Arbor Update

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Not A Penny! Not A Person! Stop Military Recruitment and End the War NOW!

11. June 2005 • MarkDilley
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Saturday, June 11, 10:30 am: Protest Military Recruitment

Join the anti-war protests on Saturday June 11th, July 9th, and August 13th at 10:30am to protest at the Ann Arbor Recruiting Station at 4695 Washtenaw Ave, located in the Blockbuster/Glencoe strip mall between Carpenter and Golfside.

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  1. Man, I don’t think a protest is necessary to stop military recruitment. This war seems to have dried up all the available saps.
       —js    Jun. 13 '05 - 01:14PM    #
  2. (Protest War on Palestine & Iraq) Good! Hope to see you at these protests, calling for an immediate end to the War on Iraq and Palestine.

    Need another reason? Check out this news flash:

    Divestment News Article—
    “Divestiture of Funds that Support Israeli Occupation of Palestinian
    Territories”

    Article is on the Methodists’ official Web site:

    http://www.neumc.org/news_detail.asp?PKValue=60

    Written: 6/11/2005

    “Resolution 204 passed on Saturday morning of Annual Conference, but after
    signifcant debate. The resolution calls for a comittee to be created to take
    action within six months to determine which investments support Israeli
    occupation of Palestinian territories. Investiment managers are to consider
    divesting the funds in those companies. The conference also calls on the
    U.S. government, Israel, and Palestinian leadership to reject acts of
    aggression and violence. It also calls for affirmation of the rights of
    Christians, Jews, and Muslims to freedom of movement in the holy lands.

    “The resolution appears below:

    “RS 204.
    RESOLUTION ON DIVESTING FROM COMPANIES THAT ARE SUPPORTING IN A
    SIGNIFICANT WAY THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION OF PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

    (submitted by Washington Park UMC and Mathewson St UMC, Providence, RI,
    Barrington, RI UMC and RIUMA)

    “Whereas we believe in the absolute equality of all God’s children, and
    reject all efforts to dominate or to subjugate others based on religion,
    race or ethnicity,

    “Whereas we embrace the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses, which forbid
    stealing, coveting the land of one’s neighbor, and taking human life,

    “Whereas we honor Micah’s call in the Old Testament to do justice, to love
    mercy, and to walk humbly with our God, and we follow Christ’s call to love
    our neighbors as ourselves,

    “Whereas we reject all violence and acts of provocation that lead to
    violence, believe in the right of all peoples to security, and believe that
    security for one people can never be achieved by denying security to others,

    “Whereas we are called to support members of Christ’s church around the
    world, including Palestinian Christians who are being forced to leave the
    Holy Land due to Israel’s confiscation of their property and the severe
    hardships of living under occupation,

    “Whereas the Fourth Geneva Convention forbids an occupying power from moving
    its own people into territory it occupies, and there are currently more than
    400,000 Israeli settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories, with
    thousands of new settler housing units being planned and constructed,

    “Whereas Palestinian land is still being confiscated for these settlements
    and for construction of the separation wall deep inside the Palestinian
    territories,

    “Whereas the settlements and Israel’s wall on Palestinian land violate the
    Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Conventions, and numerous
    United Nations Resolutions, and whereas settlement expansion violates the
    Declaration of Principles signed by the parties in Washington in 1993, and
    the requirements of the Roadmap signed in 2003,

    “Whereas a number of American and Israeli Jewish peace groups, Archbishop
    Desmond Tutu, and other religious leaders have called for selective
    divestment from Israel as a means of ending settlement expansion and ending
    the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands,

    “Whereas the General Conference of the United Methodist Church in 2004
    passed Resolution 312 entitled ‘Opposition to Israeli Settlements in
    Palestinian Land’ which called for an end to the occupation of Palestinian
    land by Israel,

    “Whereas the United Methodist Church should not profit from the illegal
    Israeli occupation of Palestinian land or the destruction of Palestinian
    homes, orchards, and lives,

    “Whereas we are committed to ensuring that our denomination’s money is used
    in a manner consistent with our beliefs, with international law, and with
    Christ’s teaching,

    “Therefore, be it resolved that a committee be created to examine and submit
    to United Methodist churches and investment managers in the New England
    Conference within six months a list of companies that support in a
    significant way the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, and to
    maintain the list and constantly re-evaluate the relationship of companies
    to the occupation. Such committee should have two representatives from each
    state in the New England Conference, appointed by the Church and Society
    Committee in consultation with the appropriate district superintendents in
    each state, and should meet monthly until an initial divestment list is
    developed, and quarterly thereafter. Before placing a company on the list,
    the committee should write to that company, explain the committee’s
    concerns, and request a change in the company’s relationship to the Israeli
    occupation.

    “If no change in policy is reported within 60 days as being taken or
    contemplated, the company’s name should be placed on the divestment list
    along with explanatory details and shared with the New England Conference.

    “Be it further resolved that United Methodist churches and investment
    managers in the New England Conference are encouraged to examine their
    portfolios to see whether current investments include companies on the
    divestment list described above. Those who find they are holding investments
    in such companies are urged to consider divesting from them.

    “Be it further resolved that the New England Conference of the United
    Methodist Church calls on the U.S. government, the government of Israel, and
    the newly elected Palestinian leadership to reject all acts of aggression
    and violence, to respect the equality and dignity of all the region’s
    people, and to forge solutions based on the principles of international law
    and human rights.

    “Be it also resolved that we affirm the right of Christians, Jews, and
    Muslims to freedom of movement in this land that three faiths call holy, and
    that we affirm the maintenance of Jerusalem as an open city for people of
    all three faiths in accordance with Resolution 312 of the United Methodist
    2004 General Conference Book of Resolutions.

    “Supporting Statement

    “Despite renewed talk of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the hard
    reality is that Israel’s actions on the ground in the region, as well as
    Palestinian militant attacks on Israelis, place enormous obstacles in the
    way of progress toward peace.

    “The urgency of the humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian
    territories cannot be overstated. Palestinians face soaring unemployment,
    malnutrition, restrictions on movement, denial of medical care, denial of
    access to their agricultural lands, humiliation at checkpoints, and extended
    lockdowns called curfews. More than 4 million Palestinian refugees live in
    poverty, while Israelis live in their homes and farm their lands.

    “Israel continues to take the land of the Palestinian people for
    ever-expanding settlements, Israeli-only roadways, and the construction of a
    giant wall and fence that is confiscating a significant portion of the
    Palestinian land in the West Bank. 83% of the West Bank’s water has been
    taken for Israeli use, leaving Palestinians with desperate water shortages.
    Israel has destroyed the homes of more than 28,000 Palestinians in four and
    a half years. Hundreds of thousands of ancient olive trees and vast tracts
    of agricultural land have also been destroyed.
    Israel has built a ring of Jewish settlements around Arab East Jerusalem,
    impeding access to the West Bank for Jerusalem’s Arab residents and ensuring
    that Palestinians cannot use East Jerusalem as the capital of a future
    Palestinian state, which has been called for by every major peace plan.

    “In 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled by 14-1 that Israel
    should halt and dismantle the Wall being constructed illegally in occupied
    Palestinian territory, and make reparation for the damage arising from its
    unlawful conduct. Palestinians continue to alternate between often-futile
    non-violent protest and unacceptable violent attacks on Israelis. Israeli
    soldiers have repeatedly fired on non violent protesters, killing and 2
    wounding not only Palestinians, but international peace activists,
    including Americans, who have stood with them. In addition, volunteers with
    the Christian Peacemaker Teams in the West Bank have been attacked by
    Israeli settlers while escorting Palestinian children to school. Settlers
    have been involved in many acts of violence against Palestinians.

    “Palestinian Christians are being forced to leave the Holy Land. Their land
    and water has also been taken by Israel. They now comprise less than 2% of
    the West Bank’s population, and there are very real fears that soon there
    will be no Christian presence in the land of Christ’s birth. Those who
    remain are calling on Christians everywhere to reject the policies that are
    driving them and their Muslim neighbors from a region their ancestors have
    inhabited for more than 2000 years. Many recall a time when Christians,
    Jews, and Muslims lived in harmony together in this land, and believe it can
    happen again when people of all religions are accepted as equals, with full
    rights to life, liberty and property.

    “Our Christian faith calls us to reject violence of any kind, and to reject
    acts of aggression that provoke violence. As United Methodists, we are
    committed to work for justice, and to refuse to be complacent in the face of
    such monumental human suffering. We are also called to support other members
    of the Body of Christ around the world.

    “It is not expected that United Methodist divestment activity or that of any
    other religious denomination will significantly affect Israel’s economy or
    the bottom line of major US companies, but this is not the goal. The goal is
    to make all United Methodists and other Americans aware of their
    relationship to companies that benefit from the Israeli occupation and give
    them an opportunity to withdraw from such relationships, so they are not
    participants in human rights violations that violate Christian principles
    and international law. Another, equally important goal is to give hope to
    Palestinians, including our Christian counterparts in the region, and let
    them know they are not forgotten.

    “Christ has called us to be a light to the nations, to replace darkness and
    despair with hope rooted in love for all God’s creation. Refusing to be a
    part of an illegal occupation that endangers Israelis as well as
    Palestinians is an effective way to show our light to the world.”
    ———————————————
    “The New England Conference includes 554 United Methodist and federated
    congregations in Eastern Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire,
    and Rhode Island – and one in Vermont.”

    ... END …
       —Blaine.    Jun. 13 '05 - 01:44PM    #
  3. Like, don’t you folks have a house you can go haunt instead? Actually, it’s a pity our military protects your lame asses. It’s too bad we can’t let the Islamofascists cut your stupid heads off! But then, nobody would notice, since you folks have obviously been living so far without a brain.
       —Chico    Jun. 13 '05 - 09:01PM    #