Hedy Epstein, a Holocaust survivor from St. Louis, traveled to the West Bank for two weeks in June and July. She will report on her recent trip on Sunday, July 25, 2:00 p.m. The talk will focus on conditions in the Palestinian Territories and discuss peace efforts in the region. Her talk will be at UMKC Royall Hall, Room 111 (Stack Auditorium), 5200 Rockhill Road in Kansas City sponsored by CJME. 

She traveled to the West Bank with 13 women from a national group, Women of a Certain Age. This was Hedy's second trip to the region in six months. During the group’s trip to Israel and Palestine in June/July they met with Gila Svirsky, an Israeli activist and a founding member of the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace, a grouping of eight Israeli and Palestinian women's peace organizations; Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation in Jerusalem; participated in actions opposing the Separation Wall in the Palestinian Territories; and talked to many other Israelis and Palestinians.  (photo: WCA delegation to Palestinian Territories, June 2004)

The above event is free to the public and is sponsored by the Citizens for Justice in the Middle East.

Here is what Gail Miller, a retired public high school social worker, said about the Women of a Certain Age group’s mission:

> "We take a position of action, standing beside women and men who, like us, wish to live in a just world at peace. We hope to meet with Palestinians whose voices have not been heard outside the walls of occupation. We intend to bear witness and to share what we see with others.
   "We hope to use our voice, our spirit, and our privilege as internationals, in non-violent direct action, to oppose the building of the Apartheid wall, the ghettoization of towns and villages, and the continuous and deliberate attempt to destroy an entire society. We intend to bring the world's attention to the effects of occupation and to support the Palestinian struggle for justice and peace."

Here is what Hedy Epstein wrote in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch opinion piece after her December 2003 trip:

> “It is impossible to visit Israel these days without being aware of the constant threat posed by terrorists. Suicide bombs kill and maim innocent persons riding in buses or taking a meal in a restaurant. We Jews who survived the Shoah know all too well that the intentional targeting of civilians is illegal and immoral. So I grieve the loss of life in Jerusalem from the suicide bombs. But I also grieve the loss of life in Palestine, which occurs almost on a daily basis. So I went to Palestine as a member of the International Solidarity Movement to observe the difficult conditions of daily life under military occupation.”

Update - July 25, 2004

Ms. Hedy Epstein pressed people in Kansas City to visit the Palestinian Territories to see the impact of the occupation. She told a small group attending her talk at UMKC on Sunday afternoon, July 25 that this approach is the best way to convince U.S. officials and the American public to change U.S. Middle East policy.  Hedy traveled to the region for two weeks in June and July with a "Women of a Certain Age" delegation.

She also called for the "security fence" to be taken down in the Palestinian Territories, emphasizing that if Israel's wants a fence for security it should be built within the "green line", the internationally recognized border established after the 1967 war. She noted that the fence is actually a 25-foot wall in many places and is built through the center of several Palestinian towns and villages. She reported her observations of the wall being built in the main street in A-Ram near Jerusalem, dividing the town in two.

Hedy gave her account of joining a peaceful demonstration against the Wall in A-Ram with Israelis, internationals and Palestinians. The demonstration was forcefully attacked by the Israeli army, using teargas, rubber bullets, live ammunition and water cannons.

She also spoke to 75 people at Village Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning, July 25 and to an anti-war rally on the Plaza at 5:00 pm attended by approximately 70 people.

Photo: From the WCA 2004 delegation to the Palestinian Territories. Hedy Epstein, center with red scarf, taken during a break in the A-Ram demonstration.

News coverage:
- Kansas City Star, 7/24/04: "Holocaust survivor to speak at Village Church" (promotional piece)
- Kansas City Star, 7/26/04: "Holocaust survivor finds West Bank barrier ‘deeply, deeply troubling" (report on Hedy Epstein's talk at UMKC on 7/25/04)
- FOX4 News (WDAF-TV4) - "Holocaust survivor calls for peace" (report on 7/25/04 news)

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