House committee seeks details on Gaza cease-fire vote
Members of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, Local 2325, at the Legal Aid Society picketed outside of their downtown Manhattan offices in April 2023. This week, the ALAA refused to comply with a congressional subpoena related to members’ vote on a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip in December.
DUNCAN FREEMAN /THE CHIEF
Posted Thursday, March 28, 2024 1:08 pm
BY DUNCAN FREEMAN
A United Auto Workers local representing public defenders in New York declined to comply with a congressional subpoena this week, arguing in a letter to the House of Representative committee that its demands exceed its jurisdiction and threaten workers’ free speech rights.
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina), chair of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, subpoenaed the Association of Legal Aid Attorney’s Local 2325 on March 11 for information regarding a vote that ALAA members took in December on a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. Foxx initially requested a bevy of information on matters related to the resolution in a January letter to ALAA’s president, Lisa Ohta. When the union failed to respond to the request, Foxx subpoenaed the union.
In conjunction with lawyers from the New York Civil Liberties Union, the union on Monday responded to Foxx, writing in a letter that it objects to the subpoena and that Foxx’s requests for information were “vague and overbroad.”
“The ALAA and Ms. Ohta object to the subpoena on the ground it exceeds the lawful and legitimate jurisdiction of the Committee,” the response reads. “The Committee’s true interest in this matter arises out of the Committee’s hostility to the content of the ALAA resolution, which not only renders the subpoena beyond the Committee’s legitimate authority but also violates the United States Constitution…”
The Madison-Rafah Sister City Project (MRSCP) hosted a Read Palestine! Book Project storytime hour on March 24 for 5-9-year-olds with the book “These Olives Trees” by Aya Ghanameh at A Room of One’s Own. This event, which was the final one in Read Palestine!’s three-part series, was led by MRSCP volunteer Lisa Masri.
The Madison-Rafah Sister City Project is a volunteer-run organization that has been working in Madison for more than 20 years, with a specific focus on Palestinian rights and the city of Rafah. About six months ago, prior to Israel’s most recent attack on Gaza, MRSCP decided to launch a pilot program with an emphasis on kids and young adult literature.
MRSCP has hosted read-alouds for Palestinian children in the Madison school district and has donated books to their classroom libraries so that they can feel represented in those spaces. Now, with the heightened attention on Israeli’s occupation of Palestine, these storytimes have widened their reach, and strive to tell stories about “regular Palestinians doing regular things” in the face of systematic, dehumanizing rhetoric.
“More people have their eyes on Palestine and want to know more,” Masri said. “I think it’s become such a widespread issue that people are even willing to think of it as not just something we read about on the news.”
She continued: “It’s a social justice and human rights issue that affects us, especially [those of us] living in the U.S., since our government is so supportive of it. So I think people are willing to have their kids be educated about what Palestine is and who Palestinians are.”
Masri and her family moved to Madison two years ago. Prior to this, she lived in Nablus, Palestine for 15 years, where she taught and conducted research related to development and humanitarian aid. She quickly joined the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project upon moving to Madison, and also serves as a research administrator at UW’s Institute for Research on Poverty.
Masri began her storytime by having everyone introduce themselves in Arabic and showing attendees where Palestine should be labeled on a globe, but where Israel currently sits. She then explained the 1948 Nakba (during which the Israeli government orchestrated a mass exodus of at least 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland) in an age-appropriate way, emphasizing the unfairness of being pushed out of one’s home.
“These Olive Trees” tells the story of a young girl named Oraib, who is born and grows up in a refugee camp after her parents were displaced from Nablus, the same city where Masri lived in Palestine. Oraib cares for the olive trees in the camp, which Masri explained are a symbol of the “strength and steadfastness of the Palestinian people.”
Because of the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Oraib and her family are forced to move yet again, abandoning the olive trees that she’d been tending to and had grown to love in the refugee camp.
Jay Lowe, a bookseller at Room, emphasized the importance of “These Olive Trees” being told from a child’s perspective. “I think it has a very human element of seeing conflict,” he said. “It’s being presented to the children from a children’s gaze. I think that’s important for them. It’s just very humanizing.”
“Books in general, for any cause or any movement work, [are] a great entry point, both in terms of education and a knowledge base, and also understanding perspectives or experiences other than your own,” Room bookseller Mira Braneck added. “It’s a great on ramp.”
The story concluded on a hopeful note, with Oraib planting an olive pit in the refugee camp before she leaves, telling it to wait for her.
Attendees were then encouraged to try green olives and were given biodegradable cups to plant seeds and beans in, in an effort to send hope to Oraib’s character and those in Palestine right now. While they packed their seeds and beans in with dirt, Masri gave children the option of having their names written in Arabic on their cups.
In the coming months, the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project is also looking forward to hosting book clubs featuring Palestinian literature for 4th-12th graders. For those looking to get involved, Masri suggests subscribing to their weekly emails.
“It’s a great way [to get involved], especially for people who feel overwhelmed by what to read, what to look at, and what to do,” she said. “We list all the events that are going on in Madison, online events that people can attend, and articles to read and good resources that are out there.”
Room bookseller G. Romero-Johnson observed that there is a desire in the Madison community to continuously get involved with efforts to support Gaza and educate themselves about the ongoing genocide.
“We want to shed light on [Pro-Palestine events] and hold space for that,” she said. “I think as the months go on, a lot of media has been dying down and it’s important to make sure that locally, we can make sure that it’s still very much in the conversation and being talked about, even with the kids,” she said.
Braneck emphasized: “We are a bookstore, we are an overtly political space, but we function really well as a third space where people can come and do this work, and we are thrilled to host this work.”
Below is a list of books that the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project recommends for those looking to learn more about Palestine:
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared delusional in several interviews given in the past few days. Grim reports from all sources show the Ukraine’s armed forces understaffed, exhausted, short of ammunition and retreating under heavy pressure from Russian Federation troops. Zelensky, however, seems oblivious to reality and can only talk about taking back all lost territories in this over 2 year old war.
Towns to the west of Avdeyevka are falling to Russian advances one by one. A heavily defended line running from Tonen’ka through Orlivka to Berdychi now has some of Ukraine’s best fighters under siege in Berdychi. All across the 600 mile front line Russian forces are steadily pushing forward.
Unable to win on the battlefields, Zelensky is doing what he has done over and over again – fired his military leaders. The latest of many to go is Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine’s security council secretary since 2019. The council “co-ordinates national security and contains the country’s top political, security and defence chiefs.” This occurred on March 25. https://news.yahoo.com/zelensky-replaces-national-security-adviser-151308692.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
Talking to the Washington Post Zelensky said “We are trying to find some way not to retreat…we have stabilized the situation because of smart steps by our military.” Zelensky admitted the reality that “we have no air defense, no Patriot missiles, no jammers for electronic warfare, no 155mm artillery rounds.” He pinned his hopes on more U.S. aid and announced that the ATACMS long-range tactical missile systems, with a range of about 180 miles, are “the answer” to turning around Ukraine’s fortunes. But U.S. aid for their Ukrainian proxy has been blocked for months in Congress and, even if another $60 billion is approved, it won’t reach the front for many months. https://www.yahoo.com/news/zelensky-ukrainian-retreat-looms-without-084604418.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
Talking to CBS News on March 28 Zelensky fantasized that Ukraine will push Russia back from the vast territories it has taken over the past two plus years. “I am sure when he [Putin] loses what he occupied since 2022, he will fully lose the confidence even of those countries which are still in doubt whether they should support Ukraine or not…And he will also lose the power within his country.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/zelensky-liberation-ukraines-territories-occupied-192339485.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
The Kyiv Independent which reported this bizarre delusion then calmly pointed out that “Ukrainian military officials warned that Moscow may be preparing for a new major attack, mustering a force of 100,000 troops.” Of course it is only about 7 months since Ukraine, with massive amounts of Western heavy weapons and large numbers of troops, was crushed in its attempt to carry out an offensive against Russian defense lines. Ukraine’s losses in soldiers and materiel were enormous.
Feeding Zelensky’s fevered dreams may have been the announcements from French President Macron and his top generals that France is not ruling out sending thousands of troops to fight in Ukraine. However this idea immediately came into conflict with French public opinion.
RT, reporting on a story from Le Monde, said “It is ‘extremely unclear’ how France can fulfill promises by President Emmanuel Macron to supply more military aid to Ukraine, as the government in Paris is currently struggling with plans for spending cuts. French authorities are looking to save $10.8 billion this year amid a budget deficit of $156 billion and a 2024 growth forecast reduced to just 1%.”
Voters “cannot understand how the government can provide billions to Ukraine while planning spending cuts at home.” It should be remembered that over the past few years France saw massive upheavals in the streets over budget cuts and reductions of pensions.
Ukraine’s problems are not just on the ground. Russia has been pounding Ukrainian troops, supply depots and military-industrial targets for the past two years. Ukraine’s supply of anti-aircraft missiles is now very low. On March 29 and 30 Russia launched massive waves of sub-sonic and super-sonic missiles as well as drones against Ukraine’s electrical power grid. Agence France-Presse reported on March 29 that the “National grid operator Ukrenergo said its dispatch centre was ‘forced to apply emergency blackout schedules’” in several provinces. Some are speculating that this type of attack which results in electrical blackouts could presage a major ground offensive, possibly in the northeast sector. https://www.yahoo.com/news/ukraine-warns-power-supply-under-105101885.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
MADISON Mon Apr 1, 12 noon to 1 p.m. — 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.
LA CROSSE Thurs Apr 4, 12 noon to 12:30 p.m. — 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
VIROQUA Thurs Apr 4, 2 to 3 p.m. — GAZA! Presentation & community conversation about the current catastrophe and its origins. At the Vernon County Historical Society, 410 S Center Ave. Sponsored by Driftless Palestinian Solidarity dena.eakles@gmail.com
APPLETON Sat Apr 6, 11 a.m. to 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 Apr 6, 11 a.m. to 12 noon — Driftless Palestinian Solidarity Weekly Vigil. Meet at Decker and Main. Action Alert: The Driftless Palestinian Solidarity group has a petition to demand that Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and end financial aid to Israel’s military. If your group is interested in getting signatures, please email driftless.solidarity@gmail.com. Thank you for your help!
RACINE Sat Apr 6, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. — Weekly Stand for Peace – Stand for Palestine. At NW corner of Highways 31 and 20. Park in the SW corner of the Kohl’s parking lot, near the AT&T store. Supported by the Racine Coalition for Peace and Justice. We have signs, banners and flags available for all. Check out our website, http://racinepeace.wordpress.com for weather concerns. Free Palestine!
Thanks to WNPJ for the above information.
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SUPPORT WISCONSIN UNINSTRUCTED CAMPAIGN – VOTE APRIL 2, 2024
Join us as we pass out flyers outside key polling locations on Election Day in Madison and Milwaukee to support Wisconsin Vote Uninstructed this Tuesday!
WHEN Election Day on Tuesday, April 2nd
TIME Shifts are available all day between 7AM – 8PM
WHERE Milwaukee and Madison
WHO You!! Bonus points if you bring a friend along!
The Uninstructed campaign is an opportunity to send a clear message to the White House that Wisconsin voters do not consent to US complicity in genocide. We need one more big push to reach the goal of 20,000 Uninstructed votes!
Remember to VOTE on Tuesday! Wisconsin Constitutional Amendments on the April 2 ballot!!!
If passed, two Constitutional amendments on the current ballot would limit the ability of election administrators to adequately fund and conduct elections. If passed, they are binding and cannot be vetoed.
Election Day on Tuesday, April 2nd
Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement 