We, faith leaders in Milwaukee, as signed below, have joined together to bring a unified moral voice to the growing catastrophe in Gaza and increasing violence throughout Israel and Palestine. We are religious and lay leaders of the three Abrahamic Religions of the world (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) as well as Eastern religious traditions. We represent the voices of many who grieve the death of innocent human beings in a land called holy by our traditions. We mourn the decades of occupation and oppression, of terrorism and military violence. We are anguished by the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel and by the brutal and ongoing death and destruction brought upon the people of Gaza and the West Bank by Israel. Time and again it has been demonstrated that there will be no military solution to this conflict. This is what we know has occurred in the land that holds so many stories central to our understanding of our creator God: ● Tens of thousands of innocent civilians, the vast majority Palestinian, have been killed, including over 10,000 children. ● Over 2.3 million people in Gaza have been displaced from their homes, with no shelter, no safe place to flee, and the total destruction of their community, including entire neighborhoods, schools, houses of worship, cultural centers and even hospitals. All has been turned to rubble. ● The civilians of Gaza continue to suffer from lack of clean water, lack of food, lack of medical facilities and the lack of other basic human needs. With little shelter or clothing during cold winter months, many will freeze if they are not killed by bombs or they do not die of thirst, hunger or disease. ● Attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have also resulted in significant injury, displacement, and death. This includes actions by the IDF as well as by settlers who have been provided arms by the Israeli government. As leaders of various faiths, we believe we must: ● Uplift the Torah value of t’selem Elohim, the Divine Image. Every human life is a reflection of God and has infinite value. ● Uplift the value of the agape’ love of Jesus. An active love that is built on justice for all of God’s children. ● Uplift the value of ‘adl, justice. The Quran calls upon us to “uphold justice and bear witness to God, even if it is against yourselves, parents or close relatives.” As Jews, as rabbis, as Christians, pastors and priests, as Muslims, imams and lay leaders, as Buddhists, as human beings—we are pleading with our communities to rise through despair and grief to save valuable human lives on all sides of this conflict and to call for a complete ceasefire now, brokered by the United Nations. ● We call for an end to all bombing and ground war.. ● We call for an end of settler and IDF violence in the Occupied West Bank. ● We call for the release of all Israeli and international hostages being held in Gaza and all civilian Palestinians being held by Israel. ● We call for the immediate flow of aid to Gaza for humanitarian relief. ● We call for immediate engagement by the international community toward a just and lasting peace in Israel-Palestine. We place a great deal of blame for the current conflict on the international community’s failure to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict and their failure to implement international laws and conventions, with the U.S. government playing a very destructive role by vetoing scores of international resolutions meant to address or resolve the conflict. As Americans, we call upon our leaders to stop supporting and enabling this nightmare. Ceasefire is the only way to prevent more death and destruction. We call on Senator Tammy Baldwin, Senator Ron Johnson and Representative Gwen Moore to reflect on the suffering of the victims of war, especially the children, and to change their stance from a temporary “pause” on the killings to a “ceasefire.” We make a stand for a sustainable peace, now. This peace must include a fight against rising antisemitism and Islamophobia in our communities. We invite all people of faith as well as others of good conscience to join us in this call for a complete ceasefire NOW! Signed (organizations listed for identification purposes only), Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah Religious Director ISM Othman Atta, Executive Director Islamic Society of Milwaukee Rabbi Michal Woll Congregation Shir hadash Rev. Karen S. Hagen PCUSA - retired Wisconsin Christians for Justice in Palestine Rev. Jonathan Jacobs Redeemer Lutheran Church - ELCA Wisconsin Christians for Justice in Palestine Rev Barbara Rasmussen ELCA - retired Wisconsin Christians for Justice in Palestine Janan Najeeb Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition Rev. Rachel Young Binter ELCA Lutheran Campus Ministry Rev. Sarah Stobie Bay Shore Lutheran Rev. Dr. Kate Jones Lead Pastor Wauwatosa Ave United Methodist Church, Wauwatosa, WI Father Thomas Mueller Orthodox Church in America St Maria of Paris Chapels Ministry Rev. Joseph W. Ellwanger Hephatha Lutheran Church Rev. Michelle Townsend de López Cross Ev. Lutheran-ELCA Reverend Tory V. Topjian Senior Minister Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Church Pastor Richard D. Shaw, D.Min. St. Matthew C.M.E. Church Bishop Paul Erickson Greater Milwaukee Synod, ELCA Rev. Jane B. Anderson, Associate Conference Minister Wisconsin Conference UCC Rev. Lisa S. Heckman Presbyterian Church (USA) Pastor Rev. Reirin Gumbel Milwaukee Zen Center Reverend Christine Wilke Evangelical & Reformed United Church of Christ, Waukesha Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell Executive Minister, American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin Dean Daniels Retired Director of the Office for Worship Former Director of the Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee Rev. Karl-John Stone Mount Pleasant, WI Jon M. Sweeney Codirector, The Lux Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology Rev. Christie Melby-Gibbons Moravian Church Western District Tricklebee Cafe Teresa Howell-Smith, Pastor United Church of Christ Rev. Jennifer Nordstrom Senior Minister First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee Rev. Dena McPhetres Unitarian Universalist First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee Rev. Dr Ebenezer K. Insor, Southeast DS Wisconsin United Methodist Conference Rose Stietz, OP Catholic Member of Racine Dominicans Rev. Dennis Jacobsen Hephatha Lutheran Church Rev. Alexander M. Jacobs ELCA Rev. Dr. Thomas R. Gaulke ELCA Rev. Mary Martha Kannass ELCA Hephatha Lutheran Church Rev. Erik David Carlson Unitarian Universalist Bradford UU, Kenosha, WI Rev. Claire Beutler-Cruise United Church of Christ Eleanor Harris (Rep to MICAH) Milwaukee Friends Meeting Rev. David Rebey Breaking the Chains Church, Milwaukee and Kenosha Rev. Kimberlee Tomczak Carlson, Minister of Religious Education First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee Lisa Hart, Associate Conference Minister Wisconsin Conference UCC Rev. Dr. Steven W. Hecky Retired Minister United Church of Christ Rev. J. Eric Kirkegaard Peace United Church of Christ, Kewaskum Rev. Shelby Perez United Church of Christ UW Health--Trauma Chaplain Rev. David J Gaeth Greendale Community Church United Church of Christ Rev John C Helt Retired Pastor United Church of Christ Rev. Tara L. Tetzlaff Christ Church, UCC - Bayview, Milwaukee Pastor Bridget Hill United Church of Christ Rev Nikkeya Berryhill Bethel Bethany UCC Rev. Leanne Rose UCC Rev. Meredith Anderson UCC Bethel-Bethany Milwaukee Rev. Meredith Anderson UCC Bethel-Bethany Milwaukee Rev. Emma Landowski, BCC United Church of Christ Ascension Columbia St. Mary's - Ozaukee, Hospital Chaplain Carly Gaeth, Licensed Minister New Hope UCC & Faith UCC Rev. Kelsey Peterson Beebe United Church of Christ Jill Haberman, Peace and Justice Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi Rev. Glenn A. Danz United Church of Christ Rev. Dr. Bob Gross, OCC United Church of Christ Rev. Rachel Bauman Associate Conference Minister Wisconsin Conference United Church of Christ Rev. Deborah A Payden Retired clergy - United Church of Christ Mark Peters ParishConsultant (retired) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee Rev. Dale Stohre, retired UCC Rev. Kelly R. Fowl United Methodist Shared Ministry Pastor Our Lord’s and Caldwell United Methodist Churches Rev. Jennifer C.M. Dawson Retired clergy - United Church of Christ Rev. James F.D. Martin Retired clergy - United Church of Christ Michael Whiteley, Moderator First Congregational Church of Genesee - UCC Rev. Dr. Bobbie Groth Unitarian Universalist Congregations of SE WI Pastor James Phillips Blessed Deliverance Missionary Baptist Church Rev. Ashley Nolte, Pastor Pilgrim United Church of Christ Pastor Brian Hooper ELCA Br. David Hirt, OFM Cap Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order Rev. Dr. John A Jones IV Associate Regional Minister-Education American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin Rev. Marty Coons PC(USA) - Retired Miriam Brown, OP Catholic Sinsinawa Dominican Rev. Dr. Lisa Bates-Froiland ELCA Nicole Blanks Presbyterian Church (USA) Pastor Andrew Oren UCC (retired) Annemarie Adsen(rep to IFCGM) Milwaukee Friends Meeting Rev. Gail Brodersen-Heins ELCA Sent to WNPJ 1/17/2024 by Jerry Folk of the member group: Interfaith Peace Working Group https://www.interfaithpeacewg.org/

Jewish Voice for Peace Madison, in coordination with the Madison-Rafa Sister City Project is urging Wisconsinites statewide to flood the phones of Sen. Tammy Baldwin on Monday 1/15 and Tuesday 1/16 insisting that she vote in support of Bernie Sanders’ Senate Resolution 504 Ways to contact Sen. Baldwin: Call BOTH her DC and her local offices DC (202) 224-5653 Madison (608) 264-5338 Milwaukee (414) 297-4451 La Crosse (608) 796-0045 Green Bay (920) 498-2668 Ladysmith (715) 832-8424 Eau Claire (715) 832-8424 Fill out and send her online "contact me" form What to Say: Hello, my name is [FIRST AND LAST NAME], and I'm a constituent of Senator Tammy Baldwin. I've been following South Africa's irrefutable evidence against Israel at the Hague, and I'm extremely alarmed that my tax dollars have been funding genocide. I'm calling to demand that the Senator call for a permanent ceasefire and stop arming Israel. The Senator must VOTE YES on Sen. Bernie Sanders's resolution S.Res.504 to stop weapons to Israel, and VOTE NO on the $106 billion spending package to fund weapons to Israel and border militarization. I don't want my tax dollars to fund genocide. The Senator should be funding care for our communities, like housing, education, and healthcare, NOT killing. I'm urgently asking the Senator to call for a permanent ceasefire now. The Senator must take immediate action to stop this genocide and end Israel's siege on Gaza. —--- You can also speak from your heart on the matter if that suits you! Please share widely with your personal networks! https://www.facebook.com/jvpmadison/

On the heels of South Africa's powerful testimony at the International Court of Justice and right after this Saturday'smassive demonstrations in DC and San Francisco, news comes that Sen. Bernie Sanders' resolution (SR 504) to require the US government to investigate and potentially restrict US military aid to Israel is scheduled to come up for a vote on Tuesday, January 16 at 5:30 pm ET. Here is a good analysis of the resolution & its potential impact. Also this one from Huffpost. MRSCP is suggesting that all coalition members to try to take action on Tuesday to pressure Sen. Tammy Baldwin to support this resolution.  Baldwin is among a group of about a dozen Senators who might possibly be persuaded to support it. Some ideas for action include visits to, vigils or demonstrations at her offices around the state, phone calls to BOTH her DC and especially her local offices (numbers listed below) as well as using her online "contact me" form to express your support for the resolution (especially as it seems lately in DC you just get the recording.) DC  (202) 224-5653 Madison  (608) 264-5338 Milwaukee  (414) 297-4451 La Crosse (608) 796-0045 Green Bay (920) 498-2668 Ladysmith (715) 832-8424 Eau Claire (715) 832-8424 In Madison there be a vigil at Baldwin’s office Cassandra Dixon - contact for Palestine Partners Chrepairs@gmail.com 608-445-0357 she/her Black Lives Matter

Cultivating Beloved Community Dr. Martin Luther King knew that Beloved Community was essential for change. The Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice allows us to create and maintain that Community. Need inspiration? Take a stroll through our Facebook page to see postings of the 81 member organizations that are the Network. Need connection? Read what thoughtful and kind activists are doing throughout this state, much of it in real time and often available via zoom or live broadcasting. From environmental issues to ending the nightmare of prisons and war you can find people and organizations doing compelling work. Need information? The treasuries of researched materials from PFAS to clean energy, nuke watch to labor reform and so much more are readily available. Need to take action? Every organization could use some help. Find the one that calls to you and offer your skills. www.wnpj.org As we celebrate Dr. King’s life, we can pay homage for more than one day. We can shake off the lethargy of hopelessness and get busy answering his call: “Life's most persistent and urgent question is,'What are you doing for others?" Perhaps the best we can do is invite people in and widen the circle of Peace. Spotlight from WNPJ Board member, Dena Eakles Jan 2023 ********************************************************** The WI Network for Peace and Justice is the umbrella non-profit organization supporting the work of 81 member groups around Wisconsin. **************************** You can open any of our weekly WNPJ e-Bulletins from the archive and copy the web address to share with others. ********************************** Join the: MLK Community Choir, Madison! The MLK Community Choir has been an integral part of the official Madison & Dane County King Holiday Observance for many years. The Choir is unique in bringing together community members regardless of musical background for the purpose of performing at this event. It is directed by acclaimed musicians Leotha and Tamera Stanley. No audition is required. To join the Choir community members simply need to attend two rehearsals: Tuesday, January 9 at 7:00 PM and Saturday, January 13, 11:00 AM. Both rehearsals are at Mt. Zion Baptist Church | 2019 Fisher Street, Madison The Dane County MLK coalition is an affiliate member of WNPJ https://mlkingcoalition.org/ 39th Annual Madison & Dane County MLK Day Observance: January 15, 2024 5:00 PM – Freedom Songs Sing-Along | 6:00 PM – Program Overture Center for the Arts, 201 State Street https://mlkingcoalition.org/ WNPJ will be tabling at this event - Look for us! ****************************** WNPJ member groups and affiliates issue Statements and Action Alerts on Hamas/Palestine/Israel See the developing list here: https://www.wnpj.org/post/statements-from-wnpj-groups-and-their-national-affiliates-on-palestine-israel-hamas Petitions to sign https://www.change.org/p/sign-and-share-this-urgent-petition-calling-for-a-ceasefirenow-in-gaza-and-israel .....and phone calls to make. Go to the Madison Rafah Sister City sites: http://madisonrafah.org/   and/or https://www.facebook.com/madisonrafah to learn more. ***************************************** Emergency Summit for Gaza: Ceasefire, Saving Lives, Building Peace In Chicago, with Jesse Jackson, Rabbis Arthur Waskow & Phyllis Berman, & more. 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM FRIDAY, January 12 and  10:00 AM to 1:00 PM SATURDAY, January 13 VIRTUAL REGISTRATION Fellowship of Reconciliation is proud to be partnering with Rev. Jesse Jackson in calling for an Emergency Summit on Gaza. Sent to WNPJ by Peace Action WI https://www.peaceactionwi.org/ *************************************** Upcoming Events this week for WNPJ groups: MADISON Mon Jan 8, 12 noon – 1 pm Monday Noon Vigil for Peace – Meet at the corner of MLK, Jr. Blvd and Doty St.  For more information, call Tim at 608-630-3633. MADISON Mon Jan 8, 5 - 6 pm Lights up for Palestine! - McKee Road and Maple Grove Road. Please join us to call for a permanent ceasefire. From Madison-Rafah Sister-City Project rafahsistercity@yahoo.com VIRTUAL Mon Jan 8, 7 pm Witnessing Global Climate Action at COP 28. Please join 350 Wisconsin on to hear a firsthand perspective on the COP28 UN climate summit. Learn what happens at these global climate summits beyond what’s captured by mainstream media. Our speaker, Heather Phelps, recently journeyed to Dubai to witness the global negotiations. She will share her experience as a climate observer with an NGO. She will tell us what happens beyond the high-level talks, focusing on the work of committed people and organizations building global networks around issues such as global youth activism, clean energy, and faith perspectives on climate. ONLINE VIA ZOOM: Register in advance for the meeting at https://tinyurl.com/monthly-mtg-reg  https://350wisconsin.org VIRTUAL Tues Jan 9, 6:30 pm Taking a Faithful Stand for Equity's Webinar on Wisconsin's curriculum requirement on American Indian studies. Our presenter will be David O'Connor, a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe) in northern Wisconsin. In January 2012, he became the American Indian Studies Consultant at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). In David's role at DPI, he supports school districts' efforts to provide instruction on the history, culture and tribal sovereignty of Wisconsin's American Indian nations and tribal communities, often referenced as Wisconsin Act 31, and the education of Native American students. REGISTER HERE . Find resources on Indigenous Education and Wisconsin here. The Creating Beloved Community Leadership Team: •    Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee •    MICAH •    Wisconsin Council of Churches •    Wisconsin Council of Rabbis •    Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice •     WISDOM wifaithvoices4justice@gmail.com VIRTUAL Tues Jan 9, 7 pm UNA USA Dane County DISTINGUISHED LECTURE series.....presentation  by the 2023 UNA Dane Global Citizen Award Winner - Wisconsin Watch.  Dee J. Hall, former managing editor, will present on the topic of how journalism about forced prison labor in China and the beneficiaries, including companies in the US/Wisconsin, underscore the value of small, non-profit newsrooms and quality journalism. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86856973633?pwd=S0F6d2ppMkpzaXo2UjhmY2drdHZ4Zz09#success https://www.unadane.org/ MADISON and VIRTUAL Tues Jan 9, 7 – 8:30 pm DSA monthly General Membership Meeting.  At the Social Justice Center and on Zoom.  We will be hosting a conversation with Dane County Supervisor Heidi Wegleitner, as the Electoral Working Group brings a possible endorsement of her reelection campaign to the chapter. dsamadison@gmail.com VIRTUAL Wed Jan 10, 11 am - 350.org Climate and Militarism Webinar . Join 350.org for a conversation discussing how militarism is deeply intertwined with the climate crisis. From the direct emissions of sprawling militaries like the US’s massive network of bases, to the detrimental impacts war has on international cooperation and the resources it takes away from climate finance, militarism is antithetical to building a just and collective transition away from fossil fuels. Yet, militarism is too often left out of conversations about the climate crisis. During the webinar, renowned climate journalist Dharna Noor will moderate a discussion with Dr. Neta Crawford (Costs of War Project), Ramon Mejia (About Face & Grassroots Global Justice Alliance), Ashley LaMont (Honor the Earth), and Zaki Mamdoo (350.org).  Register HERE . English and Spanish options. Sent to WNPJ by Madison Rafah Sister City Project rafahsistercity@yahoo.com VIRTUAL Wed Jan. 10, 12 Noon - 1:30 pm  WEBINAR: From Guantánamo to Gaza: Resisting State Violence and Occupation.  From Center for Constitutional Rights: January 2024 marks 22 years of U.S. detention of Muslim men and boys at the Guantánamo Bay prison. Thirty Muslim men remain at the notorious facility, and most have never been charged with a crime despite spending decades behind bars, and none have ever had access to a fair trial. Unjust detention, torture and abuse, the demonization and dehumanization of Muslims under the guise of national security, and impunity are essential pieces of why Guantánamo remains a subject of our continued attention, especially as Guantánamo is how and why such brutal and unlawful practices are replicated around the world.  Join us for a webinar focusing on these threads and the manifestations and connections to state violence, arbitrary detention, and occupation in Iraq and Palestine. Together with formerly incarcerated people, lawyers, and advocates, we will learn, build community, and take action to disrupt the U.S. government’s power to suspend human rights, while elevating our collective demands for justice, accountability, and transformation. Registration and more information here.  Sent to WNPJ by Madison-Rafah Sister-City Project rafahsistercity@yahoo.com LaCROSSE Thurs Jan 11, 12 noon - 12:30 pm Weekly Women in Black Peace Vigil. Meet at Main St & 4th Street South. A weekly vigil for peace every Thursday. Contact Deborah. dbuffton@yahoo.com RACINE Fri Jan 12, 11 am MLK Wreath Laying Ceremony – From the Racine Interfaith Coalition: https://www.facebook.com/ricracine/ CANCELLED due to snow: MADISON Fri. Jan. 12, 4:30 pm MLK Free Community Dinner!  At UW Gordon Dining and Event Center (770 W. Dayton St.) For more info, visit the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1030185928258370/ MILWAUKEE Sat Jan 13, 12 noon - 1 pm Peace Action WI - Weekly STAND for PEACE: Each Saturday, a different location. Today meet at King and Locust. Join us. Bring your signs. info@peaceactionwi.org    https://www.peaceactionwi.org/stand_for_peace VIROQUA Sat Jan 13, 11 am - 12 noon Driftless Palestinian Solidarity Weekly Vigil. Meet at Decker and Main. Action Alert: The Driftless Palestinian Solidarity group has written a petition to demand that Senator Tammy Baldwin support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. If your group is interested in getting signatures, please email us at driftless.solidarity@gmail.com .  Thank you for your help! ******************************************************* If your group would like to get your events posted in the weekly e-bulletin – JOIN US! https://www.wnpj.org/membership *********************************** Videos of the 32nd WNPJ Annual Fall Assembly are now available: "Every Drop Counts: Coming Together for Water https://www.wnpj.org/post/2023-fall-assembly ******************************************** Join WNPJ – www.wnpj.org **************************************** Interested in a yard sign? WNPJ has yard signs available!  yardsigns@wnpj.org See our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WisNPJ "Like" us and follow us! Questions? Contact info@wnpj.org

You're Invited: Please help Building Unity’s Democracy Tour to inspire and activate voters and build our statewide movement for peace, justice, sustainability and democracy. Please read the invitation below. The Ask: The Building Unity Democracy Tour hopes to be making stops in each of Wisconsin’s 33 Senate Districts, between March 15th and May 31st. To make this goal, the tour will have to make three stops each weekend - one on Friday evening, one midday on Saturday and one on Saturday evening. The Democracy Tour will increase voter turnout and strengthen grassroots movements for peace, justice, sustainability, and democracy. Please review the draft tour map above and and consider helping us secure one or both of the following in or near your Wisconsin State Senate district: A place where the “UnityMobile” could park for five or six days serving as a billboard advertising the upcoming tour stop events. (this could be a driveway, a parking lot, or even on the street.) A place where people can gather indoors for the community forum or some other event. This could be a house of worship, a library meeting room, a community center, etc. Please call one of our Democracy Tour Coordinators: Charlie Uphoff at 608-213-6063 or Tim Cordon at 608-630-3633 if you could help with either of these requests. In addition to helping us find venues and/or a parking place for the “UnityMobile,” we are also looking for organizational partners to help endorse and promote the tour. Please fill out this form if your group would like to help make this tour possible. There is no financial requirement. You can view our growing list of partners here. Lastly, we are also hoping to find a few people who would be comfortable driving the 34' Unity Mobile for some of the tour. Time is of the essence. Depending on the responses to this request, we will determine if we can organize this tour by January 22nd. On Monday, January 22nd, between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm, Building Unity will be hosting a VIRTUAL Winter Unity Summit. (We hope that you will join us. Register here. The Democracy Tour will follow the lead of local communities. Please share any suggestions you might have regarding your community's tour stop event(s). Thank you for your consideration! The Democracy Tour Planning Committee: Rebecca Alwin - Raging Grannies, Building Unity, and WI Grassroots Network Tim Cordon - Building Unity Charlie Uphoff - Building Unity & Oregon Area Progressives Montre Moore - NAACP - Wisconsin State Conference of Branches Environmental Justice Committee, and Building Unity

From 350 WI Tell the USACE: Don't Take Shortcuts on Line 5! As far as national treasures go, the Great Lakes rank near the very top - there’s no question that these pristine freshwater lakes are a pillar in the survival of not just our region, but our planet. Every year, access to clean, fresh water diminishes due to drought, lack of rain, pollution, and more. So why would anyone ever gamble with 84% North America’s surface freshwater? Enbridge, a Canadian multinational oil company with a long track record of highly destructive environmental disasters, and operator of the deteriorating 70-year-old Line 5 pipeline, is doing just that. As they continue to run a dangerous, outdated tar sands oil pipeline, the company is seeking permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reroute 41 miles of pipeline around the Bad River Band Reservation, where it has been operating illegally for over a decade, threatening tribal sovereignty and treaty rights. It’s more clear now than ever - if we want the planet to continue to be livable, we have to stop our reliance on fossil fuels. This expansion is not a solution and it’s far past time to #ShutDownLine5. Click HERE https://wisconsin-350.salsalabs.org/ArmyCorpsLine5reroute/index.html ......to tell the USACE to stop allowing Enbridge to gamble with the Great Lakes, and to conduct the most thorough environmental review possible. Questions? Contact: britnie.remer@350wisconsin.org

Welcome to WNPJ's newest member group, Wisconsin for Environmental Justice. https://www.w4ej.org/contact We hope our other 80 member groups across Wisconsin will sign their petition - demanding accountability for the climate crisis! Sign here: https://www.w4ej.org/petition

Organizational Sign-on Letter Calling on States to Support South Africa's Genocide Convention Case Against Israel at the ICJ PLEASE NOTE: THIS LETTER IS ONLY FOR ORGANIZATIONS, MOVEMENTS, UNIONS AND OTHER GROUPS, NOT FOR INDIVIDUALS TO SIGN. THANK YOU! A note for organizations: On December 30, a group of organizations including the Black Alliance for Peace, the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation, Popular Resistance, CodePink, Progressive International, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), the National Lawyers Guild, Samidoun, Veterans for Peace, Gaza Freedom Flotilla, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (US Section), World Beyond War, The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center (CMMLK) Cuba, Project Enduring Peace, and others met urgently to support efforts to end the genocide of Palestinians. While there are many legal and human rights-focused groups working to end genocide using various legal interventions, we saw a need to build organizational support by human rights, anti-colonial, anti-imperialist and other groups as a way to increase public pressure. We invite your organization to sign this open letter calling for nations to submit Declarations of Intervention to the International Court of Justice in support of South Africa's excellent case invoking the Genocide Convention against Israel. Such Declarations can be submitted at any time and will increase the likelihood that a finding of the crime of genocide by the Court is backed up by enforcement. At present, we are gathering organizational (not individual) endorsements. We urge you to share this internally with organizations that may be supportive of this effort. Once we have gathered a significant number of endorsements, the letter will be published. We appreciate your endorsement and any support you can provide to gather as many signing organizations as possible. SIGN-ON LETTER TEXT: We, the undersigned organizations, commend South Africa on its Application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) invoking the Genocide Convention against Israel. We now urge other countries to reinforce this strongly worded and well-argued complaint by immediately filing a Declaration of Intervention with the ICJ, also called the World Court.Many countries have rightly expressed their horror at the State of Israel's genocidal actions, war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed against Palestinians. Israeli Occupying Forces have bombed hospitals, residences, United Nations refugee centers, schools, places of worship and escape routes, killing and injuring tens of thousands of Palestinians since October 7, 2023. More than half of the dead are women and children. Israeli leaders have made brazenly genocidal statements openly declaring their intention to permanently and completely displace Palestinians from their own land. South Africa is correct in charging that under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Israel's actions "are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent … to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group." Parties to the Genocide Convention are obliged to act to prevent genocide; therefore, action must be immediate. A Declaration of Intervention filed with the ICJ in support of the South African case against Israel is one way to ensure that all acts of genocide are stopped and those responsible are held accountable. Israel’s killing, injuring, traumatizing, and displacing large numbers of Palestinians and denying water, food, medicine, and fuel to an occupied population meet the criteria for the crime of genocide. If a majority of the world’s nations call for a ceasefire, yet fail to press for prosecution of Israel – what is to stop Israel from ethnically cleansing all Palestinians? For that matter, what is to stop other nations from repeating a horror of this magnitude?We urge national governments to immediately file a Declaration of Intervention in support of the South African case against Israel at the International Court of Justice to stop the killing in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Resources: Here is an example of a Declaration of Intervention by the Maldives in the Myanmar case. There are many other examples. Organizational Signers: Black Alliance for Peace Popular Resistance, USA Palestinian Assembly for Liberation CODEPINK, USA Progressive International Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, US Section World Beyond War International Association of Democratic Lawyers National Lawyers Guild, USA US Boats to Gaza Gaza Freedom Flotilla Roots Action, USA Veterans for Peace, USA Project Enduring Peace, USA Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Palestine Section PEN International-Palestine Peace, Justice, Sustainability, NOW!, USA Friends of Latin America, USA Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center(CMMLK), Cuba Proceso de Comunidades Negras (PCN), Colombia Women's March Global - Region of the Americas Landless Workers Movement MST, Brazil Federation of Mexican Workers and Unions (Confederación de Trabajadores y Sindicatos de Mexico) Venezuelan Popular Feminist Movement (Plataforma de Feminismo Popular de Venezuela) Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAR), Western Hemisphere The Latin American and Caribbean Council on Popular Education (CEAAL) The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy - MIFTAH Kenyans for Palestine Tatuy Tv, Venezuela Asociación Ecuatoriana de Amistad con el Pueblo Saharaui (AEAPS) Centro de Documentación en Derechos Humanos Segundo Montes Mozo S.J., Ecuador Comité Internacional Paz, Justicia y Dignidad a los Pueblos, Cuba/USA Euskadi, Cuba Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe, Spain Palestina Toma la Calle, España Coordinadora por la Paz, la Soberanía la Integración y la No Injerencia CPAZ Movimiento Social de DDHH, Ecuador Centro de Estudios e Investigación sobre Mujeres, Spain Fórum de Política Feminista, Spain Partido Comunista de los Trabajadores de Argentina Plataforma de Solidaridad con la Causa Palestina (Venezuela) Foro Itinerante de Participación Popular, Venezuela Asociación Gremial de Abogados y Abogadas de Argentina Convocatoria SEGUNDA INDEPENDENCIA de Argentina Agrupación ESPERANZA Revolucionaria y Socialista, Argentina Red de Intelectuales y Artistas en Defensa de la Humanidad- Capitulo Paraguay Conseil National des Comités Populaires (CNCP Martinique) Instituto Simón Bolívar para la Paz y la Solidaridad entre los Pueblos, Venezuela Plateforme Haitienne de Plaidoyer pour un Developpement Alternatif (PAPDA), Haiti Women Democratic Front, Pakistan Teaching Palestine: Pedagogical Praxis and the Indivisibility of Justice, Palestine/International Feminist Conversations Kenya (FCK) Syrian Center For Media and Freedom Of Expression SOLI (Red de Lucha Por la Paz y Solidaridad Internacional) Puerto Rico ALBA Movimientos, Latin America Asociación de Mujeres Campesinas y Populares AMUCAP-C, Paraguay Alianza Latinoamericana Por Palestina contra el Apartheid Liga Mexicana por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos, LIMEDDH Justice for All, USA Venezuelanalysis Diáspora Pa’lante Collective, Puerto Rico Coletivo Advogadas e Advogados pela Democracia (CAAD), Brazil Naco Nius México. M. N. N. ARCH Jerusalem (Geneva, Switzerland) PAL Commission on War Crimes, Justice, Reparations and Return Women Advancement for Economic and Leadership Empowerment in Africa (WAELE AFRICA) Geneva Council For International Affairs and Development Casa Tecmilco, México Surgentes, colectivo de DDHH (Venezuela) Izquierda Libertaria - Chile Amigos de la Tierra América Latina y el Caribe (ATALC) Scandinavian Institute for Human Rights/Haytham Manna Foundation French Observatory for Human Rights Union of Palestinian Organizations of Latin America (UPAL) Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS), Jordan Syrian Medical Committee Horan Rencontre por la Citoyennete, France International Institute for Peace, Justice and Human Rights - IIPJHR, Switzerland Fórum Latino Palestino, Brazil Syndicat National des Journalistes Tunisien (SNJT), Tunis Muslim Journal, USA Egyptian Revolutionary Socialists Ordre National des Avocats de Tunisie Kuagro Ri Changaina, Colombia Alkarama (Movimiento de Mujeres Palestinas), Spain Raíces (Grupo cultural raíces de Guasá), Ecuador Comisión Étnica para la Paz y la Defensa de los Derechos Territoriales, Colombia International People's Assembly Arab American Civic Council Movimiento de Pequeños Agricultores, MPA Brazil Federación Nacional de Cooperativas Agropecuarias (FENACOA), Colombia Asociación Colombiana de Economistas Negras - Mano Cambiada Sindicato Aeroespacial SP, Brazil The Literacy Project, USA Sindicato na Televisão, Brazil JUST (International Movement for a Just World), Malaysia MLN - Movement for Liberation from Nakba, Malaysia JUST-IS  Interfaith Solidarity for Justice and against Militarism, Pakistan Center for the Study of Islam and Decoloniality, Pakistan Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space New York Peace Council Law for Palestine Palestinian Feminist Collective CAGE International Vocesenlucha - Comunicación Popular, Spain/Latin America Asociación Alnakba, Venezuela Mujeres por la Paz Sodepau Pais Valencia Jubileo Sur/Américas Acción Ecológica, Ecuador Nación Andaluza Tunisian National Bar Association Palestine Ceasefire Dayton, USA Red de Ambientalistas Comunitarios de El Salvador RACDES Haqooq-e-Khalq Party, Pakistan Congreso de los Pueblos, Colombia Marcha Mundial de las Mujeres Macronorte, Perú La Vía Campesina Jornada Continental por la Democracia y contra el Neoliberalismo Geneva Centre for Democracy & Human Rights One Justice - France International Jurists Union - Geneva Global Legal Alliance for Palestine Southern Anti-Racism Network Mütter gegen den Krieg Berlin-Brandenburg PeaceWorks Brunswick Maine, USA Trident Ploughshares Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (UK) Trade Justice Alliance, USA Movimiento por un mundo sin guerras y sin violencia (MSGySV) Veterans For Peace, Ireland Chapter Observatorio de Derechos Humanos de los Pueblos Observatorio por el Cierre de la Escuela de las Américas en Chile Jordanian Federation of Independent Trade Unions Asociación Americana de Juristas Engineers Association - Jerusalem Center (Palestine) Medical Association - Jerusalem Center (Palestine) Palestinian Dental Association (Palestine) Pharmacists Association - Jerusalem Center (Palestine) Palestinian Nursery and Midwifery Association (Palestine) Agricultural Engineers Association - Jerusalem Center (Palestine) Palestinian Bar Association (Palestine) Palestinian Contractors Union (Palestine) Veterinarians Syndicate - Jerusalem Center (Palestine) Palestinian Union of Psychologists and Social Workers (Palestine) Sínodo luterano salvadoreño Green Mountain Solidarity With Palestine Sahel fondation The International Commission for Supporting the Rights of the Palestinian People “Hashd” Rockland for Palestine University Network for Human Rights Charlottetown Mutual Aid Rede Jubileu Sul Brasil Movimiento Estudiantil Cristiano de Cuba Colectivo Voces Ecológicas COVEC, Panamá National Network on Cuba, USA Public Intellectuals for Social and Spare Change, USA National Lawyers Guild - St. Louis Chapter North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, USA The Peace Pentagon / Oracle Institute, USA Our Revolution - North Dakota, USA Peace Action Montgomery, USA United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), USA All-African People's Revolutionary Party Friends of the Congo Socialist Action USA The Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Oil and Gas Action Network, USA Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights Mom vision prodeca foundation (MVPF), Senegal Pan-Afrikan Liberation Program, USA Suffolk University Students for Justice in Palestine, USA Black Radical Christians, USA Frente Antiimperialista Internacionalista, Spain Environmentalists Against War, USA Democratic Socialists of America - International Committee Georgia Human Rights Clinic, USA Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA), USA Cooperation Jackson, USA National Jericho Movement, USA Asociación Interpueblos Estado Español Black Workers for Justice (BWFJ), USA American Muslims for Palestine-Richmond VA Chapter, USA Peace Action of San Mateo County, USA Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), USA Friendship Office of the Americas HUMANITAS: The Africana Ethical Society This action alert for organizations was sent to WNPJ by Cassandra Dixon of our WNPJ member group, Palestine Partners: palestinepartners4justice@gmail.com

Food is sacred. Regardless of one’s religious views, there is something special about people coming together at this time of year to share a meal with loved ones. We take the time and labor to enjoy some distinctive plates, whether it’s tamales and pozole, maybe roast turkey or perhaps baba ghanoush. Good food is hard to put a price on, especially when it’s reflective of our traditions and connections to the land. But powerful actors often use food not for peace, but as a weapon of war. Whether it’s Russia’s strategic disruption of Ukrainian grain shipments and covering farmland with landmines or Israel’s cutting of civilian access to food and water in Gaza and turning of farmland into settlements — depriving access to food is done for political objectives. The U.S. is by no means above the fray in such matters. Our government’s Food for Peace program, which became part of the Farm Bill beginning in 1954, drives indigenous farmers in developing countries out of business as they cannot compete with our cheap, overproduced commodity crops that flood their markets. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can promote policies to ensure that everyone has access to culturally appropriate food and the necessary means to grow it for themselves and their communities. Global movements, such as La Via Campesina, demand as much in calling for food sovereignty. Central to food sovereignty is the idea that food neither should be used as a weapon nor a commodity. Moreover, the best way to respect our distinct food traditions is to democratize our food system by empowering people to grow their own food, push back against corporate power and support historically marginalized people of color. There is no better way for us to begin to make such changes than by getting involved in our ongoing Farm Bill discussions. We have almost a year to do so, as congressional dysfunction has led lawmakers to delay passing new legislation until September. In terms of details, first, we should push our lawmakers to increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) accessibility. They can do this by including bipartisan bills within the Farm Bill that would dedicate more resources for people to purchase locally sourced produce at farmers markets and support local governments with the means to teach consumers how to prepare food on their own by scaling up programs such as SNAP-Ed. There’s also the need to make sure that as our population changes, we support our next, diverse generation of small farmers. The Fair Credit for Farmers Act would do just that, making important reforms at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Specifically, the bill addresses the history of racist discrimination that farmers of color have experienced by mandating that USDA officials provide specific reasons when loans are denied and empowering farmers to sue the government in the event of wrongdoing. To ensure that people who grow our food can earn a living, Vermont U.S. Sen. Peter Welch’s Fairness for Small-Scale Farmers and Ranches Act would begin to make a powerful change. This legislation would halt mergers of large-scale agribusiness firms while requiring a review of recent large-scale acquisitions. Increasing concentrated markets, according to Mary Hendrickson of the University of Missouri at Columbia, subjects farmers to whatever processors will pay for their produce and consumers to inflated prices at the grocery store. While giving farmers a fighting chance by making markets more competitive, Welch’s bill also dedicates $100 million more to the Local Agriculture Market Program, which helps producers promote their products at farmers markets and that revitalizes local food chains. The unifying, life-giving properties of food are put on display this time of year as we build and celebrate community. Ongoing military conflicts betray this principle by using food as a weapon. We can do better, and the Farm Bill gives us one chance to do so. This next year, let’s work on policies that truly let us honor the food that makes us who we are. _____________________ Jim Goodman is a retired dairy farmer from Wonewoc, Wisconsin, and board president of the National Family Farm Coalition. Anthony Pahnke is an associate professor of international relations at San Francisco State University and vice president of the Family Farm Defenders, an advocacy group for farmers and consumers. Posted on January 2, 2024 on the Family Farm Defenders website - Written by Jim Goodman and Anthony Pahnke (NFFC president and FFD vice president) Published in the Chicago Tribune, Dec 25, 2023

WNPJ + Weaving the Web for Environmental Justice + other statewide events *********************************** The WI Network for Peace and Justice is the umbrella non-profit organization supporting the work of 81 member groups around Wisconsin. **************************** Environmental Justice WNPJ has received a grant from BEA for Environmental Justice. The agenda of our 2024 environmental justice task force will be to create a coalition of frontline organizations which can bring focus and strength to our collective efforts for a clean and healthy environment for all. To learn more about Building Equity and Alignment for Environmental Justice: https://bea4impact.org/fund To learn more about WNPJ’s 2024 environmental justice efforts, you are welcome to this month’s Weaving the Web. VIRTUAL Thurs Jan 4, 12 noon – 1 pm Monthly Weaving the Web, All welcome. This event will be hosted by WNPJ Board member Dena Eakles and introducing Dean Mullen and a new WNPJ member group, WI for Environmental Justice. Via zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89361313008?pwd=UmxCOUcxL3ZFb244aXp0SnBVTFRSZz09;  Meeting ID: 893 6131 3008 - Passcode: 797041; +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago). Questions? Contact: office@wnpj.org *************************************************** Spotlight on the 8-week course from Sinsinawa on Sacred Waters JustFaith Series-Sacred Water Beginning Monday, January 8, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. CT, Eric Anglada, Sinsinawa’s Ecological Programming Coordinator, will be leading an eight-week JustFaith Series: Sacred Waters via Zoom. Through reading, discussion, video, community-building, and prayerful contemplation, our group will delve into topics of watershed discipleship, natural disasters and the climate crisis, clean water access, pollution, plastics, water health, and environmental racism. We’ll aim to equip participants to restore the health of our rivers, lakes, oceans, and waterways through advocacy, grassroots organizing, and daily decision-making. Before the first session, please acquire a copy of Nancy Castaldo’s, “When the World Runs Dry: Earth’s Water in Crisis.” Registration ends January 5, and the fee is $75 per person. You must be able to commit to attending six of the eight sessions. Contact Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at https://sinsinawa.org/moundcenter  for more information. *************************************************** WNPJ member groups and affiliates issue Statements and Action Alerts on Hamas/Palestine/Israel See the developing list here: https://www.wnpj.org/post/statements-from-wnpj-groups-and-their-national-affiliates-on-palestine-israel-hamas Petitions to sign https://www.change.org/p/sign-and-share-this-urgent-petition-calling-for-a-ceasefirenow-in-gaza-and-israel and phone calls to make. Go to the Madison Rafah Sister City sites: http://madisonrafah.org/   and/or https://www.facebook.com/madisonrafah to learn more. And some success in Wisconsin:  Senator Baldwin calls for a humanitarian Ceasefire in Gaza. https://captimes.com/news/government/tammy-baldwin-calls-for-humanitarian-ceasefire-to-resume-in-gaza/article_9ad03a06-a041-11ee-bb10-1759b6ae3389.html WNPJ member groups, World Beyond War – Madison, Building Unity, and others have been protesting & occupying Baldwin’s office in Madison for weeks. https://worldbeyondwar.org/world-beyond-war-madison-pressures-senator-tammy-baldwin-to-support-a-ceasefire-in-gaza/ *************************************** Upcoming Events this week for WNPJ groups: MADISON Mon Jan 1, 12 noon – 1 pm Monday Noon Vigil for Peace – Meet at the corner of MLK, Jr. Blvd and Doty St.  This is a holiday. For more information, call Tim at 608-630-3633. Ceasefire Vigil at Senator Baldwin's office - Madison Tuesday - Friday, Jan 2 - 5, from 11 am - 4 pm daily Senator Baldwin's office 30 W Mifflin St, 7th floor, Madison We will be inside and outside her office, talking with her staff, making music, reading names of the dead, poems, stories, statements, articles, being silent, and whatever else people are inspired to offer. Hosted by Madison for a World BEYOND War and Building Unity. Towards war abolition in the new year, Stefania and Janet, Madison for a World BEYOND War warabolition@gmail.com VIRTUAL Thurs Jan 4, 12 noon – 1 pm Monthly Weaving the Web, WNPJ’s Drop-in Hour. All welcome. This event today will be hosted by WNPJ Board member Dena Eakles – introducing Dean Mullen and a new WNPJ member group, WI for Environmental Justice. Via zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89361313008?pwd=UmxCOUcxL3ZFb244aXp0SnBVTFRSZz09  ; Meeting ID: 893 6131 3008 - Passcode: 797041; +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago). Questions? Contact: office@wnpj.org VIRTUAL Thurs Jan 4, 6:30 – 8 pm Learning about Peace. Isn’t it time we study peace for a change? Echo Valley Hope will offer The Prem Rawat’s Foundation’s (free) Intro to The Peace Education Program. Clarity, appreciation, inner strength, self-awareness, understanding, dignity, choice, hope, peace and contentment… These are the topics of a free ten-week, video based and interactive course on peace that is used worldwide in schools, prisons, senior centers, veterans groups and more. If you would like to get a first hand look at how the course is run, please register in advance: https://bit.ly/3N2trzP . For more information: Contact Dena Eakles 608-606-4450, dena.eakles@gmail.com LaCROSSE Thurs Jan 4, 12 noon - 12:30 pm Weekly Women in Black Peace Vigil. Meet at Main St & 4th Street South. A weekly vigil for peace every Thursday. Contact Deborah. dbuffton@yahoo.com VIRTUAL Thurs Jan 4, 6 pm - 8 pm WILPF Monthly Book Club – “On Tyranny” -  To get the zoom link, reply to: wilpfmadison@gmail.com. Madison’s Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom chapter.  For questions or more info, contact  608-609-7961 http://wilpfmadison.org/ MILWAUKEE Sat Jan 6, 12 noon - 1 pm Peace Action WI - Weekly STAND for PEACE: 27th and Oklahoma. Each Saturday, a different location. Join us. Bring your signs. info@peaceactionwi.org    https://www.peaceactionwi.org/stand_for_peace Appleton Sat Jan 6, 11 am – 12 noon Fox Valley Monthly Stand for Peace. Houdini Plaza, West Lawrence Street. Every month - the first Saturday! Bring your signs! Organizer: Ronna Swift ronnajean61@gmail.com VIROQUA Sat Jan 6, 11 am - 12 noon Driftless Palestinian Solidarity Weekly Vigil. Meet at Decker and Main. Action Alert: The Driftless Palestinian Solidarity group has written a petition to demand that Senator Tammy Baldwin support a ceasefire in Gaza. We are trying to get this initiative going throughout the state of WI. If your group is interested in getting signatures, please email  Debbie.a.dudek@gmail.com. Thank you for your help! ******************************************************* If your group would like to get your events posted in the weekly e-bulletin – JOIN US! https://www.wnpj.org/membership Here’s your chance to read Network News https://www.wnpj.org/newsletter *********************************** Videos of the 32nd WNPJ Annual Fall Assembly are now available: "Every Drop Counts: Coming Together for Water https://www.wnpj.org/post/2023-fall-assembly *********************************** You can open any of our weekly WNPJ e-Bulletins from the archive and copy the web address to share with others. **********************************

Photo of bridge by J. Eassa . Dena Eakles, author, podcaster, peace activist and farmer using her talents to cultivate the reality that we are one race, one planet. The bridge symbolizes the potential to connect the rural/urban sense of the other. https://wisconsinmuslimjournal.org/peace-activist-bridging-the-divide-in-rural-wisconsin/?fbclid=IwAR0cHpjbbWBjn4Lqkgr69d3IqX7x-2LeR8rODk-vh3CgaobXLSwQVH3Bg3k My journey to living on a small farm in southwestern Wisconsin came after a twenty –two year stint in the flatlands of Chicago. The decision to live a rural lifestyle followed decades of study with Indigenous people, the study of Chinese medicine and other non-western thinking peoples. It was done with an understanding that something was missing in our dominant culture’s psyche and I believed that a huge part of the lacking was our belief in dominion over Nature. I also believed the idea of the “rugged individual” had done more harm than good. “Pulling oneself up from the bootstraps” completely negates the reality of our interconnectedness and genuine need for one another. I longed for the sense of community that I had witnessed among my Indigenous friends. When I asked my Dine (Navajo) mentor about buying land, she said, “Buy the land, it will teach you”. And twenty-two years later her words still echo true. My endeavor then became to buy land that could be shared and with it came the hope to foster community. Life’s experiences had broadened my sense of community.  I cherished the diversity of food and thought that nourished my sense of self – and that self was not willing to be limited to a singular set of beliefs and would definitely not be willing to engage in the politics of separation that has become the cultural norm. In Chicago and through travel, I flourished in the human community and grew to appreciate our diversity as our strength. I did not reckon with the lack of diversity in rural life, nor did I anticipate the intentional rise of Christian nationalism and white supremacy that would follow. The hills and valleys of Southwestern Wisconsin are reminiscent of my Pennsylvania birthplace. And for the most part, the people are similar in demeanor and as the saying goes; they are the salt of the earth. Over the past two decades, I have witnessed the cultivated fear of “Other” being introduced to rural people who are predominately white and Christian. It came on slowly at first. 9/11 had given the perfect excuse for heightened patriotism. Fear has long been the means used to control the thinking of people. Politicians grabbed hold of that fear and the media barraged us as we willingly followed the lies of “weapons of mass destruction” to committing the horrific atrocities in Iraq.  Fear of “Other” grew as politicians realized the power of it. Wisconsin governor, Scott Walker bragged of the use of divide and conquer as the dismantling and unraveling of social nets began. Religious leaders echoed the fear of Muslims and the label of terrorist was given to everyone who was different or challenged status quo thinking. All the while the small family farms were being replaced by industrial agriculture and the simple ways of rural existence were being withered away. Farmer suicides became more frequent as did the use of meth and abuses of alcohol. It’s a strange thing about the family of man, sometimes when we are faced with change rather than trusting in the One we profess to admire, we instead cling to dying ways. Instead of listening to our own hearts, we give power to people willing to manipulate and devour us. Ironically, the fear of brown people also extended to the migrant workers who continue to labor in agriculture with little compensation or care. The demand for border walls and tightened immigration protocols gave way to inhuman ICE detention centers and rushed deportations with little to no resistance from rural white folks. If anything, the cloak of superiority and US exceptionalism continued to grow. Obama’s election proved too much for our unfinished business. We have never owned up to our attempted genocide of Native Peoples or of our slavery of human beings. Trump opened the wound of division and fueled it with violent discourse, but he did not do it in a vacuum. Christian churches moved towards Zionism, preaching “End Times” and forgoing the gospel of love for stories of revenge and fear. Rural airwaves are full of hate speech in the name of Christianity. One devout listener explained to me that she kept guns because one day Muslims would be coming and she wanted to be able to defend herself.  After regaining my composure, I asked her if she had ever met a Muslim. “No”, she replied. I countered with “Maybe that would be a good place to begin.” After a thoughtful moment she agreed. The murder of George Floyd and the rise of white supremacy were frighteningly evident with every “Blue Lives Matter” and “We Back the Badge” sign.  They signaled safe haven for those refusing to exercise human empathy and compassion. One could easily succumb to the lack of humanity and allow hopelessness to win, but I will tell you this: I will never give up on us. Human beings have the choice of doing good or doing harm. We have the ability to be clear and brilliant or to remain in the darkness of ignorance. To flourish, we need one another. This is not the time for people of good will to cower. This is our time to shine. In this moment, when the United States backed, Israeli genocide of Gaza is seemingly unrelenting; there is something else afoot. Marginalized peoples are coming together to throw off the yoke of separation. Immigration and Indigenous rights, abolition, Black Lives Matter, and environmental justice activists are finding commonality. The annihilation of Gaza is revealing itself to be yet another colonial land grab and the 28th session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP-28) gave Israel the storyline it needed. We, the people of the world,  are now to “transition” to natural gas. And Israel has recently granted twelve permits for natural gas drilling off the coast. There have always been lies told to support warfare. People have always been led away from their humanity so the killing can continue unchecked. Our effort must be to dismantle the lies and to champion our shared humanity. There is no other way. We need more people to demand permanent ceasefire and peaceful resolution in Gaza and throughout the world. It is my hope that those of us who can will step out of the indoctrinations that we have been steeped in – and return to our humanity, which surely awaits us. Bridging the divide is not hard. Breaking bread, finding commonality, laughing together and sharing in our mutual grief  – human being to human being – is our way out. I urge Christians who have not succumbed to nationalism and superiority to find ways to connect with their rural counterparts.  Do not let the indoctrination go unchallenged. For most, the cognitive dissonance of hate cannot hold up to kindness and love. Let that be our antidote. I welcome Muslim and Arabic people to come and enjoy rural environs. Nature, too, holds a healing for all of us. I welcome learning new ways to mend the rural / urban divide. I welcome the diversity of thought and especially of food! Let us proudly cultivate the reality that we are one race, one planet. Let us fall in love with the earth and celebrate one another again.  Those of us who can must be unrelenting in our desire for peace.  And know however daunting, it is possible. Editor’s note:  The Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine is a collection of esteemed, diverse activists from 60 local and statewide organizations.  Wisconsin Muslim Journal is inviting people from this group to share their perspective and voice on our pages.  Today’s guest editorial writer is Dena Eakles. She represents the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice for the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine.  Eakles recently interviewed Janan Najeeb, convener of Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine, on her podcast called “Conversations” which aired on WDRT 91.9. Dena Eakles is founder of Echo Valley Hope and Echo Valley Farm. You can find their blog at letkindnesswin.com . Board member of Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, Dena is an activist for peace and environmental justice. They serve on the executive committee and writing committee of Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine. Dena is author of The Peace Warrior. letkindnesswin.wordpress.com soundcloud / Dena echovalleyfarmwisconsin.com https://echovalleyhope.org 608-606-4450

WNPJ member groups holding Candlelight Holiday Vigils .....calling for a permanent CEASEFIRE and an End to Drone Warfare + other statewide events below… *********************************** Tuesday in Madison - 4:30 pm - Read more about this event below - in the events section. **************************** SPECIAL CANDLELIGHT HOLIDAY VIGIL AGAINST THE DRONES OUTSIDE THE GATES OF VOLK FIELD TUESDAY DECEMBER 19,  3:45-4:45 pm Followed by Social Gathering with Hot Chocolate, Coffee, and Cookies 5:30-6:30 pm, Hatch Public Library Community Room 111 W. State St., Mauston, WI In this the darkest time of the year, our hearts are heavy as the assault against our brothers and sisters in Gaza continues.  We know that the Israeli military is using drones as one of their ways to attack the civilians in Gaza, and so we continue to call on the U.S. government to help bring an end to these illegal war crimes, and no longer provide drones and other weapons to Israel. December marks the 12th anniversary of our vigils at the gates of Volk Field.  We have also had multiple nonviolent civil resistance actions where we have been arrested as we peacefully walk onto the base to talk with the personnel at the gate house.  Volk Field continues to provide training to personnel in operating the RQ Shadow drone, a smaller drone that carries out reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition, and is likely also now weaponized. So during these dark times, this will be a special vigil where we will light candles and somberly remember the victims in Gaza, remember that we are there to call on our government to end drone warfare, and remember that we are working to bring light into the world. DIRECTIONS - To get to the vigil, take the Camp Douglas exit off Interstate 90/94 between Mauston and Tomah.  When you exit take County Rd. C to the northeast.  You will see the base straight ahead, but follow County Rd. C to the right and within a few blocks is a wayside park.  We park our cars on the side of the road at the entrance to the wayside.   There are no bathrooms available during the winter months THE VIGIL - We will gather at the wayside around 3:30 for introductions and to review the plan for the vigil, and then process together to the gates of the base where we will hold a solemn vigil for one hour to remember those killed by drones.  Participants can stand in silence or read poems and stories about the effects of drone warfare.  It is important that the voices of the victims be brought to the gates of Volk Field. Bring posters if you can. A WORD ABOUT THE WEATHER – If you have questions about the vigil because of the weather, please make sure to call Joy at 608 239-4327 or Bonnie at 608-256-5088 for an update before you make the drive. CARPOOLING -  If you are interested in carpooling to Volk Field from Madison, please contact Bonnie at 608-256-5088. We hope to see you at the vigil on Tuesday December 19.  If you can’t come this time, mark your calendar.  We usually vigil on the 4th Tuesday of every month.  If you have any questions please call or email Joy at 608 239-4327 or joyfirst5@gmail.com or Bonnie at 608-256-5088 or blb24@earthlink.net of the WNPJ member group, Wisconsin Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars *************************************************** WNPJ member groups and affiliates issue Statements and Action Alerts on Hamas/Palestine/Israel See the developing list here: https://www.wnpj.org/post/statements-from-wnpj-groups-and-their-national-affiliates-on-palestine-israel-hamas Petitions to sign https://www.change.org/p/sign-and-share-this-urgent-petition-calling-for-a-ceasefirenow-in-gaza-and-israel and phone calls to make. Go to the Madison Rafah Sister City sites: http://madisonrafah.org/   and/or https://www.facebook.com/madisonrafah to learn more. *************************************** The WI Network for Peace and Justice is the umbrella non-profit organization supporting the work of 81 member groups around Wisconsin. Upcoming Events this week for WNPJ groups: MADISON Mon Dec 18, 12 noon – 1 pm Monday Noon Vigil for Peace – Meet at the corner of MLK, Jr. Blvd and Doty St.  For more information, call Tim at 608-630-3633. MAUSTON Tues Dec 19, 3:45 – 6:30 pm SPECIAL CANDLELIGHT HOLIDAY VIGIL AGAINST THE DRONES – see the Spotlight above. MILWAUKEE Tues Dec 19, 11:30 am – 1 pm CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER TO END RACISM - St. Bakhita Catholic Worker, 3138 N. 2nd Street. Sent to WNPJ by Casa Maria Catholic Worker - casamariamke@gmail.com MADISON Tues Dec 19, 4:30 – 5:30 pm Candlelight Vigil calling for a permanent ceasefire. Meet in front of Senator Tammy Baldwin's Madison office (State St. corner of the Capitol Square.) The vigil will provide community leaders of faith and/or conscience the opportunity to speak out for the need for an immediate ceasefire. This vigil will end with an optional 10 minute candlelight march from Senator Baldwin's office to Representative Mark Pocan's office, where we will leave thank you cards for his being one of the first 60 lawmakers to call for a ceasefire. Senator Baldwin has not yet joined these lawmakers. We are hopeful that with the extra pressure from thousands of her constituents, she will soon join the growing global outcry calling for a ceasefire. Please invite others to join you, promote this candlelight vigil on Facebook (https://fb.me/e/6AKE3g6eh) and don’t hesitate to call us if you have any questions. If a member of your community is interested in being one of the people speaking at this vigil, please call 608-630-3633 to discuss that possibility. Tim Cordon, Building Unity Coalition - (608) 630-3633 and Jane Kavaloski, Chair of Interfaith Peace Working Group MILWAUKEE Wed Dec 20, 12 noon – 1 pm Anti Gun Vigil.  Meet at Dunham's Sports, South 108th Street. Dunham advertises and sells guns and assault rifles. Organizer Casa Maria Catholic Worker  casamariamke@gmail.com MILWAUKEE Wed Dec 20, 5: 30 - 7: 30 pm WISDOM's End the Lockdowns and Justice Reinvestment Community Forum - Turner Hall, Vel R. Phillips Avenue. Representatives Ryan Clancy and Darrin Madison have confirmed attendance at the event and WISDOM is still awaiting response from other Milwaukee legislators. WISDOM leaders will provide a presentation about their vision of justice reinvestment and attendees will be able to share testimonies with lawmakers. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. The restaurant will be open for attendees to purchase their own food and drinks if desired. Panel and broadcast will occur from 6-7:30 p.m. Broadcast will be live streamed on Milwaukee Turners and WISDOM Facebook pages. office@wisdomwisconsin.org MADISON Wed Dec 20, 6 – 8 pm POTLUCK FOR GAZA | PHONEBANK FOR HUMANITY at Pasture & Plenty, 2433 University Ave. It’s a phonebank potluck! Let food bring us together in collective action. Bring a Palestinian dish or dessert to pass, and join us in contacting our reps to bring an end to the humanitarian atrocities happening daily in Gaza for the last 2+ months. We will not let Palestine be erased. We’re calling for CEASEFIRE NOW as the first step on the road to ending the occupation of Palestine. Bring stamps & a writing utensil, a cell phone or computer. Paper, envelopes, contact info for reps, & scripts will be provided.  PLEASE SHARE. NO RSVP NECESSARY. Sent to WNPJ by Madison Rafah Sister City Project . http://www.madisonrafah.org VIRTUAL Wed Dec 20, 6 – 7 pm Webinar - Legacy of Agriculture at Sinsinawa: 175 Years of Farming - Laurana Snyder, Sinsinawa Mound’s Horticulturist and Farm Coordinator, will be presenting via Zoom. Farming has been a way of life at the Mound since 1847, when Father Samuel Mazzuchelli founded the order of Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. This presentation will walk you through the past legacy of farming at Sinsinawa and explore where the future of farming is taking us. The fee is $10 per person, and registration ends Monday, December 18. Contact Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at https://sinsinawa.org/moundcenter  for more information. VIRTUAL Wed Dec 20, 7 pm Crawford Stewardship Project CAFO Committee meeting via zoom. Protect your township from industrial ag. Join us! Discussion and information about township “CAFO Operations Ordinances”. These are becoming the go-to way for our rural communities to set higher standards for the industry than the minimal regulations provided by state permitting and the restrictive Livestock Siting Law. Our struggle to work through the existing state and county permitting process for Roth Feeder Pig II has shown clearly that if we want to address the many community concerns about these operations, other avenues must be pursued. Most importantly, these ordinances must be done proactively, as any existing permits will be grandfathered in, so don’t wait until a proposal hits to act!  Join us via Zoom Meeting ID: 774 440 0739 By phone:     +1 312 626 6799 LaCROSSE Thurs Dec 21, 12 noon - 12:30 pm Weekly Women in Black Peace Vigil. Meet at Main St & 4th Street South. A weekly vigil for peace every Thursday. Contact Deborah. dbuffton@yahoo.com MADISON Thurs Dec 21, 3 – 4 pm JustDane’s Longest Night Homeless Persons' Memorial Service - Capitol Square North Garage, East Mifflin Street. We will gather at 3:00 p.m. on the Capitol Square, hold a brief outdoor service, and then proceed around the Capitol. This gathering place is near the bench where 38 year old Dwayne Warren’s body was found on June 16th, 2009. Dwayne was experiencing homelessness, he died of sepsis, a blood infection that could have been treated with a simple antibiotic prescription. Dwayne’s death helped bring the community together to create this annual event. info@justdane.org MADISON Dec 21, 6 pm Durango’s Old Timey Rascal Holiday Peace Concert! High Noon Saloon, East Washington Avenue. All ages show! Tickets are $10 with 100% of proceeds going toward humanitarian assistance for displaced victims of ongoing wars through the International Committee of the Red Cross. For more info, visit: https://www.high-noon.com/event/durangos-old-timey-rascalsholiday-peace-concert/. Sent to WNPJ by Madison Infoshop peckjone@wisc.edu SINSINAWA Thurs Dec 21, 6:30 – 8 pm Wild Church: Winter Solstice – At Cavanaugh Park. Eric Anglada, Sinsinawa’s Ecological Programming Coordinator, will be leading the program. Fire and song, ritual and community, prayer and quiet: this inclusive, outdoor gathering is centered on honoring this day of equal light and dark. In a time of planetary upheaval, it is crucial to recover our elemental sense of connection and kinship with Creator and Creation. We are inspired by Celtic tradition and the Wild Church movement. No registration is required and a free will offering is welcome. Contact Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at https://sinsinawa.org/moundcenter  for more information. MILWAUKEE Sat Dec 23, 12 noon - 1 pm Peace Action WI - Weekly STAND for PEACE: Meet at Port Washington/Silver Spring. Each Saturday, a different location. Join us. Bring your signs. info@peaceactionwi.org    https://www.peaceactionwi.org/stand_for_peace VIROQUA Sat Dec 23, 11 am - 12 noon Driftless Palestinian Solidarity Weekly Vigil. Meet at Decker and Main. Action Alert: The Driftless Palestinian Solidarity group has written a petition to demand that Senator Tammy Baldwin support a ceasefire in Gaza. We are trying to get this initiative going throughout the state of WI. If your group is interested in getting signatures, please email  Debbie.a.dudek@gmail.com. Thank you for your help! ******************************************************* If your group would like to get your events posted in the weekly e-bulletin – JOIN US! https://www.wnpj.org/membership Here’s your chance to read Network News https://www.wnpj.org/newsletter *********************************** Videos of the 32nd WNPJ Annual Fall Assembly are now available: "Every Drop Counts: Coming Together for Water https://www.wnpj.org/post/2023-fall-assembly *********************** Join WNPJ – www.wnpj.org **************************************** Interested in a yard sign? WNPJ has yard signs available!  yardsigns@wnpj.org See our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WisNPJ "Like" us and follow us! Questions? Contact info@wnpj.org You can open any of our weekly WNPJ e-Bulletins from the archive and copy the web address to share with others. Sign up here to get on the e-bulletin list: **********************************