Eighth Annual Walk for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine

Sunday, May 17, 2009 | Oak Park, Illinois

Approximately 275 people gathered at First United Church of Oak Park for a program featuring four speakers, including Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. (above), pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago. The event was organized by the Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine (www.cjpip.org) and supported by 28 co-sponsoring organizations. In his address, Rev. Wright equated the efforts of today’s Israel/Palestine peace activists with the sustained and seemingly hopeless efforts undertaken by Trinity Church and others in the era of South African anti-apartheid activism. Rev. Wright energized the crowd, speaking of the need to maintain unflagging belief in the cause of human rights. "I have faith,” he said, “that within your lifetime two citizens from the states of Israel and Palestine ... will be here in Oak Park saying to you, 'We heard of people in Chicago ... who did all they could to bring about a just peace.’" Wright’s address drew a standing ovation.
Dr. William Ayers, a professor of education at UIC, inspired the audience with messages about the history of successful past struggles for justice. Cecilie Surasky (shown above with Reem Salahi), spoke about strategies for overcoming the censorship that inevitably accompanies open conversation about Palestine and the linkage between Israeli and U.S. policy. Surasky is communications director for Jewish Voice for Peace and the driving force behind www.muzzlewatch.org. Reem Salahi, a national security and civil rights attorney, delivered a moving eyewitness account of the aftermath of Israel’s 2008-09 winter war in Gaza and urged the assembly to take action to end the American government's support for the Israeli military’s abuses.
Walk participants protested the U.S. policies, including military aid and diplomatic backing for Israel, that perpetuate violence and discrimination in Israel/Palestine. During the advocacy buffet that followed the Walk, concerned individuals wrote hundreds of postcards to U.S. government officials calling for a balanced U.S. policy in the region, as well as policies that promote peace for Palestinians and Israelis by recognizing the interdependence between the two peoples in their pursuit of human rights and security.
Organizers and attendees united to condemn the use of violence—individual, group, or state-sponsored, while also condemning ongoing occupation and oppression. Many Walk participants carried signs expressing support for the many Palestinians and Israelis working to end the occupation and to establish a peace built on justice.

Many Walk participants expressed appreciation for the opportunity to gather with others—Muslims, Jews, Christians, and secularists--in a positive, public expression of solidarity with the aspirations of the Arabs and Jews of the Middle East to live in peaceful coexistence and as equals, echoing the message on banners behind the featured speakers during the program, “Palestinians and Israelis: Two peoples, one future.”