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Saturday, July 17, 2004 |
Report on Stop the Wall tour
"Stop the Wall" tour stops in Kansas City! FOR THOSE IN THE KANSAS CITY AREA frustrated with death and destruction in Iraq and the Palestinian Territories it is rare to receive some truly constructive news.
Those of us concerned about a just peace in the Middle East have a terrific opportunity to celebrate this decision. On Saturday, July 17 Erica Kay and John Reese, organizers with the national U.S. Stop the Wall group will be in Kansas City as part of a nation-wide tour. Stop the Wall-U.S. formed to assist a grassroots Palestinian campaign calling for the immediate cessation of the building of the Wall and the dismantling of all parts of the Wall and its related zones already built. The Stop the Wall Tour begins a four month trek around the United States to educate US taxpayers both about the Wall itself and about how US tax dollars are being used to build it. According to Erica Kay, a co-coordinator for the Stop the Wall Campaign, “What Israel is doing is undermining chances for peace. When people see The Wall trailer display we’re driving around and look at the path it’s taking through Palestinian land, they are shocked and frequently ask us ‘how can this possibly make things better?’ and ‘why are they building it on Palestinian land?” Our tour across the US will cover close to 15,000 miles making stops in communities small and large to encourage people to ask such questions.” On July 17 the Stop the Wall tour will present scale replicas of sections of the wall in public places in Kansas City. The organizers will also give a public presentation on the wall and effects of the occupation on the lives of Palestinians. Kansas City area residents have an opportunity to learn more about the Wall and support efforts to stop the building of the Wall. > TWO EVENTS --
> Here's how you can help --
MORE INFORMATION ON THE WALL: - World Court decision -
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/449395.html (from Ha'aretz,
Israeli news) MORE INFORMATION ON STOP THE WALL ORGANIZERS: > JOHN REESE - For 20 years John Reese was employed by several engineering consulting firms as a hydrogeologist and project manager with projects involving assessment and remediation of hazardous waste. He managed an environmental department and founded an environmental consulting firm. He continues to consult for grass roots organizations. During the Gulf War (1991) he began working with the Palestine Solidarity Committee in Seattle. He went to Palestine in April of 2002 and from June through December of 2002. While in Palestine he worked with the International Solidarity Movement, the Palestinian Hydrology Group and the Palestinian Environmental NGO’s Network (PENGON). Since his return he has toured over 70 cities giving over 100 lectures in the US, Mexico and Ireland on the environmental effects of the Israeli occupation. On May 28, he attempted to return to Palestine and was declared a "security threat" by the Israeli Ministry of Interior and denied entry into Israel. He is now the Co-coordinator of the to Stop the Wall Campaign - US. He hopes to return to Palestine later this year. > ERICA KAY - Raised with strong values focused on peace, justice and human rights during the Vietnam era, Erica Kay has worked on a variety of issues for the past 20 years. For the past 10 years she has run the Community Action Network, an activist resource center in Seattle, Washington, that supports grassroots efforts and was key to the organizing the WTO protests there in 1999. An evaluation consultant for HIV/AIDS programs, she divides her time between work and activism. Of all the difficult issues Erica has worked on, Israel / Palestine is perhaps the most volatile. Like some others of Jewish heritage, it wasn’t until recent years that she became active and willing to take a stand against the policies of the Israeli government. Erica is currently co-coordinator of the Stop the Wall Campaign and provides non-violence trainings for people traveling to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
Update - July 17, 2004
At an evening presentation John Reese, Stop the Wall organizer, told how the environmental impact of the Wall and occupation has changed the lives of Palestinians. He showed pictures of waste runoff from Israeli settlements built on hills in the West Bank. The pictures also showed industrial runoff in Palestinian communities, where Israeli industries have been built without environmental regulations. Some of the waste runs off into farmland. He also showed pictures of the series of concrete and steel barriers running throughout many West Bank towns. In many places where the barrier is a steel "fence" it also includes a razor wire and/or electrical element, trench, barrier road. The fence can be as much as 100 yards wide, tearing into the farmland and through dozens of Palestinian towns, severely disrupting the lives of as many as 300,000 Palestinians. Attendees at the presentation contributed $330 towards the Stop the Wall tour. Photos: Wall exhibit in Seattle, Wash. and Eugene, Oregon
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Friday, July 9, the World Court ruled
that the separation wall built well inside Palestinian Territories must come
down. The reason this is good news is because implementation of the World Court
decision will provide relief for as many as 300,000 Palestinians, who are kept
from their place of work, school and health facilities. According to the
decision Israel's wall is a "de facto annexation." 
Organizers
of the timely cross-country "Stop the Wall" tour stopped in Kansas City on
Saturday, July 17 for a outdoor display of a scale model of the Separation Wall
and a speaking event. The public display was shown to hundreds of passersby at
the JC Nichols fountain at 47th & Main, Kansas City, Missouri. Several concerned
area residents expressed thanks to organizers for raising awareness about the
Wall. A petition to Missouri congressional representatives was signed by many at
the display. 
The
display evoked much debate. A Palestinian man and his family, long-time Kansas
City residents, strongly supported the efforts to shed light on the impact of
the Wall on Palestinians. An Israeli man residing in the Springfield, Missouri
area said "there was no solution" to the problem when asked "What can be done to
reduce tensions between Israel and Palestine?" Fox4 and NBC41 affiliate news
channels interviewed tour organizers and local representatives of CJME. Many
other KC residents discussed the problems posed by the Wall.
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