A Sister to be Ashamed Of

We are co-leading an effort to prevent Montgomery County from selecting Beit Shemesh in Israel as a sister city. Here's some of what we know about Beit Shemesh:

*The city has zero Palestinian or Israeli Arab inhabitants--this in a country in which 20% of the population is Arab.  

*Beit Shemesh has been the scene of misogynist attacks on women and girls for several years now. Women must sit in the back of city buses or risk physical attack, and some public sidewalks are off limits to women and girls. Seven-year-old girls have been spat upon and called ugly names by adult men--apparently because their conservative dress does not include stockings. The city has taken no formal actions to address these problems. 

*Ethiopian children are segregated in separate schools from whites. The Ethiopian community in Israel has requested the Knesset to investigate racism in Beit Shemesh.

Montgomery County should not select a city with such egregious human rights violations as its sister.  Read more here and then take action.  Let Ike Leggett know that you oppose this sister city proposal.  

Unite Against Citizens United

As long as military contractors like Lockheed Martin continue their control of Congress, peace is impossible: war is profitable and these companies intend to continue to bring value to their shareholders. This legislative session in Annapolis we are supporting a resolution introduced by Sen. Jamie Raskin that asks our Congressional delegation to work for a Constitutional Amendment to get money out of politics. Join us, along with Public Citizen, Move to Amend, and other groups for a rally on Thurs. morning, Jan. 19, in Annapolis. More here.

Sign Our Petition to NPR

Do you get annoyed when the media refers to 59% of the federal discretionary budget as "defense spending"? We do, too!  

One of our members, Steve Lapham, has initiated a petition to NPR asking that news programs stop using the term "defense spending" and start calling it "military spending" instead. Words matter--and today's military budget is not about our defense.  

Sign the petition here--it just takes a minute, and who knows? If enough of us let NPR know how we feel about this, maybe they'll change their language!

And speaking of military spending, check out Convert Defense Cuts into Civilian Benefits, an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun written by Charlie Cooper, a member of Maryland's Fund Our Communities, Bring the War Dollars Home steering committee. Way to go, Charlie!! 

Iran

Fury. Despair. Anguish. Rage. Grief. This is some of what we feel about the growing drumbeat for war, including the new sanctions regime placed on the Iranian people and the recent terrorist assassination of an Iranian scientist. Robert Parry provides a little history in "Herding Americans to War with Iran."  

We've been deeply worried before about a reckless and catastrophic war with Iran, but this time around seems particiularly ominous. Retired CIA analyst and peace activist Ray McGovern will talk to us about US policy towards Iran on Wed., Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Rockville library. Be sure to join us for a provocative talk, and watch this space for emergency street actions to protest U.S. policies against Iran.

An Reflection on MLK Day 

In peace and solidarity,

*Were interviewed on two cable TV programs and had multiple newspaper articles published about our work.

We Ask Rep. Chris Van Hollen to Support Military Cuts, Not Domestic Cuts, in the Super Committee Oct., 2011

Join us in our work for peace in 2012! With your help, we'll be able to do more!!