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April 7, 2008, JVP
E-Newsletter
Tell us what you think! Click here to send feedback to JVP! - Standing with the Methodist church
- Eyes on Gaza
- We need 400 trees by Passover!
- JVP holds MidWest regional retreat
- Networking with Canadian Jews against the occupation
Standing with the Methodist Church
 The United Methodist
Church will decide at its General Conference (April 23-May 2) whether
to divest from companies that profit from the Israeli occupation. We
are letting conference delegates know by mail and phone that we fully
support this measure.
It is our moral responsibility to single out injustice, to denounce it,
and to act against it. We stand together with our Methodist brothers
and sisters who are seeking a moral, non-violent response to the
Israeli occupation. Click here to read more.
Eyes on Gaza
 You
wouldn't know it from following the mainstream media, or from listening
to any of the US presidential candidates, but some 1.5 million
Palestinians are being slowly starved to death, right now, in Gaza.
They have been barred from getting the food, fuel, and medical supplies
they need to survive. Eighty percent of the population is dependent on
food aid.
The clinic of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society in Gaza have been destroyed in an Israeli attack. You can view photos
of the destruction and learn about just one powerful nonviolent
Palestinian civil society effort you'll never hear about in the press.
JVP-Boston's Alice Rothchild comments from Nablus:
"Consider our media, where the suffering of the innocents in the
Israeli town of Sderot periodically bombarded by homemade rockets from
Gaza, is squarely in the public eye, while the innocents in the city of
Nablus under frequent attack by a heavily-armed military, stand
invisible and unheard" (Read her full account here: "Returning to Nablus: Collateral damage.)
The
blockade of Gaza is followed by a virtual media blackout in this
country. At JVP, we are doing our part to educate and inform about the
humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Won't you help us by sending a letter to the editor of your local paper requesting that they cover Gaza? We need 400 trees by Passover!
 Thanks
to your support, we have managed to raise enough money to donate 1,100
trees to be planted in the West Bank by the Palestine Fair Trade
Association. We need 400 additional trees in order to meet our goal of
1,500 trees by Passover. Please support our Trees of Reconciliation campaign!
JVP holds MidWest regional retreat
Activists from JVP chapters in Chicago, Detroit, and Madison met for a weekend retreat in Chicago to discuss
common strategies and opportunities for coordinated work. The meeting,
organized by Karey Bacon and Lynn Pollack, allowed the groups to update
one another on their local work. JVP Chicago continues its Sunday
vigils against the occupation. The chapter also co-sponsored a
photographic exhibit of Birthright Unplugged. JVP Detroit is gearing up to co-sponsor the Emmy-award documentary Knowledge is the Beginning in the Detroit Jewish Film Festival (May 5). The film documents Daniel Barenboim's orchestra, where young Arabs and Jews perform and live side by side. JVP Madison continues its work with the Madison-Rafah Sister Project. Networking with Canadian Jews against the occupation
JVP's Glen Hauer presented at Canada's largest ever Jewish peace and justice conference in  Toronto
March 28-30. The conference sponsors, the Association of Concerned
Jewish Canadians, invited JVP and several other Jewish peace &
justice organizations from around the world to share our expertise in
building effective movements. "Canadian
and European Jewish peace activists know and respect JVP's work, and
use our print and electronic resources," said Glen. "Describing our
anti-censorship, selective divestment, Trees of Reconciliation, and
CAT campaigns drew applause from the 150 conference goers and allies." The
conference came up with national projects and an interim structure to
accomplish them. JVP wishes our Canadian comrades well and looks
forward to working together on mutual campaigns.
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