Cleveland Peace Action Urges Congress to Support H.R. 2407
Cleveland Peace Action supports Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) for her reintroduction of House Resolution 2407. HR 2407 forbids U.S. aid to Israel to be used for the jailing and incarceration of Palestinian children in the West Bank, which has been under illegal Israeli military occupation for more than a half-century. Each year between 500 and 1,000 Palestinian children are thrown in jail by Israeli occupation forces. Then they are often subjected to torture and abuse before receiving a “trial” in a military tribunal, usually without legal representation and with court documents in Hebrew, not Arabic. Cleveland Peace Action applauds…
Colombia In Context
by Mark Weber Steve Cagan’s very informative talk last night got me to thinking. He mentioned that the United States was less of a presence in Colombia now than in years past. In the early 2000’s there was in South America what journalists dubbed the “pink tide.” In countries like Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, and Venezuela socialist or left populists came to power. Most famous was the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela led by Hugo Chavez. The United States feared that Colombia might be “lost” as well. Insurgent forces in Colombia controlled almost half of the country. I think these…
A Trip to Colombia
By Mark Weber Colombia, a South American nation of about 43 million people is seldom in the news. It is a beautiful country endowed with a biodiversity exceeded only by that of Brazil. However, it is a nation with the worst human rights record in the world. More targeted killings occur in Colombia than the rest of the world combined. Together, an oligarchy of the military, the large landowners, the church, narco-traffickers, and conservative business elite run the country through a combination of selective enforcement of the law and outright intimidation up to and including murder. Colombia is a…
Peace@ThePub: Steve Cagan on Colombia
Pessimism and hope, three years after the peace accords Tuesday, June 11th⋅7:00 – 8:30pm Market Garden Brewery, 1947 W 25th St, Cleveland, OH Peace accords between the Colombian government and FARC guerrillas in 2016 raised hopes. Steve Cagan will report on his most recent visit with the people of El Chocó, along with his photographs. The renewal of armed conflict in the countryside, repression of community leaders, environmental destruction, and regressive economic policies are worrisome, but there are also glimmers of hope. Steve is a Cleveland-based long-term activist and activist-photographer. He’s made 18 visits to Colombia and the El…
The Weaponization of Antisemitism
Do we truly understand the term “antisemitism”? Mark Weber shed much light on the subject in this talk at Peace@ThePub on May 14, 2019. Many in the audience wanted to read it and share his remarks with others. So here it is, in it’s entirety. Note that you can also add your comments to this blog! By Mark Weber Recently, we’ve watched with dismay as supporters of Israel in the United States have launched attacks on first-term Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), accusing her of antisemitism because she’s been critical of Israel and has raised the specter of “dual…
On Recent Deaths in Gaza and Israel
Cleveland Peace Action, 2592 West 14th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44113 – peaceactioncleveland.org Contact: Don Bryant – 216-255-1576 – email.donbryant@gmail.com _____________________________________________________________________________ Gaza and Israeli Deaths and Palestinian Human Rights The recent deaths and violence in Gaza, Palestine and the Negev area of Israel were not initiated by Hamas or Islamic Jihad as described in mainstream news. If we want to lay blame on one entity for the May 4-May 6, 2019 exchange of missiles and bombs, we can site Israel for firing and killing two nonviolent demonstrators on May 3 in the weekly “Great Return March” in Gaza that began…
Hands Off Venezuela! No War With Iran
Cleveland Peace Action, 2592 West 14th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44113 peaceactioncleveland.org Contact: Mark Weber – 216.870.1594 – laboraction2000@gmail.com _______________________________________________________________ Statement from Cleveland Peace Action on Provocative U.S. Actions Toward Venzuela and Iran The United States is trying to orchestrate a coup to oust socialist President Nicholas Maduro of Venezuela and install a pro-U.S. regime headed by Juan Guaido. Guaido has already called for U.S. military intervention in Venezuela. He has declared himself to be “interim president” and openly courts a military attack on his country. At the same time, the United States is dispatching warships to the Middle East…