
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