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November 2009 Enews - Peace, Politics and Profits

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The monthly WILPF e-News is edited by Theta Pavis and prepared by Rachel Crosby and Sandy Fay. It is created with the help of many WILPF members, including Carol Urner, Program Chair. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis at "newsletter (at) wilpf.org."

November e-News: Peace, Politics and Profits

Have you heard about the recent J Street conference and wanted to know more? WILPF was there. Are you wondering about the Goldstone Report and what comes next for those of us who want to see peace in the Middle East? WILPF is addressing this. With all the news these days about financial meltdowns, have you considered leaving your big bank? WILPF can tell you how. Did you know that the 150th anniversary of Jane Addams' birth is coming up? Read our November e-newsletter and find out more!

Where Do We Go After Goldstone?
Break Up With Your Bank
Advancing Women as Peacemakers

Where Do We Go After Goldstone?

By Barbara Taft, co-chair, WILPF Middle East Committee

A strong push from America's Pro-Israel Lobby (AIPAC) led to the introduction in the House of Representatives of a non-binding bill (HR 867) to stifle the results of the Goldstone Report on the war in Gaza. The report condemned Israel's behavior as disproportionate, and as not protecting civilians. It also roundly condemned Hamas for allowing rockets to be fired into the Israeli town of Sderot. Despite this, Israel's unconditional supporters have claimed that the report is inaccurate and should not be studied further.

The WILPF Middle East Committee joins many other groups interested in human rights, civil rights, and justice issues in disagreeing. We believe that the report is accurate, and needs to be supported. If you want to learn more, you can read an article by Dina Ezzat, writing in Al Ahram Weekly of Cairo in late October. There are also some newly-released, graphic photos from Gaza available through the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

Even though the vote on the resolution to sweep the Goldstone Report under the carpet has taken place, it is not too late to make your feelings known. We have drafted a sample letter we want members to send to their Congressional representatives. Feel free to edit it.

WILPF's Middle East Committee co-chairs Odile Hugonot-Haber and Barbara Taft also attended the recent J Street conference in Washington, D.C. You can read more about the conference and our upcoming plans here.

Break Up With Your Bank

Who is your money really working for while it sits in the bank? Is it having a positive social impact in your community? Or is it subsidizing a coal power plant in Chili, or contributing to outrageous CEO bonuses? Are your investments being used to finance genocide in Darfur? or oil drilling in Alaska? If your cash is tied up in one of the behemoths of banking, it could be.

Choosing a local independent bank or credit union makes it easier to demand transparency and insist that investments and loans support your community and your values.

That's why WILPF's Corporations v. Democracy committee is urging you to break with your bank.

Read more here.

Advancing Women as Peacemakers

A special WILPF initiative
By Theta Pavis*

As I was working on the November newsletter, an image came across my computer screen of a man
running with a limp and injured child in his arms. The accompanying article explained that more than 100 people, mostly women and children, had been killed that October day after a car bomb exploded at a market in Peshawar, Pakistan. The story stayed with me as I sat down to write about the upcoming anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325, the first resolution ever passed by the U.N. that deals solely and fully with women's dilemmas in war and women's contributions in peace.

Our work in WILPF is more important than ever because women's voices need to be heard. There are
many ways to get involved, and next fall will present us with a special opportunity. October 2010 will mark the 10th anniversary of 1325, a resolution near and dear to the mission of WILPF and its members. Next autumn will also mark the 150th anniversary of Jane Addams' birth (Sept. 6). When you think about U.N. resolution 1325, do you think about Jane Addams? You should. Addams' efforts to secure recognition of peace as a human issue - primarily through WILPF - led directly to Security Council Resolution 1325.

WILPF will celebrate these important anniversaries with a special initiative aimed at raising the profile of women's active engagement in conflict resolution and prevention, especially among young women and women of color in the U.S. We've already started fundraising for this exciting project. Click here to learn more.

*This text draws heavily on an article written by Harriet Alonso and Louise W. Knight.