February, 02 2009, 08:25am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK co-founder, 0112----0195081493 or 0112---0194812932 (in Egypt)
Jean Stevens, CODEPINK national media coordinator, 508-769-2138
CODEPINK Women Arrive in Cairo, En Route to Gaza Border
Plan to Meet with Women's Groups, Hamas Officials
CAIRO, Egypt
Members of the leading women's peace group CODEPINK arrived at the
Egypt-Gaza border today, hoping to enter the territory to witness the
horrific damage of the 22-day Israeli attacks, demand an opening of
borders for humanitarian aid, meet with Palestinian women's aid groups
and, if possible, Hamas officials.
WHAT: CODEPINK women at Gaza border, plan meet with women's groups and Hamas officials
WHEN: Feb. 2 to Feb. 9
WHERE: Cairo, Gaza
Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK co-founder, and retired Col. Ann Wright,
former U.S. state department official, arrived in Cairo, Egypt Sunday
and today visited the U.S. embassy in Cairo for their "letter of
acknowledgment of risk" before driving five hours to the border with
Gaza.
On the 10-day citizen diplomacy trip, organized by CODEPINK, they
plan to learn the needs of the Gaza people and demonstrate what George
Mitchell, the Obama administration's Special Envoy for Middle East
Peace currently visiting several Middle East countries, should do. So
far, Mitchell has refused to visit Gaza and meet with Hamas.
"What sense does it make to send a Special Envoy to the Middle
East, but not have him visit war-torn Gaza and speak to Hamas?"
Benjamin said. "In our visit to Gaza, we will be doing precisely what
George Mitchell should be doing--getting an understanding of the
devastation that resulted from the Israeli invasion, and talking to
governmental, non-governmental and U.N. representatives."
Benjamin and Wright will also meet with Palestinian aid groups
including the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, the Gaza Community
Mental Health Program and the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees,
to discuss plans for CODEPINK's new worldwide call to action,
"International Women's Day 2009: Dedicated to the Women of Gaza,"
designed to commemorate the women of Gaza on March 8, the United
Nations-designated International Women's Day. The call is endorsed by
the National Congress of Black Women, Organization of Women's Freedom
in Iraq, American Muslim Voice, author Alice Walker and journalist
Laura Flanders.
Through this call to action, CODEPINK and partner groups will raise
funds for the women of Gaza. An international women's delegation will
return to Gaza from March 8 to 13 to deliver the aid to several groups,
including the aforementioned groups, the Palestinian Agricultural
Relief Committees and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. With
international pressure and the determination of the women in the
delegation, CODEPINK is confident the Egyptian government will let the
aid through.
In Gaza, 22 days of Israeli attacks earlier this year left more
than 1,000 dead, including 412 children. Women have largely taken on
the role as the primary caretakers of their families and communities
while dealing with their own heartbreak. As in all communities ravaged
by war and violence, they've become largely responsible for providing
water, food, medicine, electricity and heat in the face of shortages
for families and communities. Many women are also more at risk
medically, as maternity wards often become surgical wards.
"The Israeli attack came after 18 months of a crippling blockade
that had already left the Palestinian population hungry, sick, weak,
and suffering from a catastrophic situation," Benjamin said. "We must
not only provide massive humanitarian aid, but lift the blockade that
is keeping the people of Gaza under siege."
For more information and interviews, please call Medea Benjamin,
CODEPINK co-founder, at 0112----0195081493 or 0112---0194812932.
CODEPINK is a women-led grassroots organization working to end U.S. wars and militarism, support peace and human rights initiatives, and redirect our tax dollars into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming programs.
(818) 275-7232LATEST NEWS
'Affirming Apartheid': Biden Admin to Allow Israel Into Visa Waiver Program
One critic called it "an outrageous endorsement of the Israeli government's systematic discrimination against Palestinian Americans and a reward to the most extremist, racist government in Israel's history."
Sep 27, 2023
Human rights advocates on Wednesday forcefully denounced the Biden administration's move to let Israelis apply to travel to the United States without visas, and vice versa, despite charges that Israel's treatment of Palestinian Americans violates the program's legal requirements.
The U.S. departments of Homeland Security and State confirmed that by November 30, "the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) will be updated to allow citizens and nationals of Israel to apply to travel to the United States for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days without first obtaining a U.S. visa."
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said that the designation of Israel into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) "represents over a decade of work and coordination," and "is an important recognition of our shared security interests and the close cooperation between our two countries."
While U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken added that "this important achievement will enhance freedom of movement for U.S. citizens, including those living in the Palestinian territories or traveling to and from them," rights groups and some American lawmakers have been pushing back against such claims.
U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), joined by over a dozen colleagues, wrote in a letter to Blinken earlier this month that according to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in this summer, "Israel is not expected to fully implement one system that all U.S. citizen travelers can use for purposes of visa waiver travel until May 1, 2024, well beyond the September 30, 2023 deadline for meeting program requirements."
"The MOU states that Israel will employ 'an interim process for a U.S. citizen who is a resident of the West Bank.' Such a two-tiered system of entry inherently violates the administration's own standard for reciprocity that 'blue is blue'—meaning 'equal treatment and freedom of travel for all U.S. citizens regardless of national origin, religion, or ethnicity," the senators noted. "We have already learned of a number of U.S. citizen families who flew to Israel to take advantage of visa waiver travel under the new MOU who were denied entry for having Gaza IDs."
Van Hollen and Schatz, along with Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), reiterated their concerns in a joint statement Wednesday, saying that "to date, Israel has failed to meet the 'blue is blue' requirement. Adherence to this important American tenet of reciprocity and equal treatment of all U.S. citizens is critical to the integrity of the Visa Waiver Program, and we are deeply concerned with the administration's decision to move forward in violation of that principle."
The Biden administration's highly anticipated announcement follows a related lawsuit filed Tuesday by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), whose director, Abed Ayoub, said Wednesday that "by endorsing a tiered system for U.S. citizens, our government has given its tacit approval to Israel's prejudiced policies and apartheid actions."
Especially faced with what is widely considered Israel's most far-right government in the nation's history—reaffirmed by stunts like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presenting a map of "The New Middle East" without Palestine during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly last week—a growing number of rights groups have accused Israel of apartheid.
Adalah Justice Project executive director Sandra Tamari declared Wednesday that "apartheid is not only Israeli policy, it is U.S. policy too."
"Israel's discrimination is especially egregious against Palestinian Americans with ties to Gaza," Tamari stressed, "making reunification of families torn apart by Israel's siege and blockade of Gaza near impossible."
Leaders from Americans for Justice in Palestine Action, American Muslims for Palestine, Council on American Islamic Relations, Jewish Voice for Peace Action (JVP Action), Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development, and the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights also denounced the Biden administration's designation.
JVP Action executive director Stefanie Fox called it "an outrageous endorsement of the Israeli government's systematic discrimination against Palestinian Americans and a reward to the most extremist, racist government in Israel's history."
"Once again, the U.S. is singling out Israel for special and exceptionalized treatment at the expense of the rights of Palestinian Americans," she added. "Jewish Voice for Peace Action calls for the immediate reversal of this decision."
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, suggested that "by choosing to make this reckless move ahead of the September 30, 2023 end of the federal fiscal year, it is also clear the issue of reciprocity was not the only barrier to Israel's eligibility to enter the VWP."
"Moving to admit them now so that an application would not have to restart under potentially different (and post-Covid) visa refusal rates—an additional requirement of the law—is another sign of the prioritization of politics over our rights," he continued. "With this move, Israel has extended its discriminatory apartheid laws to American citizens with our own government's enthusiastic support."
Democracy in the Arab World Now (DAWN) director of advocacy for Israel/Palestine Adam Shapiro, a plaintiff in ADC's lawsuit, said Wednesday that "the U.S. should halt implementation of the visa waiver for Israel at least until a judge reviews what we believe to be the government's arbitrary and capricious actions that enshrine Israeli apartheid in a U.S. program."
"Separate can never be equal, as was determined decades ago in the fight for civil rights in this country," Shapiro added. "Forty countries participate in the VWP, and none have formal arrangements to discriminate against American citizens; only Israel has demanded and been granted this unconscionable favor by the U.S. government."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Catastrophe' Averted as Judge Upholds California County's Rejection of Exxon Oil Trucking Plan
"It's time for Exxon to accept that the community won't support drilling and transporting oil in their backyard," said one advocate.
Sep 27, 2023
Public health and environmental advocates in Santa Barbara County, California on Wednesday hailed a district court ruling one advocate said placed "the safety of our communities, climate, and coastlines first," as oil giant ExxonMobil's proposal to drive oil tankers down coastal highways was struck down.
Judge Dolly M. Gee in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California upheld the county's 2022 rejection of the company's proposal. Last year the county cited the harm that a potential oil spill would do to biodiversity, water safety, and cultural resources when it refused to allow Exxon to truck oil.
The company sued the county, and late last year a federal judge granted a motion by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Environmental Defense Center (EDC), which aimed to intervene in the case on behalf of Indigenous tribes and environmental groups.
The outcome of the case on Wednesday, prohibiting the company from transporting millions of gallons of oil per week, will keep Exxon from moving towards resuming operations on offshore platforms and at a former processing facility, said EDC.
"ExxonMobil's plan to restart its offshore platforms and truck millions of gallons per week through Santa Barbara County is reckless, dangerous, and totally unwelcome by this community," said Linda Krop, chief counsel of group. "Recent oil tanker truck accidents and offshore oil spills show just how dangerous this plan is."
The company aimed to truck the oil on coastal Highway 101 and Route 166, sparking fears of a disaster like the Refugio State Beach oil spill of 2015, which sent more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil into a ravine and ultimately the Pacific Ocean. The spill created a 10-square-mile oil slick that injured and killed wildlife including otters, humpback whales, and brown pelicans, and led to the closure of Exxon's offshore drilling operations.
Gee's ruling was handed down two years after another oil spill near Huntington Beach, which caused oil to seep into a marsh area that is home to more than 80 bird species.
"I'm relieved the judge agreed it was reasonable to deny Exxon's dangerous trucking project. Trucking oil through Santa Barbara County is so obviously risky for the people, wildlife, and coastline," said Liz Jones, an attorney at CBD. "It's time for Exxon to accept that the community won't support drilling and transporting oil in their backyard."
Oil truck accidents are already a problem in California, with 258 trucking incidents reported from 2015-21 along Exxon's proposed route. Eight accidents that have taken place since 2007 have been deadly, killing six people and causing numerous injuries, fires, road closures, and oil spills.
"The next accident is a matter of 'when,' not 'if,' based on oil companies' terrible track record in Santa Barbara County," said Jones. "The costs of oil spills are too high to risk, and this decision is a well-deserved win for the community, ocean life, and ecosystems."
In 2021, CBD posted a map on social media showing the critical habitats—supporting steelhead trout, sea otters, salamanders, and other wildlife—that lie close to the company's proposed trucking route.
"It's incredible that this project would even be considered," said Michael Lyons, board president of Get Out Oil! "Each tanker truck and its full load of oil is essentially a ticking time bomb that threatens the lives of those on the highways and our environment."
With the district court ruling, said Lyons, "an oil spill catastrophe has been prevented."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Insane': McCarthy Vows No Vote for Bipartisan Senate Spending Bill as Shutdown Looms
"In the House, Republicans have tried everything but bipartisanship, and every path they've pursued to date will inevitably lead to a shutdown," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Sep 27, 2023
Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday said he will not call a vote on the bipartisan stopgap funding bill hashed out in the Senate in a bid to avert a looming government shutdown—a move slammed as "insane" by the Congressional Progressive Caucus chair.
Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) told reporters at a media briefing that McCarthy (Calif.) informed members of the House GOP conference during a closed-door meeting that he won't allow a vote on the continuing resolution (CR) senators agreed to on Tuesday evening.
Good said the CR would be "dead on arrival" in the lower chamber and that "there's no way the House would pass that bill." Many Republicans—especially the party's hard-right wing—are vehemently opposed to the measure and have threatened to oust McCarthy from the speakership if he works with Democrats on a deal.
Instead, House Republicans on Tuesday voted to open debate on a package of appropriations bills for the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, State, and Agriculture. These are but four of the 12 measures that lawmakers must approve in order to fully fund the federal government. Democratic critics have slammed the GOP for pursuing severe spending cuts that would impact everything from education programs to food and housing aid for low-income families to disaster relief funding.
While President Joe Biden has accused McCarthy of reneging on a deal to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for maintaining current government spending levels, the speaker is pressing for a new meeting with the president to underscore Republican demands to include increased border security in any agreement.
Criticism of McCarthy's refusal to hold a vote on the CR came from both sides of the aisle and both chambers of Congress.
"Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans agreed yesterday to move forward on a bipartisan CR that will keep the government open," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in response to McCarthy's decision. "In the House, Republicans have tried everything but bipartisanship, and every path they've pursued to date will inevitably lead to a shutdown."
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) wrote on social media: "This is insane. The Senate passed a funding bill that would avert a government shutdown and give the House more time to pass appropriations bills, but Speaker McCarthy won't even consider it."
"Let us vote, Kevin," she added.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the chamber floor that "a vote against a standard short-term funding measure is a vote against paying over $1 billion in salary for Border Patrol and [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents working to track down lethal fentanyl and tame our open borders."
If McCarthy maintains his opposition to the Senate CR, a House majority made up of both Democratic and GOP representatives could come together for a discharge petition to force a vote—though Republicans who did so would likely face accusations of betrayal from their own party.
The U.S. is just four days from its 15th government shutdown since 1980. A shutdown would suspend key federal programs, affecting millions of Americans—especially seniors, children, veterans, and working families. Federal employees would be furloughed or, in the case of workers deemed essential like air traffic controllers, forced to work without pay.
Appearing on MSNBC on Tuesday, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) told Joy Reid that "there's not one single senator" who wants a shutdown, but "on their side in the House, this is petty chaos by diminished men."
"The last time they did this kind of thing, you know, it resulted in another credit downgrade," Fetterman added. "If they want to be this stupid to do this again, they're going to pay in '24."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular
Independent, nonprofit journalism needs your help.
Please Pitch In
Today!
Today!