Jerusalem Women Speak 2010

I'm hopelessly late to post information about the Jerusalem Women Speak tour. There's still time to catch the excellent panel in a couple locations.

Thursday, November 4th
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
“One Land, Two Peoples, Three Faiths”

10:00 a.m. – Jerusalem Women Speak, Webb Auditorium, Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma

12:00 p.m. – Lunch at United Methodist Women’s Fall Festival, FUMC 300 West Deleware, Tahlequah, Oklahoma

1:30 p.m. – Cherokee Nation Historical Museum
Tour with AAUW members.

3:30 p.m. – Coffee with NSU Women Faculty and Students, NSU Campus – Seminary Hall

6:30p.m. – Dinner with the American Association of University Women and Community

Saturday November 6, 2010
Washington, D.C.
The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation – 12th International Conference
3900 Harewood Rd. NE Washington, D.C. – The Pope John Paul II Cultural Center

1:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Workshop
Sunday November 7, 2010

6:00 p.m. Busboys and Poets at Shirlington Village
Arlington, VA

With the media's constant negative and skewed message, it is nearly impossible to have any realistic assessment of the Middle East ... especially one of hope. If the Jerusalem Women Speak Tour continues to bring Americans the real facts on the ground, grassroots activists will respond—that will make a difference in building a better future for all the people of the region.

This year, the JWS Tour will make presentations in Washington, DC, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. They will speak at the prestigious Fulbright Center, the influential Clinton Library in Little Rock, and at community forums, college campuses, and churches in heartland America.

They will carry the vision of the many JWS speakers before them: that Americans can and must end the tragic suffering of women and children; that the occupation, cruelty and oppression must end; and that a fair and just solution must and can be forged.

To achieve this vision there is much work to be done. The people of Gaza are still prisoners in their own land which is yet to be rebuilt from the devastation of war. Their borders are closed to persons and material aid. Repeated non-violent demonstrations through the years have yet to stop the illegal blockade on Gaza, despite solidarity actions around the globe, and leaders with visions of peace are being locked up.

In East Jerusalem we hear daily of Palestinian homes being taken over, leaving Palestinian home owners devastated and homeless—out on the street—with no redress and no recourse.

Under military occupation nothing is sacred, secure, or safe from seizure—not in the Holy City of Jerusalem, not in Gaza, and not in the West Bank, where the Israeli settlers continue to destroy olive trees, beat farmers, and set fire to a mosque.

The JWS women bring these facts to American audiences and make them real. They also bring a message of hope, inspiration and motivation, as they demonstrate the ability of Christians, Muslims, and Jews to work together toward a just solution for a land on which all three lived together for centuries in peace.

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