Report for 2003

Dear Friends and Supporters of CJME,

It was a year ago this month, in mid January of 2003, that the first, informal meeting was held of what would eventually become Citizens for Justice in the Middle East (CJME). All of us know we have much work ahead of us in the future, yet as we plan for 2004 this may be a time to look back upon what we've achieved in 2003.

First, there's the formation of CJME itself, with a clear mission statement and purpose, and regular twice-monthly meetings.

Second, there's the activities CJME has organized in Kansas City during the past year.

-- Neve Gordon, government professor at Ben Gurion University in Israel and founder of the Israeli-Arab peace group Ta'ayush, was our first speaker. He gave a dynamic presentation at Unity Temple about what is going on today in Israel and the Occupied Territories.

-- Fred Schlomka, former operations manager of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and founder of Mosaic Communities, spoke about discrimination in housing and the need for Israel to provide equal rights to all its citizens.

-- A web site and email list was established in April. See http://www.cjme.org

-- Joe Carr, a Kansas City volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement, gave a moving account of his experience in Gaza in early 2003.

-- In the Fall, we sponsored a showing of film "In the Name of Security" with the Kansas City Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, which included a presentation by CJME member Barbara LeClerq, who traveled to Bethlehem in September, 2003.

-- And in December we launched our "Christmas in Bethlehem" Campaign, which entailed the distribution of approximately 1,000 brochures to local churches and has led to several speaking engagements.

We know this is only the beginning. The task confronting us is immense, but thankfully there are many, many groups and individuals across the nation working on peace with justice. We are engaged in trying to change the automatic, unconditional support for Israel and the Occupation. This support damages all those affected: Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans as well. We welcome your thoughts and suggestions as to how we could communicate our message more effectively to both the local public and to our legislators in Congress. We value hearing from you, either by phone, e-mail or in person if you can attend our meetings. Finally, we thank you for your continuing support.

Citizens for Justice in the Middle East
http://www.cjme.org

-------------------
Ways to help:
-- Come to our next meeting to plan activities and events -- January 26 at Village Presbyterian Church, 67th & Mission, Mission, Kansas at 7:00 p.m. in Room Y125

-- Write a letter to your Congressional representatives or to the Kansas City Star about the injustices to Palestinians being committed, often with U.S. dollars.

-- Make a donation to CJME to educate the American public about the issues involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including postage, printing, publicity costs incurred to host. Mail check and payable to CJME, 6100 W. 52nd Street, Mission, KS 66202.