Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & Environment
Minutes: Monthly Meeting Oct 21, 2020 via Zoom
Co-sponsors: Mass. Peace Action, Community Church of Boston, Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East-MA Chapter, Jewish Voices for Peace-Boston
ATTENDING: See attendance list. Guest Speakers: Leila Farsakh, Associate professor and chair of UMass Boston Political Science Department; Senior research fellow at the Center for Development Studies at Birzeit University, West Bank; author of Palestinian Labor Migration to Israel: Labor, Land and Occupation and Phyllis Bennis, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, a founder of U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, board member of Jewish Voice for Peace, and author of Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer
WORKING GROUP REPORTS
Watertown Faces Climate Change continues to advocate for the most environmentally sustainable schools. They keep their eyes and pressure on the state legislature to get climate legislation through Conference Committee, adding their voice to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, and are and doing street actions like a recent sign-holding urging voters to vote Yes on Questions 3 and 4.
Watertown Citizens for Black Lives held a vigil last night jointly with the Kingian Group in support of renaming the Watertown Delta from Columbus Delta to something more inclusive, srecognizing indigenous people who were here before.
Friends of Bees has been quiet over the summer. Pam recently learned of an Arlington neighborhood pollinator initiative that she would like Friends of Bees to join.
Life Friendly Gardens has been asked by DPW’s Bob DiRicco to recommend plants and layout for the lot. Anyone interested in helping out with the plantings should let Pam Phillips know.
The Refugee Support Group provided support for one of their families with a child in the ICU for several weeks who has recently returned home. They have organized moves of 2 families to new apartments. Since the recent death of good friend and active supporter Sue Kuder, the group has fulfilled her wishes by distributing many of her household things to refugee and immigrant families. Through personal contacts among group members, cellist Yo Yo Ma has offered to do an online fundraiser to support their activities
PRESENTATION: Israeli Annexation: Geopolitical Implications and the Future of Palestine
Summary: The short video Stopping Annexation was shown, mapping how annexation of large portions of the West Bank would claim Jerusalem and a large Eastern portion along the Jordan River for Israel, and would make permanent all the Israeli settlements. The film also demonstrated that Israel would control all the major roadways and checkpoints, isolating the Palestinians and making a functional Palestinian state impossible. Originally scheduled for July 1, and aided by the US, Netanyahu’s annexation policy was postponed. Both speakers noted that the Annexation, formalized or not, already exists. As a result of Israel’s settlement policy, including control of water sources and physical separation of Palestinian lands, Israel has already transformed the country into an apartheid state. The 2-state policy is acknowledged to be dead.
While Apartheid is unsustainable in the long run, most Israelis are currently living comfortably, with little awareness of the fight for equal collective and individual rights. The Annexation policy allows Palestinians and their allies to call out the Apartheid conditions, which has had some influence on the international community re: accountability.
The Trump administration has been orchestrating a set of formal “normalizations” of relations between Israel and some Arab states that represent an abandonment of the Arab accords and loss of Arab support for Palestinians. In some cases, these nations had already covertly normalized relations with Israel; but in all cases, the US was offering further weapons deals, greater protection from Iran, and greater access to Israeli markets. None of these new treaties contains any language supporting Palestinian rights.
Jeff Klein of Mass Peace Action described ways to shift US policy. He noted a nucleus of House Members who support Palestinian rights. He expects that number to increase. He recommends advocating for Betty McCollum’s bill (among others), supporting BDS, and participating in local actions sponsored by many political advocacy groups in MA. Actions posted on the WCPJE website.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The next Monthly Meeting will be Wednesday, November 18, 7pm, with focus on sharing and discussion of the election.
Re: national efforts to thwart any attempt at a post-election power-grab, a rally in Boston is tentatively scheduled for Nov 4. Sue Ellen has created a related rally in Watertown. Visit choosedemocracy.org for more info and resources, including free non-violent action training.
Respectfully submitted, Deborah Peterson