November 2012

The Islamic Center of Boston: The Islamic Center of Boston, Wayland is sponsoring a fundraiser on Saturday, November 3, 2012 to partly benefit Peaceful Tomorrows (PT) and our anti-Islamophobia work. Gloria and Ken Williams as well as Robyn Bernstein will represent PT and speak at this event. Please contact the office or our Project Director if you have any additional questions.International Network for Peace (INP): PT members are invited to meet International Network for Peace Chair, Jo Berry, in Boston on Tuesday, November 6th. Please let the office know whether you are planning on attending the Boston event by responding to this e-mail. We would like to take Jo out for dinner and to see Boston.

THE PLANNED MEETING WITH JO BERRY IN NEW YORK CITY ON NOVEMBER 4 HAD TO BE CANCELLED DUE TO THE HURRICANE.

PT NEWS:

Rule of Law Campaign: PT members Colleen Kelly, Rita Lasar, Terry Rockefeller and Adele Welty attended the pre-trial motions hearings in NY and MA. The next Guantanamo trials are slated to begin the week of December 3rd. To become involved in the Rule of Law Campaign, please contact Colleen Kelly.

Observing the Pre-Trials at Guantanamo: Phyllis Rodriguez will be the second PT member to observe the military commissions’ hearings at Guantanamo prison in Cuba, December 3 – December 7, 2012. Blake Alison had visited in September 2011. Both were chosen through a lottery process. Phyllis will keep a diary while there and write a report upon her return. If you are a family member and would like to have your name in the lottery of those eligible to travel to Guantanamo and observe the trials, please contact Karen Loftus, Victim Witness Liaison for the Office of Military Commissions.

La’Onf: PT member, Terry Rockefeller, returned from the Second Iraqi Nonviolence Forum held in Basrah, Iraq and reports about four workshops successfully conducted with Iraqis and internationals working together:

• Passing a Labor Law to give Iraqi workers the rights recognized by the International Labor Organization.
• Planning for an International Marathon for Peace and Human Rights in Baghdad. This year’s
marathon in Erbil grew to 5,000 participants and a 2K race was held in Basrah before the conference. These races that allow Iraqis to feel that they are taking back their streets are tremendously popular.
• An Environmental Campaign to save the Tigris River and the Marshes of Southern Iraq, and to halt construction of the Ilusu Dam in Turkey.
• A Campaign to Examine Human Rights Abuses by private military and security contractors in Iraq, and to work for international regulation that will prevent such abuses from occurring again.

PEACE ACTIVISM:

Islamophobia: PT, along with 95 other organizations, has signed on in support of the letter requesting President Obama to host a summit on religious tolerance. Members of PT are invited to join a working group to help plan such a summit. Please contact Madihha Ahussain, Legal Fellow, Muslim Advocates, to stay informed and help make it happen.

FUNDRAISING:

We’ve received a generous donation from students and faculty at the private Middle School, The Masters School, in Dobbs Ferry, NY. The students there are involved in many service projects, ranging from volunteering after school in the local community to organizing fundraising events for international charities. Their donation was sent to us with the “hope that we will continue to turn grief into action for peace.” Thank you!

SC MINUTES:

The SC minutes are now available to the PT members. Please contact the office to obtain them. We have July, August and September 2012 available.