Monday, 31 May, 15:00-17:00

Ecumenical Centre, 150 Route de Ferney, Salles II & III

(free parking available)

Speakers:

Hazem Jamjoum
Communications officer of the BADIL Resource Centre for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights and editor of al-Majdal Quarterly Magazine

and

Caroline and Nathan Finkelstein
Geneva-based members of Urgence Palestine and of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network

The event will be in English and is organized by the Palestine IsraelEcumenical Forum on the occasion of the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, 29 May - 4 June 2010.

The World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel is convened by the World Council of Churches, which invites member churches and related organizations to join a week of advocacy and action for a just peace in Palestine and Israel.

The Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum is a platform that rallies churches together enabling them to coordinate their efforts and initiatives for a just peace in Palestine and Israel.

On the same date, there will be a day-long exhibition at the Ecumenical Centre with handicrafts, photos, posters, books, magazines, videos and DVDs depicting the impact of the Israeli occupation on the Palestinian people.

Media contact: Ranjan Solomon, 022.791.6398, 076.395.8250, lcs@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO (May 2). Noah Lepawsky, a member of the Chicago chapter of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), was arrested today at a pro-Israel march sponsored by the Jewish United Fund of Chicago.

The annual "Walk With Israel" was interrupted by about 10 protesters from Chicago IJAN. Their message was that Jewish opinion is not, in fact, united in support of Israel.  Protesterssigns drew on their experiences of being Jewish, and read: "Jews Reject Discrimination: End Israeli Apartheid," "Jews Know Displacement: Right of Return for All Palestinian Refugees," "Jews Recognize a Ghetto: Free Gaza," and"Jews Remember Ethnic Cleansing: Remember the Nakba." Nakba is the Arabic wordfor "catastrophe" and is commonly used to describe the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in 1948.  

"Israel's history is one of ongoing ethnic cleansing," said Noah Lepawsky of Chicago IJAN. "Starting with the destruction of over 400 villages and the forced exile of 750,000 Palestinians, Israel continues to pursue apartheid policies.  We will not let this be erased from history." When the march began, four protesters staggered along thewalk's route, holding up their signs but allowing marchers to proceed around them.  The remaining protesters stood across the street. Security for the Walk withIsrael called police, who demanded the protesters move.  When Lepawsky, the marshal for Chicago IJAN, attempted to ascertain the rights of the protesters from the police, he was arrested and cuffed by a man dressed as private security. 

Chicago IJAN continued the protest across the street.  Protesters chanted: "As Jews we stand for justice, no matter who it's for!  We won't forget the Nakba at Zionism's core!" and "Never again, not in our name!  Israel's violence is our shame!"  The protest continued until all Walk participants had filed by. 
 
"As Jews of conscience, it is our duty to vocalize that as long as the brutal occupation of Palestine continues, no celebration of Israel is benign," said Lee Gargagliano of IJAN. "We willbe back next year." 
 
Lepawsky was charged with disorderly conduct and released later that afternoon. 
 
"The charge of disorderly conduct is completely spurious," said Jeannette Perkal, another member of Chicago IJAN.  "We are awaiting an answer as to why the arrest was made by private security employed by the Jewish United Fund, not an officer of the law."  Perkal went on, "Wewere disturbed to learn that the JUF and the CPD find it necessary to work incollusion, both in this instance and generally. The second annual meeting of both organizations recently took place in Israel, assuring that the two share oppressive tactics and strategies for silencing dissent."  (For more information, see http://www.juf.org/news/israel.aspx?id=57594.)

With local affiliates from Chicago to the Bay Area to London and Geneva, IJAN is a growing international network of Jews whose Jewish identities are not based on Zionism but on a plurality of histories and experiences. The network is uncompromisingly committed to struggles for human emancipation, of which the liberation of the Palestinian people and land is an indispensable part. Their commitment is to the dismantling of Israeli apartheid, the return of Palestinian refugees, and the ending of the Israeli colonization of historic Palestine.