Vigil Weds, 4-6pm ECHC; Anne Frank Fest, Oct 2-3; Dinner News!

716-332-3904      10/1/19                  wnypeace.org

Dear Friends,

We hope you had a good week, as we continue on this work of Peace Through Justice at home and abroad.

–Holding Sheriff/Deputy Accountable
One justice victory was that a deputy sheriff was held accountable for reckless assault, official misconduct, and falsifying business records!

Thanks to DA Flynn’s office and the courageous, clear-headed people on the jury. No thanks to Sheriff Howard, who hung around the courtroom in uniform conferring with the defense; and the police union whose knee-jerk blaming of the DA seems unethical and immoral. Right and wrong should matter; guilt should matter. Ironically, in defense of the union’s criticizing the prosecutor, the DA reminded them of a history of defending the police and having gotten an officer cleared of a shooting in Springville.

So we once again invite you to the Erie County Holding Center (ECHC) Vigil on Wednesday at 4-6pm in front of the ECHC, on Delaware between Church & Eagle, Please bring signs – and determination for real change to systemic violence and racism! Too many deaths, too much brutality, too terrible an administration – Sheriff Howard is yet another elected official who needs to be impeached.

–52nd Annual Dinner – Medea; and Women’s Resistance Revival Chorus!
Now that it’s October, our 52nd Annual Dinner is right around the corner. We will also be making some very special awards! The Women’s Resistance Revival Chorus of WNY will get the Alt-imate Activist Award, named for WNY Peace Center lifelong stalwart member, organizer, and activist, Wayne Alt. The WNY Resistance Revival Chorus has generously shared their joy of music, kindled by founder Drea D’Nur, and always shows up when most needed! Come hear them and honor them. Tickets are available on our website!

–The Anne Frank Project holds it social justice conference at Buff State starting tomorrow evening, with full days of experiential learning on collaboration and activism on Weds & Thurs, Oct 2nd (Gandhi’s Birthday) and 3rd, (most sessions in Campbell Student Union). Please register for this wonderful, fun, and free event at annefrankproject.com (info and link also on our wnypeace.org website). We’ll be PeaceJamming with Roc Da Mic/Lonnie & Co. on Weds at 3:30-5pm in the Social Hall of the Student Union, Buff State. Bring an instrument if you play, and your free and adventurous spirit if you think you don’t!

–And don’t forget to register for the World On Your Plate Conference, held at Daemen College on Fri & Sat, Oct 11-12. It will be an even-better-than-ever smorgasboard – all about food: nutrition, food politics, and actual great food! Don’t miss it.

–Our Talking Peace radio show (on WBNY 91.3FM, streaming at wbny.buffalostate.edu) on Monday, October 7th, when it’ll be 18 years of war on Afghanistan, we will have a very special guest – Kathy Kelly, of Voices for Creative Nonviolence. You’ll get updates on Afghanistan and the Afghan Peace Volunteers, and much more. Don’t miss it!

–Please join our new campaign to support the very important local airing of Democracy Now! on WBNY. To keep it going, we need to do some fundraising. So we ask you to send your most generous contribution to WNYPC – online or with a check sent (and made out) to WNY Peace Center, 1272 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, NY 14209, and write in the memo line: Friends of Democracy Now! (or in a note with the online submission). We need to keep it on the air here in WNY for our youth, our neighbors, and ourselves!
And remember to tune in to DEMOCRACY NOW! BROADCAST Live MONDAY-FRIDAY, 8AM-9AM (LIVE) ON WBNY 91.3FM. Hear it over the radio or streaming live at wbny.buffalostate.edu.

–We have a great new staff member here at the WNY Peace Center: Nicole our Assistant! Nicole has a broad background in advocacy, activism, organizing, fundraising – we’re thrilled to have her on board! We also have a new consultant, helping with graphics and outreach: Shalese Foster! Shalese has lots of event planning, desktop publishing, and community involvement experience. Both these women will be a huge help as we work to #Unite! Please give them a warm welcome!

–Please go to our website (wnypeace.org) calendar for plenty more listings, campaigns in the website posts, and info on our facebook page.
Peace, Thanks, Solidarity, and yes Love.

#Unite! #OneLove
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Events this week:

Anne Frank Project: Social Justice Festival
October 2 @ 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
At SUNY Buffalo State, Campbell Student Union, Social Hall. You’ll be glad if you come out for any part of this free 2-day festival on Collaboration and Activism for Social Change! Registration & Schedule link(s) below. (Of note, WNYPC’s PeaceJam will collaborate with Roc da Mic is at 3:30pm on Oct 2 in the Social Hall. The organic music creation by all attendees will be collaboration in action through music-making and jamming together. If you play an instrument, please feel free to bring it!)
To register:
https://buffalostate.wufoo.com/forms/m1w2cl8l0cv9t3z/

No More Deaths! – Vigil at Erie Co Holding Center
Weds, Oct 2 @ 4:00 pm – 6 pm
Please join with the WNYPC’s Prisoners’ Rights Taskforce at this regular Wednesday vigil at the Erie County Holding Center (Delaware & Church). It will be bigger than usual as there’s been yet another death – reportedly a suicide – at the Alden Facility also under the auspices of Sheriff Howard’s Dept. Furthermore, as reported by by the Buffalo News on Sunday 9/22/19 (front page), dear brother Connell Burrell died due (about a month ago) due to medical malpractice.

Sheriff Howard is (yet another) elected official who needs to be impeached. Come ahead – All are welcome. Grieving families will be joining us, and people with related lived experience are more than welcome! Please, too, bring signs. Cosponsored by Brothers Doing Better, Buffalo AntiRacism Coalition (BARC), Prisoners Are People Too, and more in process.

Myanmar/Burma – Peace & Justice Issues
October 2 @ 6:00 pm
At First Presbyterian Church, Symphony Circle, Buffalo. Rev. Thang Van Lian, a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar, as an “international peacemaker” and witness to the power of nonviolence, will speak. General public forum with panel discussion involving academics, community, and faith leaders on Myanmar/Burma-related issues.

Anne Frank Project: Social Justice Festival
October 3 @ 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
At SUNY Buffalo State, Campbell Student Union, Social Hall. You’ll be glad if you come out for any part of this free 2-day festival on Collaboration and Activism for Social Change! Registration & Schedule link(s) below.
Communities across the world grapple with conflicts, challenging discussions, and injustices that often remain ignored. When these important stories fall silent, communities break apart, and individuals are left alone. There is an opportunity within this struggle to unite and rebuild. AFP 2019 will examine unique ways in which people solve problems through the art of collaboration. In the Anne Frank Project there is a specific philosophy that relates to this year’s theme: We agree we cannot do it alone. Whether we work across disciplines, neighborhoods, or countries, we need each other to manage conflicts, embrace challenges and stand strong in the face of injustice. In honor of Anne Frank’s would-be 90th birthday this June, we encourage activists, artists, performers, and community leaders to share methods, practices, and experiences that ask people to come together to engage for change.
More info:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54206433e4b02b7c37f3dae7/t/5d6e63c768abb200013e1d4f/1567515592173/AFP+2019+Online+Program+EE+%28004%29.pdf
To register:
https://buffalostate.wufoo.com/forms/m1w2cl8l0cv9t3z/

Community Police Speakout
October 3 @ 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
At Delevan Grider Community Center, 877 E Delevan Ave, Buffalo, NY 14215. Organized by WIN, Tapestry-4H Youth C.A.N. “Our goal is to improve the relationship and address misunderstanding between the police and the community. We plan on doing this by having a public speak out to inform people on both perspectives through art and interactive

REGULARLY SCHEDULED EVENTS in the One Struggle, One Vision, One Love:

Talking Peace with the WNY Peace Center Radio Show on 91.3FM, WBNY. Mondays, 1-3pm. Call-in show with Vicki Ross hosting. Also streaming on-line at wbny.buffalostate.edu. Very Special Guest Kathy Kelly, Coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, with updates on Afghanistan and the Afghan Peace Volunteers, and much more!

Postcard Tuesdays –9:30-11am, at the Daily Planet Café on Hertel Avenue, just east of Starin. Come to write your viewpoints on current issues to your Congressional reps and various bank presidents about current injustices. Organized by StandUpWNY (writing materials/postcards provided).

Buffalo Nekanesakt. Indigenous support group/allies. 1st & 3rd Tuesdays, 6:30-8pm. At Burning Books, 420 Connecticut Ave. All are welcome!! Reading group for the Great Law of Peace meets on the last Tuesday of the month.

Prisoners’ Rights Taskforce – Wednesdays 4-6pm protest/vigils at the Erie County Holding Center (Delaware & Church). All are welcome. Please bring signs.

Resist Militarism! Taskforce – regular monthly planning meeting third Weds of the month, at Isaías González-Soto Branch  (formerly Niagara Branch) Library, 280 Porter Ave, Buffalo 14201; 5-6:30pm.

Interfaith Peace Network, 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month, 9:15am at 1272 Delaware Ave, Buffalo NY 14209 entrance and parking round back.) Breakfast potluck, planning/publicizing, & discussion.

Vigil for Victims of ICE Terror – Thursdays, 5-6pm, ICE building on the corner of (@250) Delaware and Chippewa. Bring your signs and spirit of Solidarity. We will not stay silent! #EndICETerror #FamiliesBelongTogether #AbolishICE #CLOSETHECAMPS #NeverAgainIsNow

Buffalo Youth Climate Strike – all are welcome 2-3pm at Niagara Square for a youth-led rally to stand up for People and the Planet, and radical change to mitigate and avert climate catastrophe. Bring signs! See you there! This week runs 2-5pm (see above!)

Environmental Justice Taskforce – Vigil to Protest the Shipments of VERY Dangerous Radioactive Liquid from Canada coming over the Peace Bridge. Fridays 2-3pm, Front Park at Vermont & Busti, Buffalo. Signs welcome and also usually available.

Stop The Violence Coalition – 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month; 6pm, United Way Building, Delaware and Summer Sts.

Women In Black – Nonviolence vigil, Bidwell and Elmwood. Saturdays, Noon-1pm. Signs also available. (and you don’t need to be a woman or dress in black)

Of note: Little Africa Culture Club, 356 S. Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY. African Drumming Sundays, 12-2pm.
We shall overcome #Unitethestruggles #Loveislove #PowerWITH-NOTPowerOver
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More listings on calendar and in previous email posts.
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Please submit possible listings for consideration to weeklynews@wnypeace.org.
The time is now, and we are the people we’ve been waiting for.
And remember to tune in: DEMOCRACY NOW! IS NOW BEING BROADCASTMONDAY-FRIDAY, 8AM-9AM (LIVE) ON WBNY 91.3FM. Hear it over the radio or streaming live at wbny.buffalostate.edu.

Time for People(s) and the Planet

716-332-3904 7/30/19 wnypeace.org

Dear Friends,

On Friday, join us at El Mueso at 4 pm for Speaking Verse to Power: Poems on Peace, War, & Justice. Poets will read their work on peace, war, and justice. You can also submit your own work, sign up is available at the door!

Please join us for the Nuclear Free & Indigenous Press Conference on August 6 at 1 pm at the Japanese Gardens (behind the Buffalo History Museum). Come out to support a nuclear-free future, with respect and equality for Indigenous people(s), all people and the planet. Held 74 years after the catastrophic US war crime of the bombing of Hiroshima. Learn about nuclear waste trucked over the Peace Bridge, nuclear waste pollution in WNY, nuclear weapons, prior free and informed consent, indigenous invisibility, and care for the Earth.

Following this event, on August 9 at 3 pm, join us to celebrate United Nations’ Indigenous People’ Day and commemorate lives lost to war and nuclear development on August 9,

The Ongoing Dread in Gaza: So Many Names, So Many Lives

By Kathy Kelly

July 23, 2019

“I felt shaky and uneasy all day, preparing for this talk” – Jehad Abusalim, a Palestinian from the territory of Gaza

Jehad Abusalim, a Palestinian now living in the United States, grew up Gaza. In Chicago last week, addressing activists committed to breaking the siege of Gaza,  he held up a stack of 31 papers. On each page were names of 1,254 Palestinians living in Gaza who had been killed in just one month of Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” attacks five years ago.  

“I felt shaky and uneasy all day preparing for this talk,” he told the group. He described his dismay when, looking through the list of names, he recognized one of a young man from his small town.

“He was always friendly to me,” Abusalim said. “I remember how he would greet me on the way to the mosque. His family and friends loved him, respected him.”

Abusalim recalled the intensity of losing loved ones and homes; of seeing livelihoods and infrastructure destroyed by aerial attacks; of being unable to protect the most vulnerable. He said it often takes ten years or more before Palestinian families traumatized by Israeli attacks can begin talking about what happened. Noting Israel’s major aerial attacks in 2009, 2013, and 2014, along with more recent attacks killing participants in the “Great March of Return,” he spoke of ongoing dread about what might befall Gaza’s children the next time an attack happens.

Eighty people gathered to hear Abusalim and Retired Colonel Ann Wright, of US Boat to Gaza, as they helped launch the “Free Gaza Chicago River Flotilla,” three days of action culminating on July 20 with a spirited demonstration by “kayactivists” and boaters, along with onshore protesters, calling for an end to the siege of Gaza. Wright resigned from her post as a U.S. diplomat when the United States launched the 2003 Shock and Awe bombing of Iraq. Having participated in four previous internationals flotillas aiming to defy Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza’s shoreline, Wright is devoting her energies preparing for a fifth in 2020.

Another organizer and member of US Boat to Gaza, Elizabeth Murray, who like Wright formerly worked for the U.S. government, recalled being in a seminar sponsored by a prestigious think tank in Washington, D.C., when a panel member compared Israeli attacks against Palestinians with routine efforts to “mow the lawn.” She recounted hearing a light tittering as the D.C. audience members expressed amusement. But, Murray said, “Not a single person objected to the panelist’s remark.” This was in 2010, following Israel’s 2009 Operation Cast Lead, which killed 1,383 Palestinians, 333 of whom were children.

Abusalim’s colleague at the American Friends Service Committee, Jennifer Bing, had cautioned Chicago flotilla planners to carefully consider the tone of their actions. A colorful and lively event during a busy weekend morning along Chicago’s popular riverfront could be exciting and, yes, fun.

But Palestinians in Gaza cope with constant tension, she noted. Denied freedom of movement, they live in the world’s largest open-air prison, under conditions the United Nations has predicted will render their land uninhabitable by 2020. Households get four to six hours of electricity per day. According to UNICEF, “sewage treatment plants can’t operate fully and the equivalent of forty-three Olympic-sized swimming pools of raw or partly treated sewage is pumped into the sea every day.”

Facing cruel human rights violations on a daily basis, the organizers urge solidarity in the form of boycotts, divestment, and sanctions. U.S. residents bear particular responsibility for Israel’s military attacks against civilians, they note, as the United States has supplied Israel with billions of dollars for military buildup.

U.S. companies profit hugely from selling weapons to Israel. For example, Boeing, with headquarters in Chicago, sells Israel Apache helicopters, Hellfire and Harpoon missiles, JDAM guiding systems and Small Diameter Bombs that deliver Dense Inert Metal Explosive munitions. All of these weapons have been used repeatedly in Israeli attacks on densely populated civilian areas.

During the 2009 Operation Cast Lead, I was in Rafah, Gaza, listening to children explaining the difference between explosions caused by F-16 fighter jets dropping 500-pound bombs and Apache helicopters firing Hellfire missiles.

Israel continues using those weapons, and Israeli purchases fatten Boeing’s financial portfolios.

On July 19, young Palestinians outside of the Israeli consulate read aloud the names of people who had, five years ago, been killed in Gaza. We listened solemnly and then proceeded to Boeing’s Chicago headquarters, again listening as youngsters read more names, punctuated by a solemn gong after each victim was remembered. Ultimately, 2,104 Palestinians, more than two-thirds of whom were civilians, including 495 children, were killed during the seven-week attack on the Gaza Strip in 2014.

During the Free Gaza Chicago River flotilla on July 20, Husam Marajda, from the Arab American Action Network, sat in a small boat next to his grandfather, who was visiting from Palestine. His chant, “From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go!” echoed from the water to the shore. Banners were dropped from bridges above, the largest reading, “Israel, Stop Killing Palestinians.”

Kayakers wore red T-shirts announcing the “Gaza Unlocked” campaign and managed to display flags, connected by string, spelling out “Free Gaza.” Passengers on other boats flashed encouraging peace signs and thumbs up signals. Those processing along the shore line, carrying banners and signs, walked the entirety of our planned route before a sergeant from the Chicago Police Department arrived to say we needed a permit.

We can’t permit ourselves to remain silent. Following the energetic flotilla activity, I sat with several friends in a quiet spot. “So many names,” said one friend, thinking of the list Abusalim had held up. “So many lives,” said another.

Captions:

Kayakers on the Chicago River display Free Gaza sign   Photo Credit: Barbara Briggs Letson

Banner dropping over a bridge crossing the Chicago River: Israel, Stop Killing Palestinians  Photo Credit: Barbara Briggs Letson

At Boeing Company, Names of people killed in Israel’s Operation Protective Edge are read aloud; Elizabeth Murray sounds a gong after each name.   Photo credit:  Barbara Briggs Letson

A version of this article was published July 23^rd at The Progressive https://progressive.org/dispatches/dread-in-gaza-so-many-names-lives-kelly-190723/

Kathy Kelly (kathy@vcnv.org) co-coordinates Voices for Creative Nonviolence (www.vcnv.org)