Local Groups and individuals write Open Letter to Jewish Federation and sponsors of Food For Thought Festival asking that the Celebration of Israeli Independence Day event be separated from Oregon Food Bank benefit.
- Details
- Written by Peter Miller Peter Miller
- Published: 19 April 2013 19 April 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Local Groups and individuals write Open Letter to Jewish Federation and sponsors of Food For Thought Festival asking that the Celebration of Israeli Independence Day event be separated from Oregon Food Bank benefit.
PORTLAND, OR (April 18, 2013) - Seven Oregon religious and human rights organizations and seventy-nine individuals yesterday issued An Open Letter to the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. The letter calls on the Federation to disassociate its planned Celebration of Israeli Independence Day from a four-day Food for Thought Event intended to raise food donations for the Oregon Food Bank. The letter applauds the Federation for taking action to address food insecurity in Oregon, but goes on to say: “We find it troubling, however, that the Food For Thought Festival culminates with a Celebration of Israeli Independence Day, because the Israeli government is responsible for serious food insecurity among Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.”
The organizations signing the letter are: Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights, Cascadia Chapter of Pacific Green Party, Christ’s Way Church of Portland, Friends of Sabeel Portland Action Group, Jewish Voice for Peace – Portland, Oregon Muslim Citizens Association, Peace Action Group First Unitarian Church. The seventy-nine individuals include doctors, lawyers, and church leaders.
The letter notes that the Israeli government has imposed a siege on Gaza since 2005, resulting in an increase in malnutrition among children and causing food insecurity among two-thirds of Gaza's 1.5 million residents, according to the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Food. In view of this, the letter also requests sponsoring organizations of the food event to ask the Federation to disassociate the Food For Thought Festival from the Celebration of Israeli Independence Day.