Say "No to war on Iran, No to funding Israeli apartheid, and No to AIPAC and the lobbies of the 1%."

* * * Please Distribute Widely * * *

Time:               4 p.m.  to 8 p.m,
Date:                 Sunday, April 29, 2012
Location:            Mittleman Jewish Community Center, 6651 SW Capitol Highway, Portland, Oregon

See our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/events/207196606050041/

For more information:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Talking points: 10 Reasons Why the Israel Lobby AIPAC is So Dangerous http://mondoweiss.net/2012/02/ten-reasons-why-the-israel-lobby-aipac-is-so-dangerous.html

Event Flyer: http://www.pjw.info/occupyaipac.pdf

#44 buses stop right in front of Mittleman: 44-Capital Hwy/Mocks Crest.  Contact Trimet: http://trimet.org   503-244-0111

Signs will be available at the protest!

Call your politicians! Before the event, we ask that people call their state and federal representatives and ask them to "Say no to AIPAC" and not attend this event.  The AIPAC event regularly attracts State Legislators, our members of congress, Oregon mayors, members of Portland's city council, and even the student body presidents of Oregon's universities! See our sample letter and contact information below!  Please let us know of any responses by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Join a coalition of peace, human rights, and Palestine solidarity organizations for a demonstration outside the annual Oregon fund-raising dinner of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on Sunday, April 29. The demonstration will protest AIPAC’s role in promoting a military attack on Iran’s nuclear energy facilities. The protest is also calling for an end to U.S. military aid to the Israeli apartheid government which refuses to halt the construction of illegal settlements and routinely violates the human rights of Palestinians living under Occupation. Israel controls the lives of more than 4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip but denies them the right to vote or to exercise their right to self-determination.  We will be demonstrating at the start of the event and at the end when the politicians leave stuffed full of food and AIPAC talking points.

Some Oregon political leaders have regularly attended AIPAC’s annual fundraiser in past years. This year the protesters are asking Oregon's leaders to represent their constituencies' opposition to another unjust war in the Middle East by boycotting AIPAC's gala. Among the groups protesting are Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights (AUPHR), Friends of Sabeel - North America (FOSNA), Jewish Voice for Peace - Portland (JVP), Lutherans for Justice in the Holy Land (LJHL), Occupy Portland, Palestine Action Group--Corvallis Oregon, Peace and Justice Works - Iraq Affinity Group,  and Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights (SUPER).

At  AIPAC’s recent national convention , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  tried to justify a military assault on Iran. Such an attack would violate the United Nations Charter, which forbids the use of force except in self-defense. The Iranian government has said that its nuclear energy program is for peaceful purposes. Iran is a signatory to the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and is under an inspection regime by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Both the IAEA and U.S. intelligence agencies have determined that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program. Israel, on the other hand, has refused to sign the NPT and is believed to have between 200-400 nuclear weapons.

“AIPAC represents a minority, radically right-wing position in its lobbying for the Netanyahu government,” explained William Seaman, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace.  “They do not represent Jewish opinion in the United States or in Israel, which is one reason groups like JVP and other Jewish organizations are challenging their disproportionate influence on our political process.” Polls show that AIPAC does not speak for most American Jews.

The protest will take place outside the Mittleman Jewish Community Center, 6651 SW Capitol Highway in Hillsdale, beginning at 4 p.m. on April 29. Demonstrators are committed to nonviolence and oppose all forms of racism, including racism against Jews. They are asking Oregon residents and political leaders to say No to war on Iran, No to funding Israeli apartheid, and No to AIPAC and the lobbies of the 1%.

[SAMPLE LETTER]
Dear Representative XXXX  -
I understand that you have been invited to attend a fundraising dinner for the Oregon branch of the American Israeli Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on April 29. As one of my legislators, I hope you decline this invitation. I am opposed to AIPAC’s agenda for war on Iran, its support for Israeli apartheid and the denial of Palestinians' right to self-determination, and the undue influence of this lobby on U.S. foreign policy. It is time for American legislators to stop listening to the money of the 1% and start listening to the voices of the 99%.
I am deeply concerned by the increasing prospects of a disastrous war on Iran by the United States and Israel. At a time of dangerously escalating tensions, AIPAC continues to beat the drums of war and fan the flames of military action, as documented by a recent article in the Jerusalem Post (see below). It’s time for a new approach to the Middle East. We need to support diplomacy with Iran, not issue threats. Don’t support AIPAC. Please don’t go to this fundraising dinner!
Polls show that AIPAC does not speak for the American Jewish community. Since 1996 AIPAC has been led by supporters of the right-wing Likud Party and members of the RepubIican Jewish Coalition.  I support equal rights for all in Israel/Palestine, a human rights approach that AIPAC disavows with its support of illegal settlements, military occupation, and second-class citizenship for Palestinians within Israel.
AIPAC has been described by a former Israeli Knesset member as "a kind of a filter which filters only darkness through it, rather than light through it."
Please stay in the light and let me know if I can count on you to tell AIPAC, "No more war, no to war on Iran!"
Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME HERE]

Reference: Washington Watch: Setting back the war clock http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=262855


CONTACT NUMBERS:
For your state legislators, go to http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/

Contact numbers for Oregon’s Senators and Representatives

Senator Jeff Merkley Phone: (202) 224-8845 Fax: (202) 228-2111

Senator Ron Wyden www.wyden.senate.gov Phone: (202) 224-5244 Phone: (503) 326-7525

Rep. Earl Blumenauer www.house.gov/blumenauer
Phone: (202) 225-4811 Fax: (202) 225-8941   Phone: (503) 231-2300 Fax: (503) 230-5413

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici  bonamici.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-0855 Fax: (202) 225-9497 Phone: (503) 326-2901 Toll Free: (800) 422-4003 Fax: (503) 326-5066

Rep. Kurt Schrader Phone: (202) 225-5711
Rep. Peter DeFazio www.house.gov/defazio Phone: (202) 225-6416 Phone: (541) 465-6732

Congressman Greg Walden www.house.gov/walden Phone: (202) 225-6730 Fax: (202) 225-5774 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Phone: (541) 776-4646

Toll Free: (800) 533-3303 Fax: (541) 779-0204
Southwest Washington comrades! The phone number of the Capitol Switchboard is 201-224-3121.

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