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Brit Tzedek v'Shalom
Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace
Chapter Activities
Houston, Texas
Press Release: June 23, 2006Past Events
May 14, 2003
The Houston Chapter of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom co-sponsored Rabbi Arik Ascherman, Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights, at 8:00 pm at JCC Merfish Center, 9000 South Rice Avenue at N. Braeswood Boulevard. For more information, email us. View flyer.
March 31, 2003
Brit Tzedek's national tour, "Selective Refusal: Towards a More Secure and Democratic Israel":
Overview
Brit Tzedek's national tour, "Selective Refusal: Towards a More Secure and Democratic Israel", began on March 31 in Houston, Texas. Ishai Menuchin, founder of Israel's first refuser organization -- Yesh Gvul ("There is a Limit") -- spoke at Brit Tzedek sponsored events in Houston, Madison, Chicago, Boston, and Washington, DC.
Menuchin is the recipient of the 2003 Oscar Romero Award for Commitment to Truth and Freedom from the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas. In Jerusalem, he works as a lecturer at Hebrew University and as director of organizational development for Shatil Empowerment and Training Center for Social Change Organizations in Israel.
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Local Press Coverage
The Jewish Herald-Voice
March 27, 2003
A local Jewish paper details the emergence of the Houston chapter, interviews Brit Tzedek president Marcia Freedman, and details the Houston appearance of Ishai Menuchin.
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Houston Press
March 31, 2003
Remember the Israel problem? It hasn't gone away; it's just been obscured by the Saddam problem. Ishai Menuchin, a major in the Israeli Defense Forces, is a refusenik, meaning he selectively refuses to follow military orders he considers to be too aggressive. In an effort to work toward a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, he won't occupy territories outside the pre-1967 borders between Israel and Palestine. Nor will he, for example, follow orders to fire into a civilian demonstration. Menuchin, who founded Yesh Gvul ("There Is a Limit"), the oldest refusal group in Israel, received 35 days in jail in 1983 for refusing occupation orders. He also received this year's Oscar Romero Award for Commitment to Truth and Freedom from the Rothko Chapel. Today Menuchin speaks about "Selective Refusal: Towards a More Secure and Democratic Israel." 7:30 p.m. Jewish Community Center, 5601 South Braeswood. For information, call 713-334-3192 or visit http://www.btvshalom.org/. Free.
Press Releases
June 23, 2006
DC Offices of Representative Shelia Jackson-Lee meet with local member of American Jewish grassroots movement to discuss two-state solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
(Washington, DC) On June 20, House Representative Shelia Jackson-Lee met in her Washington offices with Joanne Witt chairperson of the Houston Chapter of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, America's largest pro-Israel, pro-Peace Jewish grassroots organization. Witt was part of a four-member Texas delegation that visited Capitol Hill during Brit Tzedek's Advocacy Days, June 18-20, holding meetings in congressional offices representing 24 states.
Witt said: "My meeting was very productive and I was told by Representative Jackson-Lee that she is anxious and open to hear from Jews who are both committed to Israel?s well-being and to the peace process."
Brit Tzedek?s advocates urged their senators and representatives to take the following actions:
- Encourage serious U.S. diplomatic engagement with moderate Palestinian leaders, such as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
- Once the Senate version of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorist Act passes, support adoption of its language in conference committee. The Senate resolution differentiates more clearly between Palestinian moderates and terrorists and establishes a $20 million "Israeli-Palestinian Peace, Reconciliation, and Democracy" fund.
- Support an increase in aid to the Palestinian people, rather than the government, to prevent any worsening of the existing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories; aid should not be administered by any Hamas-controlled entity.
- Oppose unilateral steps by Israel that will prejudice any future peace process or cause further deterioration in Israeli-Palestinian relations.
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