NEWS RELEASE
Citizens For Justice In The Middle East
6100 W. 52nd Street,
Kansas City, Missouri
816-524-3905

Contact: Matt Quinn
For: Immediate Release
816-524-3905

Seeking Peace in a Troubled Land: Eyewitness Accounts of Israeli Occupation

Three area residents will present their observations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — Hedy Epstein, a Holocaust survivor from St. Louis, traveled to the West Bank for three weeks in December 2003 and Dr. James Kenney, CPA and Ginger Kenney, from Mission, Kansas, have been to the Middle East five times, most recently in March 2004 on a fact-finding delegation with the Interfaith Peace Builders.

> Hedy Epstein, traveled to the West Bank with three other women from St. Louis for three weeks in December. They stayed with Palestinian families, participating in two demonstrations — in Masha Gil Na'amti, a young Israeli, was severely injured by live bullets and one of the women was hit by a shrapnel in her leg and near Der Beilut, where they were "showered" by a water canon. They visited the Wall in Qalqilia, spoke with Israeli soldiers and visited the Salim Shawamreh family whose home has been demolished four times. Hedy visited the Memorial, near Jerusalem, for the 80,000 Jews deported from France, among them members of her family.

> Dr. James Kenney, CPA and Ginger Kenney are active members of the Quaker faith and local representatives of the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Jim served as a Presbyterian minister for twenty years. They took their first trip to Israel in 1976. Subsequent trips worked with Palestinian and Israeli peace groups such as Christian Peacemaker Team, which promotes “standing in the way” between occupiers and occupied in hopes of reducing violence or oppression.

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

> Where: Village Presbyterian Church, West Fellowship Hall, 6641 Mission Road, Prairie Village, Kansas
> When: Monday, April 5, 2004, 7:00 p.m.
> More information on the event: http://www.cjme.org

Here is what Hedy Epstein wrote in a February 17, 2004 St. Louis Post-Dispatch opinion piece:
- “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.”

Information about Citizens for Justice in the Middle East:
Kansas City-based Citizens for Justice in the Middle East seeks to educate the American public about the issues involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to end U.S. support for the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Composed of Kansas City area citizens concerned about the direction of U.S. policy in the Middle East, Citizens for Justice in the Middle East urges ordinary American citizens to speak out in favor of an even-handed U.S. policy in the Middle East that recognizes the rights and aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians. Only by respecting the need to provide both parties in the conflict with security and self-determination can a viable and just peace be assured.

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