Madison-Rafah Journal

Dear Members and Friends of MRSCP,

The U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation has forwarded this call from the United for Peace and Justice group for an urgent national effort to speak out against a military attack on Iran by the U.S., Israel or both.

They suggest five actions below…but in particular, we want to ask you to please participate in the FIRST one: phone calls to Congress and Senators Feingold and Kohl. On Monday, peace groups in Milwaukee will be raising this issue with a march on the offices of Feingold and Kohl (as well as Rep. Gwen Moore) so this is a GREAT time to reinforce the message!

If you do make a call to any of these three, we would appreciate it if you would report the call and the response to the MRSCP Public Policy Advocacy group at rafahpolicy (at) yahoo.com. (If you are interested in this type of activity in the future, please let us know too.)

If you are outside the Madison area, follow the link below to get your Congressional information.

Also, you may want to check out the following concerning an opinion piece in the New York Times that was published yesterday: Using Bombs to Stave Off War by BENNY MORRIS.

Following the United for Peace and Justice call for action, there is information about two additional Iran resources that you might want to check out. AND if you want to sign a national petition against the House resolution calling for a blockade of Iran, which would be an Act of War, please go to the site.

Thanks,
Barb O.

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This Weekend: Speak Out against War on Iran
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, a member group of United for Peace and Justice, urges its member organizations and individual supporters to take part in this weekend of action to speak out against war on Iran.

This coming weekend — July 19-21 — people around the country will be participating in the Days of Local Action initiated by the UFPJ Iran Working Group.

Now, before any irreversible steps are taken, is the time for us to speak out against any U.S./Israeli military attack on Iran.

We urge you to take part in this important effort:

1) On Monday, July 21st, join the nationwide call-in day to make sure your member of Congress knows there is strong opposition to military action against Iran in his or her district.

Pressure on Congress is critical right now as it considers H.Con.Res. 362. 102 House Democrats and 117 Republicans have cosponsored a resolution against Iran that demands President Bush "initiate an international effort" to impose a land, sea, and air blockade on Iran to prevent it from importing gasoline and to inspect all cargo entering or leaving Iran. Imposing such a blockade without UN authority could be widely construed as an act of war.

We have already heard about 2 representatives who were convinced by their local anti-war groups to remove their names as co-sponsors of this dangerous resolution! Click here to read more about the work of one of these groups.

2) Ask your mayor to sign on to a resolution urging the Bush administration to pursue diplomatic engagement with Iran. At least 36 mayors have already signed on — now is the time to approach your mayor! For more information visit the Cities for Peace website. (NOTE: Mayor Dave of Madison HAS signed)

3) Write letters to the editor of your local papers and to call into local radio talk shows, especially during the July 19- 21 Days of Action. Click here for a sample letter.

4) Sign the open letter to presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama urging him to stand up for diplomacy.

5) Organize a visible presence in a busy location in your town: a vigil, an afternoon of leafleting or tabling, a human billboard, etc. Be sure to pick a time and location that has a lot of pedestrian or vehicle traffic!

To find out what might be happening in your area, click here. If you plan an activity, please post it on the UFPJ calendar of actions.Many of this Friday's Iraq Moratorium events will be focusing on Iran as well.

Keep checking the UFPJ website for new organizing and educational resources.

US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

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The War Times group recommends two valuable resources for education and organizing work around Iran:

*Analyst Phyllis Bennis and the Institute for Policy Studies have produced a booklet called Understanding the US-Iran Crisis: A Primer. This book addresses the new and renewed interest in Iran, answers basic questions, and proposes some ideas to prevent another looming disaster of a U.S. military attack against Iran. To find out how you can order the booklet, including information on discounts for bulk orders, call IPS at 202-234-9382, or send an email to info (at) ips-dc.org

*Check out the Iran Daily Opinion Service, a blog by Michael Veiluva, author of the forthcoming book, Burdens of Proof: Iran, the U.S. and Nuclear Weapons. ­