Hello,The resolution below was passed by the membership of the Four Lakes Green Party of Dane County at our meeting on Monday night, May 10. We offer our support, in addition to that already provided by Green alders Benford, King, and Konkel, to your tireless efforts to initiate a relationship between Madison and Rafah. This statement will also be released to the local media.
Best of luck on your efforts. If our party can help in any way, please feel free to let me know.
Sincerely,
Brian J. Lutenegger
Co-Chair, Four Lakes Green Party of Dane County
Email: blutenegger@wisconsingreenparty.org
Phone: 608-469-3986
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 11, 2004Contacts:
Brian Lutenegger, Co-Chair: (608) 469-3986,
blutenegger@wisconsingreenparty.org
Amy Mondloch, Co-Chair: (608) 441-0085 or (608) 767-1289,
searching71@yahoo.comThe Four Lakes Green Party of Dane County announces its support for and endorsement of the Rafah Sister City project. We call on the Madison City Council to vote in favor of the resolution establishing ties with this community in the interest of promoting friendship and encouraging peace in the Middle East.
Our support is based on the following points:
- People to people contact at the community level is essential to improving international relations. Citizens at all levels of society can and should remain aware, responsible and involved with any policy pursued in our name by our government. Sister city programs are about people to people, not leader to leader, exchange. If there is to be peace, the residents of Rafah must be a part of it.
- The medical, humanitarian, educational, and sustainability projects the Rafah Sister City group is promoting are exactly what is needed to improve world relations.
- The peaceful cooperation approach of the Sister City program is even more urgent now in light of the military approach to the Middle East conflict our national government pursues.
- Israeli occupation of Palestine is the central problem in the region and the main obstacle to peace. We urge the consideration that violence and corruption are directly caused by this occupation and not some intrinsic characteristics of the Palestinian people. We believe that the Sister City project can help clarify this misunderstanding and also strengthen the Rafah community to peacefully resist that occupation.
A parallel program involving Madison sistering with an Israeli city is a wonderful idea. We pledge our support and involvement in any effort that would foster exchange and cooperation in such a triangular connection. But such a program should not hinder or postpone in any way the establishment of ties with Rafah.