[pjw] INFO: AUPHR vigil/rally against moving US Embassy to Jerusalem Fri 5 PM

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hello IAG supporters

Below is a piece from Gush Shalom, a peace group in Israel, about 
President Trump's unilateral, ill-considered announcement to move the US 
embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Below THAT is an 
announcement from Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights (AUPHR) 
about an emergency event they are holding this Friday, December 8 at 5 PM 
at the federal building downtown. (I imagine the PPRC Friday Rally may 
march there from their corner at Pioneer Square SW Yamhill/Broadway.)

For my part I want to add that the people I met in Iraq in my trips there 
(in 1997 and 2002) were pretty clear that one of the only ways to ensure 
peace in the "Middle East" would be to resolve the Israeli/Palestinian 
issue. And this was while they were under stringent US/UN sanctions and 
being bombed in "No-Fly Zones" by US planes.

Also, I heard a commentator on the radio say this was the stupidest thing 
an American President could do. Perhaps, unless his goal is to foment 
instability to take attention off his other shortcomings and ensure the 
"need" for a military budget and a "homeland security" apparatus.

I am hoping Congress can withhold funds to move the embassy and/or take 
actions to prevent this destructive decision.

dan h.
peace and justice works iraq affinity group

Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2017 11:43:06
From: Adam Keller
Subject: Gush Shalom: A historic day - the end of American mediation in
  the Middle East


*Gush Shalom statement, December 6, 2017*

The Trump speech will not change the reality of Jerusalem. West Jerusalem 
will remain an Israeli city, where Israel's government is located since 
1949. East Jerusalem will remain an occupied Palestinian city, which is 
not and cannot be a part of Israel. Believers of Judaism, Christianity and 
Islam will continue clinging to their holy sites in Jerusalem.

Nevertheless, this is a historic day. In the person of President Donald 
Trump, the United States today officially, ceremoniously and with a bang 
abdicated its role as the mediator between Israel and the Arabs.

This mediating role had endured for more than forty years. Henry Kissinger 
created it with his "shuttle diplomacy" of the 1970s. All later Presidents 
and Secretaries of State strove to maintain it. All later Presidents and 
Secretaries of State were jealous of the American monopoly over Middle 
East mediation, even to forcibly grabbing hold of negotiations processes 
started without them - between Israel and Egypt in 1978, between Israel 
and the Palestinians in 1993. Until Donald Trump came along and in typical 
Trumpian style decided to spectacularly smash up this mediation role.

In fact, the US mediation role had always been a curious anomaly. In no 
commercial dispute would it be conceivable to have as arbiter the business 
partner of one of the contending parties. But in the world of Middle East 
diplomacy, it was accepted almost without question that the role of 
impartial honest broker be given to Israel's closest ally, the provider of 
billions in financial aid and state of the art weapons systems and an 
almost automatic veto in the UN Security Council.

Obama and Kerry did make some belated and half-hearted efforts to appear 
impartial. But Trump decided to tear off America's face any mask of 
impartiality and trample it underfoot.

What now? Well, for some time there will be no mediator in the Middle 
East, and hence no kind of Peace Process. But sooner or later, the vacuum 
is going to be filled. Who might fill it? One name which comes to mind is 
of Russia's Vladimir Putin, who had just shown himself able to play a 
highly effective and energetic - though quite brutal - role in Syria. 
Russia has long-standing cordial relations with the Palestinians, in the 
past decade Putin has built up intensive relations with Netanyahu as well. 
Taking up the abandoned mediation role between Israel and the Palestinians 
would fit nicely within Putin's project of restoring Russia's global 
power.

Then, the European Union - even though beset by many crises - might take 
up a more assertive role in the Middle East. Especially France, which has 
traditionally tended to take its own independent initiatives. Or even 
China, which not so long ago appointed its own Middle East representative.

Altogether, there might eventually emerge a mediator or mediators who 
would be a bit more impartial than we had so far. And if so, there might 
be an ironical reason to feel grateful to Donald Trump?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2017 09:10:51 
From: Peter Miller
Subject: VIGIL in Opposition to Trump's Declaration of Jerusalem
      as Capital of Israel; Friday, December 8, 5 - 6 pm

Dear AUPHR Supporters,

We will have Vigil in Opposition to Trump's Declaration of Jerusalem as 
Capital of Israel; December 8, 5 ? 6 pm at the Federal Building, SW 3rd 
and Madison.  See our press release below.

Sincerely,
Peter Miller

PRESS RELEASE
December 6, 2017


Opposition to Trump's Declaration of Jerusalem as Capital of Israel

President Trump's declaration that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and 
that the U.S. will work on moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to 
Jerusalem comes as world leaders warn of the disastrous consequences of 
such a move. This action exacerbates an incredibly tense situation and 
further diminishes prospects for a just peace.

A rally and vigil will be held on Friday, December 8, from 5 - 6 pm at the 
Federal Building, SW 3rd and Madison in downtown Portland to voice 
opposition to President Trump's declaration on Jerusalem. Jerusalem has 
never been recognized as the capital of Israel by any nation in the world 
(except for Israel and now the United States). International agreements 
state that Jerusalem's final status is to be determined in a peace process 
agreed to by the Palestinians and Israelis. This move by President Trump 
completely circumvents any peace process.

Yousef Munayyer, Executive Director of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian 
Rights summarized the enormity of this decision, "U.S. recognition of 
Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would be a major shift in American 
policy and have significant implications for U.S. policy for Middle East 
Peace. For decades, the United States has held that this issue is one that 
must be mutually agreed upon by the parties, so recognizing Israel's 
claims here and now ahead of an agreement is a marked shift from even the 
pretense of a balanced position on Jerusalem to a full backing of the 
Israeli position."

<snip>

Our ask of the White House is to change this decision and to abide by 
international law and principles.  The U.S. should declare that Jerusalem 
is a city to which Palestinians and Israelis hold equal and valid claims. 
Additionally, we demand that our Oregon Congressional delegation do 
everything in their power to block not only President Trump's decree that 
Jerusalem is the capital of Israel but also the U.S. Embassy move.

True peace for Palestinians and Israelis will require equality, justice 
and freedom for all. This move by President Trump has none of those 
ingredients and must be opposed.

Signed by:

Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights
Friends of Sabeel - North America
Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights
Tree of Life Educational Fund - West Coast Chapter