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Upcoming
Events
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Jeff Halper:
A Rational Approach to the Palestine/Israel Dilemma
April 29, 6:30 p.m.
Community Church of NY
Jeff Halper is an Israeli
anthropologist and Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House
Demolitions, an organization that unites Israelis and Palestinians
to rebuild Palestinian homes that have been demolished by the
Israeli government who claim that homes were constructed without
permits. Halper is a strong advocate for peace and justice in the
Middle East, has appeared on US radio and television programs, and has
been a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Co-sponsored by the All Souls Peace Task Force and the Community Church
Action for Justice Committee, the event takes place at Community Church
of NY, 40 E. 35th St. between Park and Madison Avenues. Free
admission; refreshments served.
Iranian Physicians Talk and Exhibit
May 1, 7:00 p.m.
Reidy Friendship Hall
After
two decades of work with chemical weapon survivors, Iranian physicians
and two patients from the Society for Chemical Weapons Victims Support,
a non-governmental organization from Tehran, Iran, are touring major
U.S. cities, both medical schools/hospitals and public forums like All
Souls Church, to exhibit materials regarding the short and long term
medical consequences of chemical warfare. This exhibition is also
designed to promote diplomacy and give specifics on conflict resolution
tools the United States could employ to decrease tension in the
U.S.-Iranian relationship, moving us farther from war and closer to
peace.
The Exhibition is hosted by Physicians for Social Responsibility and
the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran.
The event is co-sponsored with Community Church. Refreshments
will be served.
Encounter Point Film Event
May 4, 1:00 p.m.
Reidy Friendship Hall
Encounter Point, which premiered at the
2006 Tribeca Film Festival, is an 85-minute documentary that
follows a former Israeli settler, a Palestinian ex-prisoner, a bereaved
Israeli mother, and a wounded Palestinian brother—all of
whom risk their lives and public standing to promote a nonviolent
end to the Palestinian-Israelian conflict. Their journeys lead
them to the unlikeliest places to confront hatred within their
communities. The film explores what drives them and thousands of other
like-minded civilians to overcome anger and grief to work for
grassroots solutions. For two years, the Just Vision crew
traveled from Tel Mond to Tulkarem, from Hebron to Haifa, documenting
the courageous, painful and moving stories of people who refused to sit
back as the conflict escalated. These civic leaders navigated suicide
bombings and checkpoints to confront militancy on both sides, and work
for peace.
Co-sponsored with Adult Education.
Articles On Past Events
Ted Glick: The Clean Energy Revolution
All Souls Church Reidy Friendship Hall
Tuesday, March 4 7:00 p.m.
Ted
Glick, who has been a progressive social activist since the late 1960s,
became a climate activist in the summer of 2003 after the extreme heat
wave in Western Europe aroused him to the ongoing danger of such
extreme climate events (droughts, monsoons, etc.) to the earth and our way of life. He is a co-founder of the Climate Crisis Coalition and a
coordinator for the U.S. Climate Emergency Council; his twice-monthly
column, "Future Hope" is available at: http://www.ippn.org. His talk
was sponsored by the All Souls Peace Task Force, and he was introduced
by Lawrene Groobart.
To read the article, click here.
Interfaith Peace Witness: Trip to Washington D.C.
The Peace Task Force is proud to
support the Olivebranch Interfaith Peace Partnership, which is hosting
an Interfaith Peace Witness in Washington DC on March 7th, 2008.
Members of the Peace Task Force invite you to join their group, as well
as thousands of other activists across religions, for this peaceful
action to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home. We will
leave early Friday a.m. by bus or car, and gather at noon in temples,
mosques, synagogues, and churches near the Capitol Mall for worship in
each of our different traditions. UUs will meet at All Souls
Unitarian Church at 1500 Harvard Street to worship with UUA President,
Rev. William G. Sinkford. Following worship, all participants can
join in an interfaith event on the Mall at 2:30 p.m., which will
include speakers of national reputation.
A review article by Susan Cushman is forthcoming, and will also be published in the upcoming Spring, 2008 All Souls Quarterly.
Monthly Film Series Event: "God Grew Tired of Us" (2007)
Sunday, February 24, 1:00 p.m.
Review by Phoebe Hoss
The
documentary God Grew Tired of Us was presented by the All Souls Peace
Task Force. This film, made by Christopher Quinn and Tommy Walker and
narrated by Nicole Kidman, won both the Grand Jury Prize and the
Audience Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. It recounts the
moving story of three of the Lost Boys of Sudan who came to the United
States, and is based on the book of that name written by one of the
Lost Boys, John Bul Dau, with Michael S. Sweeney.
To read the article, click here.
The Human Face of Iran
January 27, 2008
Review by Phoebe Hoss
At
1:00 p.m., in Reidy Friendship Hall, the Peace Task Force hosted a
slide show in continuation of the effort to enhance our understanding
of Iran and its culture. This event was presented by Ann and Ahmad
Shirazi, who had appeared two weeks before in connection with the film
Children of Heaven, and Ellie Ommani. Mr. Shirazi is a film editor who
grew up in Iran. He came to the United States in the early 1960s and is
the only one of his family of 150 to 200 members to come here. Ann
Shirazi has worked as a social worker and is now a full-time peace
activist. Ms Ommani and her husband, Ardeshir, who was unable to
attend, are both retired school teachers and founded the
American-Iranian Friendship Committee, whose mission is to promote
"trust, mutual understanding, and peace between Americans, on one hand,
and Iranians living in Iran and abroad, on the other."
To read the article, click here.
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A
Letter from the Chair
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To Our Community of Peace:
"Those
who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love
war.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
We are living at a time when
the truth of current events is difficult to pin down. It is distorted
in much of the media by the political agendas and spurious "truths" of
many in power. Unable to find our own "truth," we may feel uncertain
about our convictions and fearful of confronting policies that call for
war.
The PTF attempts to allay
that fear by confronting our government’s “war on
terror” and other controversial policies. We do not coerce
others to adopt our view, nor do we naively call for peace without
discussion. We recognize that political divide deserves scrutiny and
debate. But we seek to better understand non-violent conflict
resolution, rather than to accept war as the only
“defense” strategy. We are thus dedicated to
seeking out the truth(s) of current events. We believe that presenting
alternative views to the mainstream media is critical to a person's
ability to determine his or her own truth. For us, peace is not a
far-off ideal; it is within everyone’s reach to learn and
practice.
Susan Cushman
Chair
To read past
Letters from the Chair, please visit the Archives
section.
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Current
Articles
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To view the most recent news articles, please visit our Current
Articles section. Visit the Archives
section for archived articles, events and photos.
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Want
to Volunteer?
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For more information on
how you can contribute to the Peace Task Force, please visit the Volunteering
section of our site.
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