WILPF EB/SF NEWS AUGUST 2020

WILPF NEWS

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

East Bay and San Francisco Branches

August 2020

Get involved! Become better informed!

Work to Advance Peace, Justice and Human Rights

August ONE WILPF CALL
Tactics to protect our voting rights NOW and in November

Chris Carson, outgoing National President of the League of Women Voters, and Molly McGrath, Advocacy Director of the Wisconsin ACLU on strategies to defend the vote in the upcoming November election, including preparations their organizations are making, and how WILPF can play a role in protecting this election.

Lots of great tactics and suggestions to dismantle voter suppression and counter misinformation were suggested. In an informative Member Forum, callers raised additional ways they’re working on protecting this election amid COVID-19 worries, outrageous voter suppression tactics, worries about the US Postal Service, expected last minute shifts in voting sites.

Click here to listen to the “One WILPF Call presentations.

Here’s how you can become involved in increasing Voter turnout:

Two national organizations, Swing Left and Vote Forward, have a goal of sending 10 million letters with handwritten notes to residents of Swing States, encouraging them to vote. There are also organizations working on voting rights and election protection. Check out this article entitled 8 Voting Rights Organizations To Know Before The 2020 Elections Roll Around.

JOIN OTHER WILPF’ERS

AT A VIRTUAL LETTER-WRITING PARTY

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH, 2-4 PM

Sandy has been involved in Zoom letter writing parties with Swing Left/Vote Forward, so we decided to host one for WILPF members and their friends and family. You just need to register with Vote Forward and then follow the steps to download and print 20 letters. You will also need 20 #10 envelopes and 20 first-class stamps. We will pay for the stamps and envelopes for anyone who can’t afford that. To RSVP for the event or to get more information, email Sandy at sandy@sandythacker.com

75TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI EVENTS

On August 6 and August 9, there were all-day virtual events from around the world, including many speakers and music. Among the speakers was

WILPF activist Dr. Hideko Tamura Snider, who spoke about her experience living through the bombing in Hiroshima. You can see and hear her entire talk here: https://youtu.be/KYzuoGuqg34.

The webinar started at 8am on August 6th at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Speakers included Marylia Kelly, Jackie Cabasso, N. Hanaoka (Nagasaki survivor) Gar Alperovitz and Daniel Ellsberg,

There were also live events from Japan, including two films “Hiroshima” and “Hiroshima’s Children,” which followed a family and had footage right after the bombing. Two other films on the subject are “The Mushroom Club” and “White Light/Black Rain. 

Join the Poor People‘s Moral Monday Digital March

Monday Aug 24 12:30pm RSVP

RSVP to join us for the Moral Monday Digital March on McConnell this coming Monday, August 24 at 3:30pm ET / 12:30 PT to demand a comprehensive relief package and full funding of the USPS.

They will be joined by Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., Mary Kay Henry, International President of the 2 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Kentuckians who are challenging McConnell on his home turf.

We can’t stop now, we need the full funding of the US Postal Service, replacement of the hundreds of sorting machines removed from service, and a full relief package that deals with the current pandemics of COVID-19, systemic racism and rapidly growing poverty in this nation.

Sign the petition to demand McConnell bring the Senate back to DC to pass a full relief package that includes protection for the U.S. Postal Service.

WILPF US Middle East Committee Supports New Bill HR2470

Human Rights for Palestinian Children

An estimated 10,000 Palestinian children have been detained by Israeli security forces and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system since 2000. Independent monitors such as Human Rights Watch have documented that these children are subject to abuse and, in some cases, torture — specifically citing the use of chokeholds, beatings, and coercive interrogation on children between the ages of 11 and 15.

In addition, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) found that Palestinian children are frequently held for extended periods without access to either their parents or attorneys. The United States Department of State and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child have also raised serious concerns about the mistreatment of Palestinian children in Israeli military custody.

Write your Representative! Ask them to support HR 2470!

NEXT WILPF EAST BAY/SF PLANNING MEETING Saturday, September 12, 10am by Zoom

If you would like to join us virtually, you are very welcome. Just send an email to wilpf@wilpfeastbay.org and we’ll send you the information you need to join the call.

EXPLORE WILPF TODAY

Local branch web pages

www.WILPFEastBay.org or www.WILPFSF.org

WILPF East Bay

P. O. Box 13083, Oakland, CA 94661

WILPF-San Francisco

P. O. Box 590253, San Francisco, CA 94159

Http://www.facebook.com/WILPFEastBaySanFrancisco/

National WILPF www.wilpfus.org

International WILPF: www.wilpf.org

www.facebook.com/WILPF

PEACEWOMEN and REACHING CRITICAL WILL