March 16, 2013 marks the 10-year anniversary of our daughter, Rachel Corrie’s death. We thank you all for the love and support you have sent us over the last 10 years, and we thank you for all the work you do on human rights. Please view and share this video and act. Join us at the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice in our call to action!
We spent a warm inaugural week-end in Washington DC this past month and were inspired – rallying and marching to the White House with friends chanting, “No blank check for Israel.” There was a magnificent inaugural eve Peace Ball at Arena Stage envisioned and realized by friend Andy Shallal, Busboys and Poets, Democracy Now! and other great organizations. The venue throbbed with powerful, infectious words, music, and dance – from orators like Amy Goodman, Angela Davis, Ralph Nader, Julian Bond, Medea Benjamin, and musicians Sweet Honey and the Rock and Emma’s Revolution. We were uplifted, being in a space so full of energy and celebration on inaugural eve. Still, we found ourselves wishing we could take the crowd for just a moment across the world to a few places and people we had been so privileged to connect with this past year.
The night before departing from Israel after hearing the judgment of the Israeli court in the civil lawsuit we brought in our daughter’s case, we had dinner with Israeli Jewish friends high in the hills of Haifa. They, like so many others, had supported us through our long journey in search of accountability. We met the parents of Natan – a 19 year-old Israeli youth and conscientious objector. Since November 19th (after Operation Pillar of Defense), he has repeatedly been in and out of military prison subsequent to each of his refusals to serve in the Israeli military. Natan says, “We, as citizens and human beings, have a moral duty to refuse to participate in this cynical game.”
Dear Friends,
We are spending the waning days of 2012 in Brazil, making our first visit to South America – for a niece’s wedding and to finally visit our foreign exchange student who lived with us nearly twenty years ago. Our first day off the plane, we’ve explored exotic foods and drink, enjoyed a Brazilian summer thunderstorm, and through heavy rain surveyed the Oscar Niemeyer-designed buildings of Brasilia, the capital city that is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What resonates most for us, though, are the vibrant conversations we’ve already had with our hosts about indefensible U.S. policies on Israel/Palestine, deterioration of the U.S. reputation because of our actions in the Middle East this past decade, and the “evils of empire.” Yet among these Brazilian friends, there is still belief that much of what the U.S. does in the world contributes positively, and hope that the Obama administration in its second term will navigate its way toward positions that better serve both U.S. and world interests.
As we listen and engage with the lively discussion, we are heartened again by our ability to have the conversations, to connect across continents, and to see that wherever we go, people are more the same than different. The rights and opportunities we hold dear are those others want, as well – and not only for themselves.
GAZA STRIP – Voices of Conscience Delegation Arrives
November 5, 2012 – Interfaith Peace-Builders (IFPB) is pleased to announce that our 21 member delegation to the Gaza Strip passed safely through the Rafah Crossing Monday morning and is now safely in the Gaza Strip.
Interfaith Peace-Builders has sent more than 44 delegations to Palestine/Israel since 2001. This is the first IFPB delegation to enter the Gaza Strip since 2003. Like other IFPB delegations, its purpose is to educate North Americans about the region and deepen their understanding of its conflicts.
On the eve of the Presidential Election in the United States, the US-brokered peace process continues to show few results and US military aid to the region continues to flow unabated.
This delegation focuses on the realities of Palestinian life in the Gaza Strip. Participants have the unique opportunity to hear directly from Palestinians throughout the territory regarding their hopes for peace and the role of the United States, the US government, and other international actors, in promoting a resolution to the conflict.
The Interfaith Peace-Builders delegation to the Gaza Strip is led by Michael Brown and Cindy Corrie.
WEST BANK – 2012 Olive Harvest Delegation Arrives in Palestine/Israel
October 23, 2012 – Interfaith Peace-Builders (IFPB) is pleased to announce that our 32 member delegation to Palestine/Israel arrived at Ben-Gurion airport Monday morning and is now safely in Jerusalem.
The purpose of this delegation, the 42nd to make the trip since 2001, is to educate North Americans about the region and deepen their understanding of its conflicts.
The delegation focuses on the Palestinian olive harvest which takes place each autumn. The olive harvest is an occasion of particular cultural and economic importance for Palestinian communities and a time when tensions between Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents of the West Bank run high.
As the Presidential Election heats up in the United States, the US-brokered peace process continues to show few results and US military aid to the region continues to flow unabated. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict played a significant part in the US Presidential Foreign Policy Debate which took place on October 22 in Boca Raton, Florida.
Participants on this Interfaith Peace-Builders delegation have the unique opportunity to hear directly from Palestinians and Israelis regarding their hopes for peace and the role of the United States, the US government, and other international actors, in promoting a resolution to the conflict.
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