Rabbi Michael Lerner to Speak at NJ Peace Action Annual Dinner

Sunday, April 26th, 2009
Regency House
140 Route 23
North Pompton Plains, New Jersey
12:00 – 4:00 PM (12:00 – 12:45 PM Socializing; 1:00 PM Lunch)
“SUPPORT OBAMA TO BE THE OBAMA YOU VOTED FOR:
GETTING THE ADMINISTRATION BACK ON TRACK”
HONORED GUEST AND RECIPIENT OF THE DOROTHY ELDRIDGE PEACEMAKER AWARD:

Rabbi Michael Lerner
Born in Newark, NJ, Rabbi Lerner is an editor of Tikkun Magazine, a bimonthly Jewish and interfaith critique of politics, culture and society. He is also chair of the international interfaith organization The Network of Spiritual Progressives.
Rabbi Lerner received a special award from the writer’s organization PEN-Oakland for his role as one of the leading Jewish spokespeople for peace and reconciliation between Israel and Palestine.

Rabbi Lerner has written 11 books, including The Politics of Meaning, Healing Israel/Palestine, Jews and Blacks: Let the Healing Begin, co-authored by Cornel West, and most recently, a 2006 national best-seller titled The Left Hand of God: Taking Back our Country from the Religious Right.
Lerner was ordained in 1995 and is the rabbi of Beyt Tikkun synagogue in San Francisco.

Also Honoring:
Military Families Speak Out, Bergen and Essex County Chapters
Recipients of the Sylvia and Oscar Ackelsberg Peace Award
Nadia Akbar
Peace Action Person of the Year
Plus a special video message from Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

Reservations Required

Please visit http://www.njpeaceaction.org or call 973-259-1126
Dinner tickets: $50 before April 17th ($55 after April 17th)
A limited number of discount tickets are available.

Good Friday Action: End Civil Rights Abuses by DHS on Amtrak & Greyhound

Save the Date
Friday April 10th
1:00-3:00 pm
Outside Penn Station in Newark
(Market St. & W. Raymond Plaza)

Did You Know?

• The border has been extended to a 100 MILE WIDE zone around the entire United States.
• DHS Checkpoints are being set up inland in states across the country.
• DHS agents are being permitted by Amtrak & Greyhound to board trains and buses when they come within 100 miles of the border for the purpose of checking the immigration status of passengers.
• Amtrak & Greyhound DO NOT notify passengers of this risk.

Join us for a prayer service in solidarity with immigrants and a rally to protest Amtrak and Greyhound’s cooperation with DHS!
We will also be leafleting inside and around Penn Station to warn passengers of the risk of immigration searches.

Co-Sponsored by: AFSC – Immigrants Rights Program, IRATE & First Friends, Pax Christi NJ

For more information or to become a co-sponsor please contact:
Alix Nguefack 973-854-0401, anguefack@afsc.org or Kathy O’Leary 908-273-0751 kolearypcnj@gmail.com

Radical Hospitality and Immigration - Lenten Lecture

Monsignor William Reilly will be the speaker at the Monday, March 23 Lenten Lecture at St. Teresa of Avila Church, 306 Morris Ave.

The Monsignor's topic will be Radical Hospitality and Immigration. This bilingual program will be in Spanish and English. Monsignor Reilly is currently the pastor of Most Holy Name Church in Garfield, NJ. He recently completed his service on the Governor's Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Immigrant Policy.

The panel was charged with examining state issues as they relate to immigrants and develop recommendations for a comprehensive, state-wide approach toward integration of the state's immigrant population.

The theme for the St. Teresa of Avila Church Lenten Lectures Series is God's Love Knows No Borders.

The series began on March 9. The Monday, March 23 lecture completes this series. It will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the church's Avila Room.

The annual Lenten Lectures are sponsored by the St. Teresa of Avila Church Social Concerns and Justice Committee, and focus on the social teaching of the Catholic Church. Call 908-598-8194.

6th Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq - Vigils Throughout NJ

Six years later and over 4000 US soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed and millions more Iraqis displaced our military presence in Iraq continues. Today groups throughout the state will be holding vigils and demonstrations against our occupation in Iraq. If you are looking to gather with fellow peacemakers and witness for the complete withdrawal of troops from Iraq below is a list of vigil throughout the state.

*Statewide Demonstration in New Brunswick!

REBUILD & RENEW
AMERICA NOW!

Cut the Military Budget Annually by 25% - Make it Transparent
End the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
Create Jobs and Strengthen our Infrastructure
Guarantee Quality Affordable Health Care for Everyone
High Quality Education from Early Childhood through College
Regulate Wall St. and Support Main St.
Clean Energy and Independence From Oil
Reduce Poverty and Support the Social Safety Net

March and Vigil

Calling for A Reduction in Military Spending and Investment in our Families

Intersection of George St. & Albany St.
New Brunswick
Thursday, March 19, 2009
5:30 PM

Co-sponsoring Organizations (in formation):
Alliance for Disabled in Action · Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees · Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War · Central New Jersey for Change · Coalition for Peace Action · CWA Local 1081· DFA-NJ · Green Party of Monmouth County · Industrial Union Council · Lutheran office of Governmental Ministries Monmouth Democracy for America · New Jersey Citizen Action · New Jersey Labor Against the War · New Brunswick Chapter of the NAACP ·New Jersey Peace Action · Next Step · Ocean County Democracy for America · Ocean Progressive Democrats of America · PDA/DFA Progressive Democracy South Jersey · People's Organization for Progress · Rutgers AAUP-AFT · Rutgers Against the War · Somerset Unitarian Universalist Social Action Committee · Somerset Voices for Peace and Justice · Tent State · Union County Peace Council

For More Information or to Add Your Organization as a Co-sponsor, contact Atif Malik, NJ Citizen Action Organizer at atif@njcitizenaction.org or 732-246-4772.

*Six Years Too Many -- events in Bergen County

Join Bergen County Military Families, Veterans, and Local Residents
March 18 - 22
to mark the 6th Anniversary of the Iraq War

Join us to demand:
All troops out of Iraq immediately!
Bring the National Guard Home immediately to take care of the people of NJ! Their deployment is illegal.
Take care of the troops when they get here!
NOT one more dollar for the Iraq war! Use the money here for people's needs - for housing, health care, jobs, and education.

Please come to these important events in Bergen County to mark the 6th anniversary of the war. Bring food and baby supplies for the Family Assistance Center for the National Guard families whose loved ones are currently deployed in Iraq .


·Wednesday, March 18. Vigil/press conference. 4:30 - 6:00 pm. The press conference will be at 5:00 pm.National Guard armory. Teaneck Rd and Liberty Rd. Teaneck , NJ .

· Thursday, March 19. Vigil. 5:00 - 6:00 pm. Ft. Lee Vigil Group. Lemoine Avenue and Bruce Reynolds Boulevard . Ft. Lee , NJ

· Friday, March 20. Film showing and discussion. 7:00 pm. See Phil Donahue's movie, Body of War, about the impact of the war on troops and families and the role of members of Congress. PHIL DONAHUE WILL APPEAR IN PERSON TO SPEAK ABOUT HIS FILM. Puffin Cultural Center. 20 Puffin Way , off Teaneck Road , near Ft. Lee Road , Teaneck , NJ

· Saturday, March 21. 12:00 noon. Demonstration at the monument in Englewood , Palisade Ave. and Tenafly Ave.

· Sunday, March 22. Vigil. 4:30 - 5:00. Sponsored by the Leonia Vigil Group. Broad Avenue and Ft. Lee Road in Leonia.

Military Families Speak Out, Bergen County www.mfsobergencounty.org
Veterans for Peace, Chapter 21 NJ
Bergen Peace and Justice Coalition www.bergenjustice.net
Teaneck Peace and Justice Coalition
Leonia Vigil Group
Ft. Lee Vigil Group
NJ Peace Action

We welcome the co-sponsorship of other groups and participation of everyone in the region.

*Montclair, Morristown and Weehawken Hold Special Vigils

*The Montclair Peace Vigil will mark the 6th anniversary of the war in Iraq with a Thursday vigil - March 19th, 4:30 - 6:00 pm instead of Friday. Everyone is welcome to join us. The vigil takes place at the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue, So. Fullerton Avenue and Church StreetMontclair. For more information, contact (973)259-1126.

*The Morristown Peace Vigil will hold a special vigil to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq on Friday, March 20th from 6:00pm until 7:00pm on the Morristown Green. The vigil will call for ALL the troops to be brought home from Iraq.

*The Weehawken Citizens for Peace will mark the sorry event of the sixth year since the U.S.Iraq with a special vigil at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Boulevard East in Weehawken from 5:00pm to 6:30pm on March 19th. Please join us! (note the date change)

*Courage of Conscience Speaking Tour: Combatants for Peace
Courage of Conscience Speaking Tour
Combatants for Peace

March 19th at 7:30pm
Sparta United Methodist Church
71 Sparta Avenue
Sparta, NJ 07871

Former Soldier, Former Fighter

Yaniv Reshef and Bassam Aramin

Tangible Way to Peace in Israel and Palestine

Israeli Yaniv Rashef, whose home is in range of Gaza missiles, was a foot soldier in a sabotage unit of the Israeli Army - and chose to fight no more. Palestinian Bassam Aramin served seven years in jail for planning an attack against Israeli soldiers - and chose no more violence. Just two years ago, Bassam lost his daughter to an Israeli soldier's rubber-coated bullet. They are Combatants for Peace, now over 600 former Israeli soldiers and former Palestinian fighters, working together without revenge to build justice, peace - and playgrounds.

Cosponsors:

Church and Society Committee of SUMC, Northwest New Jersey Peace Fellowship (a chapter of NJ Peace Action), September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, The Peace Abbey, and the Rebuilding Alliance.

South Mountain Peace Action Celebrates Peace!

Saturday March 21, 2009

Ceremony
for
PEACE

12:30 pm to 1:00 pm

at the Peace Memorial
in the garden behind

The Ethical Culture Society
516 Prospect Street
Maplewood NJ

*Trenton - Countdown to Withdrawal

Noontime press conference
6th Anniversary
of the Iraq War

Come and join this important regional press conference at a site where 30 reporters are stationed full time. This is our best shot at getting our message out through the media. Even if you need to take time off from work, it is worth it!

March 19, 2009
Time: 12 noon to 1:00 pm
Place: Statehouse steps - 125 West State Street
Trenton , NJ
Press Conference on Sixth Anniversary of Iraq War at 12 Noon on March 19 on State House Steps in Trenton
Brother of fallen soldier, Vietnam veteran, student leaders and clergy to speak.

New Mexico Abolishes the Death Penalty

New Mexico just became the third state to abolish the death penalty through the legislature. New Jersey of course was the first and just last month Montana voted to abolish the death penalty as well. The momentum is building!

STATEMENT BY NEW JERSEYANS FOR ALTERNATIVES TO THE DEATH PENALTY ON NEW MEXICO’S REPEAL OF ITS DEATH PENALTY


Chatham, New Jersey – New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NJADP) congratulates New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and the New Mexico State Legislature for their leadership in repealing capital punishment. We welcome New Mexico’s company as it joins New Jersey and 13 other states that have abandoned the outdated and extreme practice of execution.

The strong bipartisan vote in the New Mexico Legislature comes amidst a growing chorus of concern about the death penalty across the country. New Mexico’s decision to end capital punishment brings to 15 the number of states that no longer carry out executions. Other states have put executions on hold or enacted studies. With executions and death sentences on decline since 2000 in every region of the nation, and with public opinion moving away from support for capital punishment, it is clear that America is rethinking the death penalty.

Call in to Support H.R. 182 - IMPORTANT UPDATE

ALIPAC just posted to one of its message boards to call in to oppose H.R. 182. ALIPAC stands for Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee. They have been designated a “nativist, extremist organization” by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO CALL TODAY TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR FAMILY UNITY AND SAY NO TO HATE. ASK YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS TO CALL TOO.

Today is the Day - Call to Support the Child Citizen Protection Act

Today is the day that groups from the American Friends Service Committee and Families for Freedom will be traveling to DC along with affected family members to lobby for the Child Citizen Protection Act.

Remember to call your congressman today and ask him to co-sponsor this bill because it is important that we do everything that we can to keep families together.

After you have called please email kathy-wargo@comcast.net with the name of your congressman and any feedback.

Thank you so much for taking the time to speak up for family unity.