End the Occupation

In this issue...

1. US Campaign Update:US Campaign Is Hiring National Organizer; Stand up Against "Islamo-Fascist Awareness Week"; CAT Day of Action

2. Member Group Update: Friends of Sabeel Conference

3. Resources & Events: UFPJ October 27 National Mobilization, Institute for Palestine Studies Policy Notes No. 21

4. Opportunities to Visit Israel and Palestine: Interfaith Peace-Builders; Global Exchange

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1. US CAMPAIGN UPDATE

* US Campaign Is Hiring National Organizer

The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is looking for a dynamic, articulate, creative, and passionate social justice advocate to work as a full-time National Organizer in its Washington, DC office.

The US Campaign is a national coalition of more than 250 organizations working to end U.S. support for Israel's military occupation and human rights abuses against Palestinians and change U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine to support human rights, international law, and equality for all.

The National Organizer will be responsible for working with staff, Steering Committee, Advisory Board, and member organizations of the US Campaign to implement the US Campaign's main programmatic priorities in 2008, including:

·A high-profile "anti-apartheid" speaking and organizing tour

·Educational resources and days of action to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the Nakba (Palestinian dispossession)

·Corporate accountability campaigns against Motorola and Caterpillar for profiting from Israel's human rights abuses of Palestinians

·The 7^th Annual National Organizers' Conference and Grassroots Training Institute

The ideal candidate will have the following attributes:

·A strong knowledge of Palestine/Israel and U.S. policy toward it

·Experience in designing and implementing grassroots campaigns for social change

·Excellent written and verbal communications skills

·Be willing to travel within the United States on average once a month

·Work well with others and be able to juggle multiple responsibilities

·Have basic computer literacy, including Word applications and Excel

Candidates for the position who have experience with graphic design and/or digital video editing should indicate this on their resume.Candidates with foreign language skills, especially Arabic, Hebrew, or Spanish should also indicate this on their resume.

The successful candidate will be hired for a one-year, renewable contract with a starting salary of $30,000-$35,000 based on experience, plus excellent benefits, including 15 paid vacation days, 10 paid sick days, 10 paid federal holidays, and a generous health care and life insurance subsidy.

In addition to being willing to travel for work, the National Organizer must be willing to work certain evenings and weekends.The National Organizer is expected to work 40 hours per week with comp time accrued for any additional hours worked.

The US Campaign is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, women, and LGBTQ people.

To apply for the position, send a one-page resume and one-page essay describing why you are the ideal person for this position to office@endtheoccupation.org.No phone calls please.

The deadline for applying for this job is COB Friday, November 9.The US Campaign will notify candidates in November to schedule interviews and the selected candidate must be able to be in Washington, DC by December 1 to begin the position.

* Take Action: Speak Out Against "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week"

During the week of October 22-26, 2007, right-wing and neo-conservative political forces led by the DavidHorowitzFreedomCenter are calling for "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" events on campuses across the U.S. (for a list of campuses and speakers, see below).

If this event is coming to your campus or neighborhood - and even if it's not - speak out against this racist assault on Muslims, Arabs, Arab-Americans, South Asians and anyone viewed as sympathetic towards those communities. While some people might dismiss the neo-conservatives as fringe elements that don't impact U.S. policy, the truth is much more disturbing. They are part of an alliance of forces that work to maintain the war against Iraq, escalate the standoff with Iran into military conflict, and cement Israel's hold on the occupied Palestinian territories and violations of Palestinian human rights through a system of apartheid rule.

The stakes are simply too high to ignore, and we should respond to the so-called "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" - and to all such provocations - pro-actively, not defensively.

To find out what action you can take on your campus and in your community and to read about what others are doing, click here.  To learn more about the forces driving this agenda, read "Understanding Why Islamophobia is on the Rise," the analysis by Phyllis Bennis, fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, and member of the U.S. Campaign's steering committee.

By defending basic freedoms of thought, speech and belief, we underscore three simple messages:

We stand for free speech, not hate speech. 
We stand for tolerance, not bigotry.
We stand for education, not demagoguery.

SPEAK OUT FOR FREE SPEECH, TOLERANCE, AND EDUCATION!

* CAT Day of Action: October 19!

Take action against CAT for profiting from Israel's human rights violations of Palestinians.  Click here for resources, organizing ideas, and actions.

This day marks the eve of the one month anniversary of Israel's killing of Mahmoud al-Kifafi. According to the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Mahmoud al-Kifafi, aged 19, was killed by the Israeli army with a CAT bulldozer in the Gaza Strip on September 20. He is at least the 18th person to have been killed by the Israeli army with a CAT bulldozer.

TAKE ACTION

1. Organize a protest. Organize a protest in your community on Friday, October 19 against CAT for profiting from Israel's human rights violations of Palestinians. Protests can be held at CAT offices, dealerships, town squares, or offices of your Members of Congress. Once you arrange the logistics, be sure to post your event to our calendar by clicking here.

The US Campaign will send an organizing packet, containing posters and postcards, to each individual and group that organizes a protest and posts it to our on-line event calendar.

2. Download resources. Educate yourself and your community by downloading resources from our website.

To download a Word version of a flier that you can edit for your local protest, click here.

To download an 11X17 "CAT Free Zone" placard, click here.

To download an 11X17 "Stop Caterkiller" poster, click here.

To download a web sticker for your website or blog, click here.

For additional resources on the CAT campaign, click here.

3. Contact Members of Congress and the State Department. Take a minute to send a letter to your Members of Congress and the State Department demanding an investigation into whether Israel is violating the Arms Export Control and Foreign Assistance Acts by its misuse of CAT bulldozers.

To send a letter, click here.

4. Support the CAT Campaign. Help the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation continue its work to hold Caterpillar accountable for profiting from Israel's human rights violations of Palestinians by making a generous tax-deductible contribution. For every contribution of $10 or more, we'll send you a glossy, union-made "Stop Caterkiller" poster. Donate now and we'll throw in an added poster from our historic June 10 rally in DC while supplies last.

To make a tax-deductible contribution, click here.

5. Save the Date—March 16, 2008. Next March marks the five-year anniversary of Israel's killing of U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie with a CAT bulldozer in the Gaza Strip. Save the date and start making plans to participate in a national day of action to demand justice and accountability.

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2. MEMBER GROUP UPDATE:

* Friends of Sabeel Conference: The Apartheid Paradigm in Palestine-Israel: Issues of Justice and Equality
October 26 & 27, 2007

Friends of Sabeel - New England Chapter are organizing a historic conference, The Apartheid Paradigm in Palestine-Israel: Issues of Justice and Equality, sponsored by Friends of Sabeel - North America and hosted in Boston by Friends of Sabeel - New England, October 26 and 27, 2007.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu will give the keynote address and many other international, national, and local scholars and activists including US Campaign's Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies, David Wildman of the UnitedMethodistChurch, and Nancy Murray of the Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights will speak!

Join activists from all over the world and share your commitment to peace!

For more information, please click here. 

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3. RESOURCES AND EVENTS

* Institute for Palestine Studies Policy Notes No. 21: Why, When and How the US Challenges Israel's Actions

By Nadia Hijab

The maneuvering continues over the participation in and content of the mid-November meeting proposed by the United States, while the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories deteriorates. A serious move for peace would help to restore US credibility in the region, but this would require US pressure to bring about substantial shifts in Israeli policy. However, such pressure has been forthcoming primarily when the US believed its vital interests were at stake.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said bluntly during his recent meetings with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the credibility of the peace process could only be restored by, among other things, an immediate halt to Israeli settlement, an end to the closures that had ruined the Palestinian economy, and a timeframe to implement final status issues. [1] Abbas thus emphasized not only the need to address final status issues, but also to push for implementation.

To read more, click here.

* October 27: UFPJ Regional Mobilizations!

Later this fall, people from all walks of life will gather at sites around the country for 11 regional demonstrations.

People everywhere want the war to end, but Washington has failed to take decisive action. With each passing month, nearly 100 service-people and countless more Iraqis are killed, some 12 billion of our tax dollars are spent, and the death and destruction continue. Our communities - from New Orleans to Minneapolis - are neglected and suffer the consequences.

From Boston to Los Angeles, from New York to New Orleans, on October 27th the people will speak: We want this war to end, and we want it to end now!

For more information about these Regional Mobilizations can be found by clicking here.

The US Campaign has endorsed this event and we encourage our member groups to do the same by clicking here!

Organize a Palestine Feeder March! You can do so by clicking here!

Coordinate any action on Palestine on October 27^th with the cities that are organizing these Regional Mobilizations. The contacts for the Regional Mobilizations are:

New England/Boston
Joseph Gainza
AFSC - Vermont
802-229-2340
jgainza@afsc.org

New York and Northern New Jersey/ New York City
Leslie Kielson
UFPJ/NYC
212-856-5545
lrk44@earthlink.net

Mid-Atlantic/Philadelphia
Jody Dodd
Women's International League for Peace & Freedom
215-563-7110
jdodd@wilpf.org

John Braxton
US Labor Against the War
215-751-8555
jbraxton@ccp.edu

David Kalkstein
South Jersey Coalition for Peace and Justice
856-482-2054
brownmayola@comcast.net

South - eastern part/Jonesborough, TN
Linda Modica
First TN Progressives
423-676-2925
Linda.c.modica@mac.com

Florida/Orlando
Matt Devlieger
954-536-7461
actlikematt@gmail.com

Mid-West/Chicago
Carl Davidson
Chicagoans Against War & Injustice (CAWI)
773-384-8827
carld717@aol.com

George Martin
Milwaukee Coalition for a Just Peace
414-964-5158
george@peaceactionwi.org

Northwest/Seattle
Kelly Campbell
September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
503-230-9427 x2
kelly@peacefultomorrows.org

Northern California/San Francisco
Siri Margerin
United for Peace & Justice - Bay Area
415-305-5749
sirism@mac.com

Southern California/Los Angeles
Don White
Comm in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador
323-556-1932 
donwhite4justice@hotmail.com

Mountain States/Salt Lake City
Kim Spangrude
Utah MFSO
801-718-0863
kimspangrude@mac.com
utahvoices@lists.riseup.net