Sacramento Coalition to End the War

Sunday, Jun 21, 6 - 7:30pm, Demand Peace Now! Demonstration and vigil organized by Veterans for Peace (VFP); use our signs or bring your own. Tabling is okay in this location. 16th & Broadway, Sac. Info: 916-456-4595.

So much is wrong. We must continue to step up and speak out. About any and all of these things:
- Iraq - the occupation continues (and shows no sign of ending)
- Torture and refusal to release the photos. Torture continues at Guantanamo.
- Afghanistan - more deployments and more death
- Iran
- Gaza/Palestine
- New war funding bill
- Bailouts, healthcare, financial crisis (by the way, if we stopped spending money on occupations in other countries we would be able to afford health care, education, and other high priority programs in this country. And proper care for our veterans. )

So please join us this Sunday at 16th and Broadway. New time: 6 - 7:30 pm. Yes, I know it will be Fathers' Day, and I plan to honor my father's memory by speaking out against the needless deaths of too many soldiers and innocent civilians all over the world. Bring your parents; bring your kids. Bring someone you love.

Time for the monthly Sunday afternoon peace vigil at 16th and Broadway. Yes, it will be hot tomorrow, but the wars and occupations continue and Afghanistan is getting worse by the minute. The peace community must continue to speak out.

People are dying all over the world because of agressive and morally bankrupt decisions from our government. It is time to DEMAND PEACE NOW.

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow afternoon.

Peace,
Debra

Sunday, May 17, 1:30 - 3:30pm, Demand Peace Now! Demonstration and vigil organized by Veterans for Peace (VFP); use our signs or bring your own. Tabling is okay in this location. 16th & Broadway, Sac.

A version of this article was published in the April 9, 2009 issue of the Sacramento News and Review:

Oh little town of Bethlehem….
…. Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass……. (Luke 2:15)

“Ahalan”, welcome, in Arabic is the immediate greeting to foreigners who come to Bethlehem. A city sacred to Christians in an area also important to Jews and Muslims, Bethlehem, Palestine may soon become one of Sacramento’s sister cities. That is the goal of the Sacramento to Bethlehem Sister City Initiative.

“Because of its historic significance, the name “Bethlehem” is known around the world,” says Brigitte Jaensch, a member of the Initiative. “Yet many people have no idea who lives in Bethlehem, what their lives are like, or how the policies of our government affect them.”

The sister city concept grew out of a “citizen diplomacy initiative” envisioned and encouraged in the years just after the traumas of World War II. Quite simply, these visionaries held the belief that regular citizenry could actually be more effective at diplomacy and “bridge building” than their respective governments.

Three Actions for Peace & Justice - February 27, 2009

1) URGENT ACTION: Stop the Ethnic Cleansing of Jerusalem & Repression

These threatened home demolitions could take place this weekend, so please call now!

The Israeli military is poised to demolish 88 Palestinian homes in Jerusalem as part of Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign, a violation of human rights and international law. Nearly 2000 people would be made homeless by these demolitions. FMI: http://www.icahd.org/eng/news.asp?menu=5&submenu=1&item=675

The demolitions are part of stepped-up repression by Israel, now led by an extreme right wing government. In Gaza, Israel is refusing entry to human rights monitors while its military is continuing to kill and wound civilians. In the West Bank, Israeli soldiers are shooting unarmed demonstrators and abducting children and adults from their homes. Those abducted are held under administrative detention, with no charges; some report being tortured.
FMI: http://www.palsolidarity.org; http://www.btselem.org/English

Please call immediately and demand an end to Israel's demolishing of homes, ethnic cleansing, attacks on civilians, and abductions.

Sunday, February 22, 12 - 2pm, Demand Peace Now!
16th & Broadway (2500 16th St., in front of R5 Records), Sacramento.

Demonstration and vigil, organized by Veterans for Peace (VFP); bring your signs and banners with peace messages or use ours. Information: John or Debra Reiger, 916-456-4595.

Weather permitting. It's likely to rain at some time tomorrow, we may very well have good weather at noon. If it is sprinking, we will still be there; if it is pouring we will have to cancel for this month.

We need to keep showing the community that we have a shared commitment to end the illegal occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Please join us.

BETHLEHEM UPDATE #14, FEBRUARY 17, 2009

In this update:

- Life in Bethlehem
- Take Action
- Increasing Repression in a No-Justice System
- Blog Update and News Briefs
- Update from Iraqi Refugees
- Davis Enterprise article from February 8: Reporting from Palestine

Take Action:

Please use this email as a reminder to once again contact President Obama and tell him it is time for the U.S. to stop its economic and political support of Israel's apartheid and occupation. Call: (202-456-1111 or email through http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact.

Also please contact your Senators and Congress members: 202-224-3121.

Life in Bethlehem

Since our return to Palestine from Jordan at the end of January, we are finding our days very full. Much of this work involves moving along Sacramento to Bethlehem Sister City projects which include: refurbishing a prominently-located signboard to educate tourists about the occupation, making connections between school children in Sacramento and in Bethlehem, and a garden and composting project with the children of the SOS Children's Village of Bethlehem. Our efforts have been greatly augmented by a woman who has just come back to her roots in Beit Sahour from Michigan.

Be a Sweetheart & Demand Peace Now! Demonstration and vigil at the 2nd Saturday Art Walk
Saturday, Feb 14, 6:30 - 8pm

Organized by Veterans for Peace (VFP). We will display signs and banners (bring yours!) during this busy event, with candles and glow sticks so we will all be visible in the dark. 20th and J Sts, Sac. Info: 916-698-8131. Weather permitting

Take Action:

Gaza is in the grip of a human-made humanitarian crisis. Thousands of tons of food, medical and emergency shelter aid including blankets and mattresses, donated by countries including the United States and aid organizations, is being denied entry through crossings by both the Israeli and Egyptian governments. The Israeli navy is blockading Gaza's sea front, preventing boats from delivering supplies Gaza, including a Lebanese ship with badly needed plasma.

Call the White House, the Israeli Consulate, the Egyptian consulate, and Congress and demand that:
- Israel and Egypt open all border crossings to Gaza,
- Israel stop its blockade of the sea access to Gaza, and
- Israel end all military action against Gaza (and its occupation of Palestine).

Remind President Obama and Congress that a third of all U.S. foreign aid goes to Israel and Egypt so the U.S. is clearly in a position to put effective pressure on both countries to stop this ongoing assault on the people of Gaza.

White House
President Barak Obama, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111, Switchboard: 202-456-1414, FAX: 202-456-2461
Email through website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Israeli Consulate

Bethlehem Updates Number 13, February 3, 2009

For those of you in Sacramento/Davis, don't miss the opportunity to hear Israeli peace activist Shachaf Polakow speak about his work with Anarchists Against the Wall, tomorrow, Wednesday, February 4, 2009, 7pm at 909 12th Street, Sacramento; FMI 916 717-2751 or 916-448-7157

In this update:
Travels in Jordan
Crossing the border
Re-Entry
A Ride to Ramallah
Take Action

Travels in Jordan

Sunday, Jan 25, 12 - 2pm
Demand Peace Now! Demonstration and vigil, organized by Veterans for Peace (VFP); bring your signs and banners with peace messages (or use ours). 16th & Broadway, Sac. Info: 916-456-4595/916-698-8131. Heavy rain will cause cancellation.

Yes, it might rain (30% chance), but the wars and occupations go on.
People continue to die in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, and more.

Yes, we have a new president (thank goodness!), but he has a lot of work ahead of him and he still plans to redeploy troops to Afghanistan. The peope of Gaza are still dying and in danger of more attacks. Our soldiers are dying in Iraq and other places. It may be cold and we may be tired, but we need to maintain visibility in the community.