STANISLAUS CONNECTIONS

Working For Peace, Justice, and A Sustainable Environment

April, 2002

A Modesto Peace/Life Center Publication

Peace

The peace movement: troubling questions, new directions
By DAN ONORATO

Since the September 11 terrorist actions, the peace movement here and throughout the country has been reeling from the shock waves. Like most Americans we were deeply pained by the destruction and suffering the terrorists caused, and for the first time in recent history we felt a real threat to our collective security. The calamity was not far away in a distant land; we carried, and still carry it in our hearts.

Many people called for restraint in our nation's reaction: treat the actions as crimes, pursue the criminals, hold them accountable, and try them in international court. The government chose retaliation: reassert American power, punish and destroy the enemy. Six months later with the war against terrorism dominating public policy and haunting our hopes for the future, we are troubled by what we see unfolding. And we in the peace movement are doubly troubled because we do not know how best to respond.

We are asking unsettling questions. How does the government, without some use of force, fulfill its responsibility to protect the innocent? If we hold that a police action aimed at apprehending the criminals would have been a better choice, would we not also be implicitly justifying some level of armed violence, since criminals don't normally give up without a fight? If we grant this, how do we reconcile this use of armed force with nonviolence or pacifism? Are there limits to the applicability of nonviolence?

Other questions fill us with dread. How long will this war go on, and how open-ended will it become? How many innocent people abroad will become "collateral damage" as U.S. military might rains down its fierce power? How many Americans will also become victims? Is war, which inevitably hurts and kills innocent people, an effective way to end terrorism? Will the long-suffering Iraqi people be the hapless victims in a war against Saddam Hussein? What effects will unilateral U.S. action have on our relations with the rest of the world, including our allies?

Here at home we see our civil rights threatened. Should the government be allowed to hold people in detention for months without a hearing? We see the military given a virtual blank check to spend what it wants, and we wonder how significant social needs will be met. We see the mainstream media cheer leading the war, and we're left in the dark about how the rest of the world views our government's actions. Though there's less said about the prejudice now, we wonder how our Muslim and Middle Eastern citizens and neighbors are feeling, what they might be suffering, and how we might help create more respect for differences. We read of threats of first strike with nuclear weapons, and we wonder if all reason has been abandoned.

These questions and disturbing new realities have no simple answers or resolution, and we may not agree about them, but it's time we break the silence. It's time we listen to what other peace seekers have to say and how they feel as they share their reactions to what happened on September 11 and since then. It's time we encourage and strengthen one another for what looks like a long, difficult time ahead. And it's time to consider courses of action.

The Modesto Peace/Life Center invites everyone concerned, young and old, to a community dialogue about these issues on Saturday, April 20, from 9:00 in the morning till noon. The gathering will take place in the Fellowship Hall of the College Avenue Congregational Church. The Center encourages those who come to bring an object with them that symbolizes or reflects what they feel and think. This might be a poem, song, collage, drawing, or whatever.

People are still grieving, feeling uncertain and afraid, wrestling with dilemmas of conscience, trying to channel anger constructively, wanting to do something but not sure what to do. Please come to share your questions, feelings, and ideas.

Courage to Refuse" Israeli Officers and Soldiers Refuse Missions of Occupation and Oppression of Palestine

• We, reserve combat officers and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, who were raised upon the principles of Zionism, sacrifice and giving to the people of Israel and to the State of Israel, who have always served in the front lines, and who were the first to carry out any mission, light or heavy, in order to protect the State of Israel and strengthen it.
• We, combat officers and soldiers who have served the State of Israel for long weeks every year, in spite of the dear cost to our personal lives, have been on reserve duty all over the Occupied Territories, and were issued commands and directives that have nothing to do with the security of our country, and that had the sole purpose of perpetuating our control over the Palestinian people. We, whose eyes have seen the body toll this Occupation exacts on both sides.
• We, who sensed how the commands issued to us in the Territories, destroy all the values we have absorbed while growing up in this county.
• We, who understand now that the price of Occupation is the loss of IDF's human character and the corruption of the entire Israeli society.
• We, who know that the Territories are not Israel, and all settlements are bound to be evacuated in the end.
• We hereby declare that we shall not continue to fight this War of the Settlements.
• We shall not continue to fight beyond the 1967 borders in order to dominate, expel, starve and humiliate an entire people.
• We hereby declare that we shall continue serving in the Israel Defense Forces in any mission that serves Israel's defenses -The missions of occupation and oppression do not serve this purpose - and we shall take no part in them.

Over 600 brave Israeli Reserve Officers have risk their careers and now face jail sentences because they publicly refuse to serve in the Israeli army in the West Bank and Gaza. They won't be silent partners to the Occupation any longer. Nor will tens of thousands of Israelis who have taken to the streets this year in demonstrations against the Occupation. --Tikkun ACTION: For more information, contact Support the Reservists, Tikkun, 951 Cragmont, Berkeley, Ca 94708; email: rabbilerner@tikkun.org; or 415-575-1200.

PEACE ESSAY CONTEST 2002

 There were 982 qualifying entries in Peace Essay Contest 2002, the 16th annual writing competition for Stanislaus County students grades 5 through 12. This year's topics focused on identifying a need in the community and how the writer and a group of contemporaries might work to improve it.

First Place
Division II (grades 9 and 10)
An essay for peace
By ASMAA ALSUFI
Oakdale Charter School

 Since September 11, 2001, racial and ethnic discrimination have become obvious in my community. Many acts of violence have been committed against people in our community. I would like to organize a group to educate people about cultural, racial, and religious diversity, because education is the best tool in fighting discrimination. I think that my group could help to educate the community. I would like to contribute my extra time to help solve this dilemma.

Hate crimes are a big deal in this country. I'm a Yemeni Muslim, and I know some of the victims of these tragedies. For the worst case, my family and I know of a man in a town nearby who was brutally murdered. Because of the way we dress, Muslim women can't go anywhere without being verbally harassed. Hate crimes against Arabs, Muslims, and Sikhs have been increasingly reported to the local police forces. In response, the police have contacted local (Muslim) mosques and (Sikh) temples, urging Muslims and Sikhs to notify them in case of any problems. Many people don't realize it, but "small" hate crimes are a form of terrorism.

If I were to assemble a group in my cause, I think that I would most likely call it the "Diversity-Tolerance Connection." Initially, this group would include youth from our local mosque, and leaders of the Muslim community. Eventually, we could invite people from other communities to join our group. People in our community have been working with non-Muslims to educate them about Islam. For example, police have been invited to learn about Islam from people in our community. I feel that our community should be more involved with other communities. We could have a dinner at our local mosque and invite leaders of local law enforcement, other faiths, and the general public. I feel that my group could make a difference.

I think that I can help in many ways. I like to learn about other people's customs and religions. I also like to teach people about my customs and religion. I could rally kids my age to talk about positive ways to contribute information. To describe, we could meet with a leader of our community to inform us how we can teach people about our religion and cultures. Our community should be more involved with other communities. For instance we should work with other communities to better understand each other's issues. Nobody can live alone.

I don't know for sure what job I'll end up with, but I know that I'll have a responsibility to educate the community about Islam. I could volunteer time at local public schools to talk about discrimination. I could attend Interfaith Conferences, and I should learn about other peoples' cultures and religions. I could participate in anti-hate rallies, as I do now, and encourage other people to do the same. Nobody can get rid of all the hate and discrimination in the world by themselves, but if we all work together and help each other, this world will be a lot better off.

Voices In The Wilderness responds to raids on agents that transfer money to Iraq

By KATHY KELLY

Responding to news that US Customs agents have investigated efforts by Iraqi families to send desperately needed funds to loved ones in Iraq, Voices in the Wilderness members again assert determination to openly violate the US laws which forbid extending the hand of friendship to ordinary people in Iraq. Sending anything of value or any package weighing more than 12 ounces violates United States sanctions against Iraq.

Forty-two Voices in the Wilderness delegations have traveled to Iraq, carrying medicines and medical relief supplies, since our campaign began on Martin Luther King’s birthday, January 15, 1996. Each of our delegations has returned with eyewitness accounts about the punitive effects of economic sanctions. Visits with beleaguered children and families in Iraq help us understand why their loved ones in the United States would undertake extraordinary steps to aid needy Iraqi relatives with financial support. We cannot, ourselves, imagine walking away from the bedsides of dying children in Iraq without reaffirming our commitment to end the economic sanctions. We will not ourselves be bound by laws which are cruel and unjust. We feel responsible to help Americans understand that US residents of Iraqi descent who send money to their families are engaging in a rational act of compassion, not a desperate act to fuel terrorism.

We’re grateful for the support and solidarity which has emerged from a long list of faith-based and community groups who join us now in our efforts to use nonviolent civil disobedience to defy the economic sanctions. Organizations dedicated to peace, justice, human rights and the alleviation of human suffering have sent delegations to Iraq and encouraged their membership to explore nonviolent ways to break the economic sanctions.

We’re confident that all of the groups and individuals who have campaigned and petitioned to end the economic sanctions will assert a collective support for Iraqi families as they face escalated consequences of the most comprehensive state of siege ever imposed in modern history.

Voices in the Wilderness, based in Chicago, has already been issued a $160,000 pre-penalty notice for the so-called crime of bringing toys and medicine to children and families in Iraq. We wish to reiterate that we’ve done exactly that. We’ll continue to undertake travel to Iraq, we won’t pay any penalties, and we invite US government officials to join us in our efforts to challenge the economic sanctions.

We encourage all who receive this message to help educate their local media, elected representatives and surrounding community about the effects of economic sanctions on ordinary Iraqi people. Guided by such information, it will be easier for people to endorse and laud the refusal of Iraqi American families to abandon their loved ones.

We also ask all who read this to note that we have gone on record, since the beginning of this campaign, as a group opposed to the development, storage, sale and use of all weaponry, including the weapon of economic sanctions.

ACTION: More information: Voices in the Wilderness, 1460 West Carmen Ave., Chicago IL 60640; phone:773-784-8065; oe http://www.nonviolence.org/vitw.

Urgent Action Alert: Stop the Bush Nuclear Offensive

On Saturday, March 9th, the Los Angeles Times published an article that uncovered Bush administration plans to develop new nuclear weapons and to radically expand the possibility of their use. Based on leaks from the confidential Nuclear Posture Review, the article documents plans “to build smaller nuclear weapons for use in certain battlefield situations.” The Bush plan calls for a strategy against at least seven nations, including China, Russia, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Libya and Syria.

According to the Times, the secret report says the weapons could be used in three types of situations: against targets able to withstand non-nuclear attack; in retaliation for attack with nuclear, biological or chemical weapons; or ‘in the event of surprising military developments.’ It suggests that the US may use nuclear weapons in a Middle East conflict or in a conflict between China and Taiwan.

The implications of this report are devastating. The Bush administration has basically declared its intent to develop new nuclear weapons and potentially resume nuclear weapons testing and in the process destroy both the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the larger fabric of nuclear arms control. The plan, as laid out by Bush, drastically increases US strategic dependence on nuclear weapons and blurs the distinction between conventional and nuclear war. Adopting this posture dramatically increases the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons and swings the door open to uncontrolled nuclear proliferation.

The likely result of this announcement is that the nations targeted, as well as others, will accelerate programs to deter American attack by ensuring that they can deliver devastating blows to one or more American cities, with or without ballistic missiles. Congress, the media and the general public need to see that there is overwhelming opposition to this dangerous and destabilizing plan. Act now to protect humanity and stop the Administration from going down this path.

ACTION: Contact your Representative and Senators: Capitol Hill Switchboard - (202) 224-312
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For fact sheets and articles visit: http://www.CaliforniaPeaceAction.org/