Women In Black For Global Peace and Justice

Under pressure from some members of the Jewish Community, the Senate Complaints committee is holding a hearing in February at which Michael Ebeid, Managing Director of SBS, must defend his decision to show “The Promise”. Letters of support are urgently needed for the defence of the series. Please write supporting the program and the decision to run it and address your letter to Mr Michael Obeid, Managing Director, SBS, Locked Bag 028, Crows Nest, NSW, 1585, marking it “Private and Confidential”.

On Sunday 31st July, Vivienne Porzsolt from Jews Against the Occupation and Sylvia Hale, former Greens Senator, gave a talk at the Newtown Community Centre about their experiences with the Gaza flotilla, stopped in Greece by the Greek Government due to pressure applied by the Israelis. With the flotilla unable to proceed, both women flew to Israel to join the Flytilla, also stymmied to some extent by the Israeli government, which trawled through Facebook entries looking for mentions by people intending to join the protest. In future activists had best keep mum about their intentions!

On Wednesday 3rd August, Dr Ghassan Khatib, Special Palestinian Envoy, spoke at Parliament House in Macquarie Street about the upcoming attempt to have Palestine recognised in the United Nations. The meeting was organised by David Shoebridge, MP, and like that held in Newtown, was well attended. Dr Khatib, who is one of several senior P.A. members visiting various governments around the world, made it quite clear that the so-called “peace talks” that have been dragging on for 40 years, will not be reinstated.

WiB hour-long vigils are held every Thursday evening on the steps of the Town Hall from 5.30pm to 6.30pm.

An interesting outcome of yesterday's vigil for the people of Gaza was a debate between one of our leafleteers and a member of the public who was clearly concerned by our use of images of children injured and killed during the Israeli government's air strikes on Lebanon during 2006. These images were used to represent the kind of civilian fatalities that are inflicted by such airstrikes, in the absence of any from the current conflict.

A number of conundrums arise when the tidal flow of people's interest in world conflict begins to rise. What is it that draws them in again? The amount of violence and bloodshed in the world is fairly consistent, particularly in some places - take Somalia for instance. Or Darfur. Israel and Palestine seem to be a peculiarly sharp point of focus for western anxieties - perhaps because the actions of the allies, after world war two, started something that has not settled. Is there a feeling of responsibility?

8 September 2008

The Adelaide Stop the War Fair Coalition are today celebrating victory after the cancellation of the Asia-Pacific Defence and Security Exhibition – one of the world’s biggest arms fairs. The event was to open in Adelaide on Remembrance Day this November.

An Adelaide peace group known as the “Stop the War Fair Coalition”, along with other peace organisations from around the country were planning large peaceful protests at the event.