AFSC - period ended 10/15/2005

AFSC/Restorative Justice/Forgiveness/Cambridge hosts reconciliation events/Cambridge Chronicle/Cambridge/MA/USA/6-Oct-05/….Fr. Leonel Narvaez, a Catholic priest who has been committed to understanding violence and finding creative responses that revolve around forgiveness and reconciliation, will be in the Boston area and will be the center of a series of panels and presentations on the subject of forgiveness. On Thursday, Oct. 27, an evening forum for practitioners on "Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Practice" will be held at the Senior Center, 806 Mass. Ave., from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Narvaez will be joined by presenters Jamie Bissonnette of the AFSC Criminal Justice Program; Tina Chery of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute whose son, Louis, was murdered; Ulric Johnson of Springfield College Boston Campus School of Human Services; and Rev. Canon Edward Rodman of the Episcopal Divinity School. The panel will be moderated by Peace Commission director Cathy Hoffman. On Monday, Oct. 31, Narvaez will join a panel on "The Role of Forgiveness in Social Healing" at the Harvard Divinity School at 45 Frances Ave. from 5 to 7 p.m. The panel will be filled out with Raymond Helmick, SJ, of Boston College; Rodney Petersen, director of the Boston Theological Institute; Rev. Thomas Porter of JUSTPEACE United Methodist Church; and Judith Thompson, an associate with the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding. Both events are free, handicapped-accessible and open to the public. For more information, call AFSC at 617-661-6130, ext. 350, or visit www.bostontheological.org. The programs are sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, Boston Theological Institute, Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Cambridge Peace Commission, Center for Peaceable Schools at Lesley University, Peace Games, Springfield College Boston Campus, School of Human Services and Suffolk University, Center for Restorative Justice. ….
AFSC/Religious Discrimination/Ethnic Discrimination/Is Penn's Quaker offensive?/Daily Pennsylvanian/Philadelphia/PA/USA/12-Oct-05/…When the NCAA passed new rules regulating the use of Native American mascots in collegiate championship events this past summer, there was a mild outcry over whether other ethnic or religious groups should be similarly considered. For now, though, the Quaker has been spared as the subject of any such debate. Representatives of the Penn athletic department, the American Friends Service Committee and the NCAA all said that Penn's mascot has not caused any controversy as a result of its use of the term "Quaker." Penn Director of Athletic Communications Mike Mahoney said that the athletic department has not "had any feedback pertaining to the Quaker mascot being offensive or anything like that, and certainly not since the NCAA mandate came down." The American Friends Service Committee, a Philadelphia-based Quaker social justice organization which has offices around the world, has not found any reason to complain. "We haven't had any objection to the use of the Quaker," said Janis Shields, the AFSC's director of media and public relations. "Kind of like Quaker oatmeal." Shields added that the Quakers in general "haven't as a group been discriminated against or targeted against" in the way that some Native American tribes have been in terms of mascot use. ….
AFSC/Public Service//Award brings $100,000 for social-justice work/Seattle Times/Seattle/WA/USA/12-Oct-05/... After graduating from the University of Washington, Narasaki worked for 20 years at the American Friends Service Committee, the Northwest Labor and Employment ...
AFSC/Public Service//Seattleite named leader of change/Seattle Post Intelligencer/Seattle/WA/USA/7-Oct-05/... After graduating from the University of Washington, Narasaki spent two decades in leadership at the American Friends Service Committee, Northwest Labor and ...
AFSC/Politics and Economics/War/Iraq/Letter: Chronicle language demeans event/Cambridge Chronicle/Cambridge/MA/USA/7-Oct-05/ In writing about the event, the Sept. 22 Chronicle credited the Peace Commission with the organizing. While the Cambridge Peace Commission, as a department of the city with a volunteer commission, endorsed the gathering on the Common and was instrumental in securing a permit and helping to shape the event, we were among many who made it possible. The credit for creating an event honoring and welcoming the veterans and military families for peace is shared with Peace Action, Cambridge United for Peace with Justice, American Friends Service Committee, Veterans for Peace, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and countless individuals from all neighborhoods who have been touched by this war. I appreciate that the Chronicle was moved to include some of the stories of those who spoke at the event. I am disappointed that they chose once again to flash headlines of "Sheehan leads anti-war protest." It missed the breadth, the tone, the spirit and the power of the gathering. The voice of Veterans for Peace spokesperson calling for "Bring them home now, take care of them when they return and never ask anyone to die for a lie" and others calling for the funds of war to be redirected to the needs at home were poignant and engaging
AFSC/Politics and Economics/Immigration/Minuteman/Bill would let police detain, arrest illegal immigrants/Daily Texan/Austin/TX/USA/6-Oct-05/….Immigrants' rights groups question the value of the new legislation. The American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group that speaks out against the Minutemen and supports fair treatment of immigrants, believes that making ordinary police officers into border patrolmen would be disastrous and possibly unconstitutional. "We cannot allow local authorities to be deputized with federal power," said Caroline Isaacs, spokeswoman for the AFSC. "This won't strengthen immigration law; it will subvert it." Isaacs said the legislation is a way of legitimizing bigotry and racism. "Americans are getting too used to the idea of citizens with guns patrolling the border and assaulting immigrants," she said. "With this, lawmakers are starting to use immigrants as scapegoats to distract us from the problems of poverty, health care and education." ….
AFSC/Politics and Economics/Immigration/Minuteman/Protest targets lawmakers/Loveland Herald Reporter/Loveland/CO/USA/7-Oct-05/… Baca said Republican Reps. Jim Welker of Loveland, David Schultheis of Colorado Springs and Bill Crane of Arvada have earned that hate-oriented label by associating with members of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a volunteer organization trying to stem illegal immigration into U.S. border states. “Shame on them for using that kind of language,” Welker said when told of Baca’s comments. “Shame on them.” In a telephone interview from Tucson, Welker complained that “we’re not using that kind of language at all,” when talking about illegal immigrants and the problems he said undocumented immigrants pose for Colorado. “What they’re saying is hateful itself,” Welker said of the Wednesday news conference that featured speakers from the American Friends Service Committee, LARASA, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Denver Area Labor Federation. Gabriela Flora, a regional organizer for the American Friends Service Committee, said hers and a long list of other groups sponsoring the news conference wanted to express “our grave concern and outrage” about the Colorado lawmakers traveling to Arizona and associating with the Minutemen, which Flora called “a vigilante-style group” that “promotes hate.” But Schultheis said in a written statement that the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is “a dedicated group of volunteers” who have “sacrificed their time and the comfort of their homes to stand on our border in Arizona and defend our homeland from this invasion.” The Minutemen themselves “don’t arrest anyone,” Welker said. “When they see people running through the brush, they call the Border Patrol.”….
AFSC/Politics and Economics/Immigration/Minuteman/Critics assail lawmakers’ Ariz. immigration trip/Longmont Daily Times-Call/Longmont/CO/USA/7-Oct-05/… Baca said Republican Reps. Jim Welker of Loveland, David Schultheis of Colorado Springs and Bill Crane of Arvada have earned that hate-oriented label by associating with members of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a volunteer organization trying to stem illegal immigration into U.S. border states. “Shame on them for using that kind of language,” Welker said when told of Baca’s comments. “Shame on them.” In a telephone interview from Tucson, Welker complained that “we’re not using that kind of language at all,” when talking about illegal immigrants and the problems he said undocumented immigrants pose for Colorado. “What they’re saying is hateful itself,” Welker said of the Wednesday news conference that featured speakers from the American Friends Service Committee, LARASA, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Denver Area Labor Federation. Gabriela Flora, a regional organizer for the American Friends Service Committee, said hers and a long list of other groups sponsoring the news conference wanted to express “our grave concern and outrage” about the Colorado lawmakers traveling to Arizona and associating with the Minutemen, which Flora called “a vigilante-style group” that “promotes hate.” But Schultheis said in a written statement that the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is “a dedicated group of volunteers” who have “sacrificed their time and the comfort of their homes to stand on our border in Arizona and defend our homeland from this invasion.” The Minutemen themselves “don’t arrest anyone,” Welker said. “When they see people running through the brush, they call the Border Patrol.”….
AFSC/Politics and Economics/Immigration/Minuteman/Colo. trio seek border funds/Denver Post/Denver/CO/USA/7-Oct-05/... Flanked by representatives from the ACLU, American Friends Service Committee and Denver-based Jovenes Unidos, Baca said deterring undocumented workers from ...
AFSC/Politics and Economics/Immigration/Minuteman/Schultheis on volunteer border patrol/Colorado Springs Gazette/Colorado Springs/CO/USA/6-Oct-05/... trip and work with the Minutemen drew criticism from a wide range of groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and American Friends Service Committee ...
AFSC/Politics and Economics/Immigration/Minuteman/Protesters slam border trip/Rocky Mountain News/Denver/CO/USA/6-Oct-05/... Baca was one of several speakers during an event at the state Capitol organized by the American Friends Service Committee, part of a coalition of nearly 20 ...
AFSC/Nobel Prize/Cadbury, Henry/Cadbury, Julia/Hawaiian sojourn opens new path for woman/Albany Times Union/Albany/NY/USA/5-Oct-05/….For Cadbury, the experience was not only a way to help the ecosystem and environment, but was also a part of a "healing journey" to help her cope with the death of her husband, Warder, last year. "This first experience with Global Volunteers is the beginning of a journey that will go on for some time -- new places, new vision, new friends, a chance for a rewarding future -- without my much loved partner at my side," said Cadbury, who lives in Albany and Indian Lake. When she found herself feeling challenged doing many of the activities that she used to take part in with her husband, a friend suggested that her grieving process involve new activities that could connect to her husband and family. "For me, working with Global Volunteers ties in with my husband's legacy, but also gives me the opportunity to move forward by helping others," Cadbury said. Her father-in-law, Henry Cadbury, accepted the 1947 Nobel Peace Prize for the American Friends Service Committee, which he founded. "Global Volunteers is about the same thing -- helping other cultures and understanding other parts of the world." ….
AFSC/International Conflict/Israel/Palestine/Teacher Class on Mideast Stirs Doubt/The Jewish Journal of greater L.A/Los Angeles/CA/USA/7-Oct-05/…The course is funded by the Middle East Teacher Resource Project, an arm of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). The Quaker organization has a long, honorable history of pacifism and aiding refugees (including this reporter’s parents), but is considered by many in the Jewish community as leaning consistently toward a pro-Palestinian perspective. “Overall, the AFSC’s position is that the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict is the result of European imperialism, not Arab or Muslim refusal to admit that the Jews have any historic or legal right to sovereignty,” wrote Kujawsky, who is undeniably and unapologetically pro-Israel. The initiators and administrators of the workshop have denied any bias, and have rejected Kujawsky’s request that the course be reorganized or dropped. However, the course leader said that she was sufficiently concerned to seek a pro-Israel speaker for a session on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The course has been officially vetted and accredited by LAUSD, with input by the teachers union. In 16 class hours, it strives to deal with the Middle East’s people, art, food, music, literature and cultural stereotypes, as well as Arab Americans, Muslim women and the veil, wars and conflicts, oil strategy, nonviolence, human rights and peace movements. For better or worse, what the teachers learn will influence what they pass on to their students. At least 40 teachers have enrolled. In the opinion of Kujawsky, “The Quakers’ goal is to end the Israeli occupation, not to end the Arab war against Israel,” he said in an interview. Shan Cretin, the Friends Committee regional director in Pasadena, objected to attempts to “politicize” either the teachers’ course or the Quakers’ position on the Middle East, which, she said, is to work toward a nonviolent resolution. “This workshop grows out of our larger concerns for peace in the Middle East,” she said. “In the wake of 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq, we believe that students need to know more about Arab and Muslim culture, history and politics to become informed citizens. This is not a workshop focusing mainly on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Cretin, who worked with Israelis and Palestinians on health care programs in the mid-90s, acknowledged that “many of our speakers have ties to Arab organizations, but given the topics that are to be the focus of the workshop, this does not seem so surprising.” ...
AFSC/International Conflict/Israel/Palestine/Book Review Dying to Win/Washington Report on Middle East Affairs/Washington/DC/USA/11-Oct-05/... Prepared by an International Quaker Working Party on Israel and Palestine, American Friends Service Committee, 2004, 326 pp. List: $15; AET: $13. ...
AFSC/International Conflict/Israel/Palestine/Book Review: When the Rain Returns/Washington Report on Middle East Affairs/Washington/DC/USA/11-Oct-05/…When the Rain Returns: Toward Justice and Reconciliation in Palestine and Israel Prepared by an International Quaker Working Party on Israel and Palestine, American Friends Service Committee, 2004, 326 pp. List: $15; AET: $13.......IN JUNE 2002, just after Israel re-occupied the West Bank, 11 Quakers, a Muslim, a Mennonite and a Jew traveled there to “learn at firsthand about the grievous situation.” When the Rain Returns is their report back. Disclaimers at the beginning of the book include a caveat that not all members of the group agreed with all its “specific ideas, words or phrases.” The authors wrote about striving to base their perceptions on four fundamental principles”: equality of human rights, an equal voice in any solution, mutual respect, and nonviolence. At the same time, the authors quote William Penn on the importance of eschewing a “base neutrality,” or of “involving the injured with the guilty.” The second of their four professed principles implies an equilibrium between Palestinian and Israeli, occupied and occupier, which contradicts Penn’s adjurations, and is emblematic of a basic flaw in this book. Though filled with moving stories, well-researched history and useful charts, maps, graphs and other resources for further study (although, sadly, no index) When the Rain Returns founders somewhat in its often convoluted attempts to be fair to Israeli occupiers while essentially finding justice in the most important Palestinian demands—sovereignty, the right of return, and access to Jerusalem. Quakers—and their activist group, the American Friends Service Committee—are well acquainted with Palestine, having worked there for generations. Their participation in nonviolent resistance to the Israeli occupation has been a valuable contribution to life in the West Bank, and When the Rain Returns is another such contribution. Adhering to consistent principles, however, would have made it a much better book. Sara Powell is director of the AET Book Club. ...
AFSC/Integrity///Regional Roundup/Lodi News-Sentinel/Lodi/CA/USA/11-Oct-05/…Delta Blood Bank made the blood available to the Gulf Coast areas, but it was not needed. Instead, a cash donation of $10 per unit of blood was made to four relief organizations. The $30,000 raised will be split between International Medical Corps (rated A+), International Rescue Committee (rated A+), American Friends Service Committee (rated A), and American Red Cross (rated A-). They were chosen based on their rating by the American Institute of Philanthropy. ….
AFSC/Immigration/Minuteman/Measuring the success of border watchers/North County Times/Ventura/CA/USA/7-Oct-05/... to the border and those who protest against them," said Christian Ramirez, San Diego office director for American Friends Service Committee, an organization ...
AFSC/Humanitarian Assistance/Hurricane relief concert tonight in Beverly/Salem News/Salem/OR/USA/6-Oct-05/... door. He is hoping to raise $1,000 to split between the American Red Cross and the American Friends Service Committee Crisis Fund. ...
AFSC/Humanitarian Assistance/Arts - out of town/Danvers Herald/Danvers/MA/USA/7-Oct-05/... Fifty percent of the net proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross Katrina Fund, and 50 percent will benefit the American Friends Service Committee. ...