CJME - Speakers

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

Contact: Matt Quinn - 816-729-9102
For: Immediate Release

Kansas Citians Andrea Whitmore and Joe Carr
Work for Peace in Israel and Palestine

Kansas City, MO – Two Kansas City natives and Citizens for Justice in the Middle East members Andrea Whitmore and Joe Carr have traveled to Israel and Palestine on separate journeys. Their visits are timely due to the passing of Palestinian President Yassir Arafat and the on-going crisis between Israel and Palestine. They gained unique insight into the Mideast conflict and are available to speak with the public and members of the press. Mideast observers including those in the US administration consider the equitable resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a cornerstone to peace in the Middle East.

Andrea and Joe bring that message home from their travels to this troubled region.

ANDREA WHITMORE joined with an Interfaith Peace Builders delegation to Palestine and Israel, October 2-16, 2004 sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconciliation. She is a writer and former teacher of English as a Foreign Language at UMKC. Andrea is available to talk to community organizations and faith groups.

During Andrea’s stay in the region, she met with human rights organizations, community and religious leaders, suicide bombing victims, refugees, settlers and government representatives from across the political spectrum. The purpose of her visit was to gain deeper insight into the issues surrounding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, to examine the effects of United States foreign policy in the region, and to support the Israelis, Palestinians, and others who are working for a nonviolent and just peace. (photo: Interfaith Peace Builders delegation in October 2004. Andrea Whitmore, lower right)

From the delegation's report dated October 7: We began our morning drive heading north into the rolling hills that surround Jerusalem. The past few days have been filled with witnessing a display of human disparities. We passed the privileged red-roofed neighborhoods of the sprawling Israeli settlements surrounding Jerusalem and toured the deconstructed towns of Palestinians.

JOE CARR is on assignment with a Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) in Hebron, Palestine. CPT performs school accompaniment for Palestinian children, documentation and human rights reporting, nonviolent trainings and work with Palestinians and Israeli peace groups to develop campaigns that focus on ending the occupation. (Photo caption: Joe Carr helps build a clinic near Hebron, Palestine. Photo credit: CPT)

Joe Carr is a 23-year-old peace activist from Kansas City, Missouri. He graduated with a BA from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington in 2004. He spent January to April of 2003 coordinating for the International Solidarity Movement in Rafah, Palestine, and witnessed the death of US peace activist Rachel Corrie, and British peace activist Tom Hurndall. He now works with the Christian Peacemaker Teams in Al Khalil (Hebron), Palestine.

From Joe Carr's November 10 journal: This morning, the children continued with their heavily armed escort but it didn’t stop the settlers. We saw two settler men and one woman follow the convoy of military, Civil Administration, settler security and the five children. From the opposing mountain, we videotaped the settlers move around the group, shouting and blowing a loud horn. The children reported that the settlers said things like “Go home, you don’t belong here!”

- 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, Citizens for Justice in the Middle East urges ordinary American citizens to speak out in favor of an even-handed U.S. policy 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.