The
event, "Remembering Gaza", is to commemorate the one year
anniversary of Operation Protective Edge, Israel's assault on the Gaza
strip that resulted in the deaths of over 2,200 people, many of
them women and children.
Massive damage was done to the infrastructure. This program aims
to draw attention to the oppressive and life threatening conditions
under which the Palestinians continue to suffer as well as their
legitimate non-violent movement to uphold human rights and
international law.
This documentary, "Stone Cold Justice", depicts the arrest, detention,
and abuse of Palestinian children (some as young as 5) by the Israeli
Military. From torture to threats of rape and forced confessions,
Israel's reign of terror on Palestinian children continues. Last year
UNICEF released a scathing report on Israel's justice system, finding
that "children have been threatened with death, physical violence,
solitary confinement and sexual assault."
Remembering Gaza
on our Journey Together
Join us for the film:
Stone Cold Justice
7:00 p.m.
Thursday, July 23rd
Rochester Public Library
Sponsored by SEMNAP
(Southeastern MN Alliance of Peacemakers)
*
Mission to Gaza
A Surgeon's Journey
Dr
Ahmad Nassr, an orthopedic surgeon, will share his team’s vital work in
the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Dr. Nassr will describe the
conditions in which they work and the obstacles they encounter in order
to treat children with severe scoliosis.
He and his team have been making these trips to the Occupied
Territories since 2011. Their travels are arranged through the
Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, a non-political organization
established in 1991 in Kent, Ohio.
Following Dr. Nassr’s presentation and question/answer period, SEMNAP
will provide information about the Boycott Divest Sanction movement (of
which the MN Break the Bonds Campaign a part) and specific
opportunities for nonviolent action.
Monday, March
9,
2015
6:30 p.m.
Rochester Public Library Auditorium
101 Second Street SE
Rochester, MN
Co-sponsored by the Rochester Public Library and the SE MN Alliance of
Peacemakers
*
December 10, 2013
"Inequality for
All" A Documentary
Narrated by Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor under President Clinton
Coming to Rochester, MN at the Wehrenberg Galaxy 14 Theater
4340 Maine Ave SE, Rochester, MN
Show times: 1 pm, and 7 pm December 10, 2013
The documentary, narrated by Robert Reich, focuses on the economic
arguments against wealth disparity: “We make the rules of the economy
and we have the power to change those rules.” - Robert Reich
Income inequality is one of the greatest moral issues of our
time--and it is increasingly visible in our own community. That is what
motivated a small group of citizens to bring the documentary Inequality
for All to Rochester. We would like to invite you, your family,
friends, and colleagues to a special one-day viewing of the film on
Tuesday December 10 at 1 p.m. or 7 p.m. at the Wehrenberg Galaxy 14
Theater (4340 Maine Ave SE, Rochester, MN).
The discussion that will follow both the afternoon and evening
shows will allow people to share their stories, their insights, and
their suggestions for innovative ways to not only address the immediate
problems here in Rochester but to build a just system, starting in our
own community. By bringing family and friends with you, the
conversation can continue after the formal dialogue is over.
Tickets may be purchased in advance online
www.wehrenbergtheatres.com or at the theater. But no one must be
deterred for lack of funds. This seems like a fitting occasion,
therefore, to model the concept of the gift economy: if those who are
able will give a little more, there will be enough (tickets) for
everyone. Tickets range from $6.50 for Seniors to $9.50 for Adults.
To contribute a ticket(s) for someone else, make the check payable to
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and mail to: 1884 22St. NW, Rochester,
55901.
To obtain ticket(s) free of charge, leave your name and the number of
adult or senior tickets needed at IFAdocumentary@yahoo.com The tickets
will be waiting for you at the Theater.
*
Kathy Kelly
Kathy
Kelly November 5 at 7 p.m.
Topic:War
Without End
and the Courage to Dissent
Assisi Heights Spirituality Center
1001 14th Street NW - Rochester, MN
Join
our presenter, Kathy Kelly, as
she provides an overview about the persistent and wrongful notion that
U.S. wars are protecting and defending people in the U.S. from enemies
that threaten our security. She will also share her experiences
of the conditions faced by people who bear the brunt of U.S. wars and
U.S. supported attacks against civilians, and reflect on ways to
practice nonviolent resistance and dissent as the U.S. "war on terror"
continues to terrify civilians abroad.
About Our Presenter- Kathy
Kelly has made eleven trips to Afghanistan in recent years. She
traveled there as an invited guest of the Afghan Peace Volunteers, who
live alongside ordinary Afghan people in a working class neighborhood
in Kabul. Kathy also visited Gaza immediately following the
Israeli Operation Pillar of Defense.
She has chosen to stand with the victims of war because she believes
that "where you stand is what you see."
Kathy has received many awards over the past several years for her work
against sanctions, war and occupation, and on three separate occasions,
has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Co-Sponsored by: SE Minnesota Alliance of
Peacemakers Assisi Heights Spirituality
Center Franciscans
International - Assisi Heights Group
*
Hear
Jack
Nelson-Pallmeyer
Topic:
War
Culture & Dysfunctional Society: 10 Reasons
Peace
Matters to Each of Us
SAT. NOV. 2ND 4:30PM
@the
oak center general
A POT-LUCK WILL FOLLOW: bring a dish to share
(507) 753-2080 folkforum@riverland.org www.oakcentergeneralstore.com
for ticket info
On hwy 63 in oak center, 22 mi. no. of Rochester, 9 mi. so. of lake city
*
Northfielders
for Justice in Palestine/Israel
Miko Peled presents:
“Beyond Zionism—A New Paradigm for Israel-Palestine”
Nov. 2 at St. Olaf College Campus
in the Tomson Hall 280 7PM
He is an Israeli, author of
"The General's Son" (click here) for more
This talk is the BIGGEST EVENT of 2013 to
be sponsored by Northfielders for Justice in Palestine/Israel.
In his
book The
General's Son, Peled tells the story of his remarkable journey from
patriotic Zionist to determined critic of Israel's brutal treatment of
Palestinians. His transformation, which parallels that of
his
military father, is largely the result of his encounters with
Palestinians.
He speaks
persuasively of a future where Israelis and Palestinians enjoy equality
and peace in a single state within historic Palestine.
*
“Fast Times in Palestine: a love affair
with a
homeless homeland."
A presentation and discussion by author Pamela Olson
Non-Violent
Palestinian Resistance & the Path to Peace
American
Lecture Tour: November 2012 - January 2013
Rochester, MN
Presentation:
December 8, 2012
Iyad
Burnat is 37 and the father of four children. He is also leader of his
village’s non-violent resistance movement in Bil’in, Palestine.
Since 2005
citizens of Bil’in
have
held weekly demonstrations against the building of the Israeli
separation wall through the community’s agricultural lands, and the
steady encroachment of illegal settlements. The demonstrators are
joined by Israeli and international peace activists, and have
maintained a commitment to non-violent methods of resistance in spite
of armed, military opposition that had resulted in many injuries and
some deaths.
These demonstrations are the subject of
the recent Sundance award-winning documentary
film
5 Broken Cameras
During his 2012-2013 American tour, Iyad will tell the stories of
Bil’in and life in the occupied West Bank, and talk about strategies
for non-violent popular resistance with a goal of peace and prosperity
for all people. His presentations are accompanied by photos and videos.
Hear
Iyad’s presentation:
Saturday
December 8,
2012 2:00 pm
Unitarian Universalist Church
1727 Walden Ln. SW., Rochester, MN
Event co-sponsored by
Social Action Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Church
Southeast Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers
Working for
Justice in
Israel/Palestine
Working for Justice in Israel
/ Palestine
Sunday, September 30th, 2012
1:30 to 3 p.m.
Rochester Public Library Auditorium
101 Second Street SE
Presented by Sylvia
Schwatz, Jewish American engineer and writer.
MN Break the Bonds
Campaign (MN BBC) Core team member.
Sunday,
July 10, 2011 2:00 pm Bearing Witness to the Truth...
Ray McGovern, Retired CIA Analyst Presidents and War: Role of Intelligence
Please
join
us to hear Ray McGovern speak at University Center Rochester, Coffman
Hall, Room 206, 859 30th Ave. S.E., Rochester, MN. Mr. McGovern's
career highlights include:
Prepared the President’s Daily Brief for
Nixon,
Ford, Reagan and then Vice-President George H.W. Bush.
Co-Founder of Veterans Intelligence Professionals
for
Sanity (VIPS).
Included in Americans Who Tell the Truth, an
American history project.
Co-Director of Servant Leadership School, Church
of the
Savior, Washington, D.C.
An outspoken commentator on the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars.
VITAE
Ray McGovern, a retired CIA analyst is
co-founder
of Veterans Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). He
writes and lectures throughout the country about US
intelligence-related issues, and is an outspoken commentator on the
Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He has the distinction of being included in Americans
Who Tell the Truth, a curriculum project that teaches students
American history through the lives of courageous Americans.
Ray McGovern grew up in the Bronx,
graduated
summa cum laude from Fordham College, holds an M.A. in Russian Studies,
a Certificate in Theological Studies from Georgetown, and is a graduate
of the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.
He served as an Army infantry/intelligence
officer in the early 60s and then as a CIA analyst for 27 years. He
prepared the President's Daily Brief for Nixon, Ford, and
Reagan, and for four years conducted morning intelligence briefings
one-on-one of then-Vice President Bush and Reagan's most senior
advisers. At retirement Ray was given the Intelligence Commendation
Award medallion for "especially commendable service." On May 2, 2006 he
returned the medallion, stating that he "did not wish to be associated,
however remotely, with an agency engaged in torture."
After retiring, Ray became co-director of
the Servant
Leadership School, part of the ecumenical Church of the Savior in
inner-city Washington. The Church and School continue to support his
writing/speaking through its Tell the Word activity, as well as his
continued teaching at the School.
No longer briefing secretaries of state and
defense one-on-one, he has nonetheless taken advantage of opportunities
to confront them, nonviolently, with the truth. His mini-debate with
Donald Rumsfeld on May 4, 2006 is still getting hits on YouTube, as is
his silent standing witness — and violent removal and arrest — directly
in front of Hillary Clinton during her speech (about human rights!) on
February 15, 2011. Mr. McGovern continues to live by the credo chiseled
into the marble entrance to CIA Headquarters: “And ye shall know the
truth and the truth shall make ye free.” Bearing witness to the truth
often brings consequences — a reality he has learned first hand.
(On July 10 Ray McGovern will just have
returned—in his own words—“hopefully alive and in one piece” from
participating in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. He will be traveling on The
Audacity of Hope representing the US on the mission of delivering
letters of support from people around the world to the people of
Palestine.)
Free will offering. Light refreshments
will be
served
Sponsored by RCTC and Southeast Minnesota
Alliance of Peacemakers
"Palestine Under Siege: What Every
American Needs to Know"
Thursday, January 20, 6:30 - 8:00
p.m.
Representatives from the Minnesota Break
the
Bonds Campaign presented an hour-long program on the plight of the
Palestinians under Israeli occupation. This was followed by a time for
questions.
The BDS (Boycott Divest Sanction) movement
(of
which MN Break the Bonds is a part) has been gaining momentum in the
U.S. as well as the world. This citizens' initiative marks a turning
point: the time for justice is long overdue for the Palestinian people,
and traditional peace talks alone are not enough.
MN BBC has been on tour in the state giving
programs like this one because as Minnesotans become informed on the
ways they are supporting the Israeli government's unjust policies, they
will be asking themselves and others: "Why has our state legislature
taken a pro-Israel position in the investment of our tax money?" They
will ask their legislators to uphold and apply the same ethical
principles to investment in Israeli bonds as was done in the past when
Minnesota divested from bonds with Sudan, Iran, and South Africa. State
legislators from southeast Minnesota were invited and encouraged to
attend. None did. So please, if this issue is important to
you, contact your representatives. They need to hear from you.
If you'd like more information
contact: Peacemaker
If you would like to send a letter to your
representatives urging them to consider divesting from Israel, go to
our link "Elected Officials contact Information".
If you are not sure who your
representatives are click here
Hot Topics
Minnesota Break the Bonds is part of a
national
movement to divest from Israel bonds until the government there ends
the apartheid of the Palestinian people. Educate yourself and
participate.
Entertainer
Pops Wagner and Peace
activist Phil Steger
January 20, 2004
At the Comfort Inn Ballroom,
entertainer Pops
Wagner brought chuckles while Phil Steger talkedabout Peace in the
Precincts.
THE IMPACTS OF
US POLICY IN COLUMBIA
September 10, 2003
Two Columbian speakers visited
Rochester and spoke
at Assisi Heights at 7:00pm. Drawing on their personal experiences they
talked about the impact of the war and U.S. POLICY ON CIVILIANS IN
COLOMBIA, and citizen efforts to organize and overcome the many
challenges they face.
There was an assembly at Lourdes High
School at
2PM, a meeting at Gil Gutknecht's office at 3:45PM, and a pot luck at
Assisi Heights at 5PM.