Peace House Speaks Out for Peace!

July 7, 2023

Israeli Air Raid, Ground Operation Targets Jenin Refugee Camp in West Bank

At a time when the US agreed to send Israel 25 new F35 fighter jets with $3bn in military aid, Israel conducts most severe attack in 20 years in the West Bank

by Kerul Dyer for Clear Actions

Peace House values include justice, self-determination, and assurances of human rights for all people, regardless of culture, religion or citizenship. With complex and controversial issues like this one, it’s critical we take a close look at how US tax dollars are being spent, and to what end. 

By now you’ve likely heard about the extreme Israeli attack on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank that killed 12, injured more than 100, and sent about 3,000 people fleeing from their homes with only minutes to vacate. Israel stated that the operation targeted militants living within the camp at Jenin and had minimal impacts on civilians. Coverage of the assault on Jenin shows a contrasting story with as many as 80 percent of the homes seriously damaged in the 70 year old camp that houses 10 – 15 thousand Palestinian refugees.

Photos published by the New York Times of the aftermath of the attack include evidence of damage to critical infrastructure, including telecommunications, electricity and water systems. The photos show overturned and smashed cars, torn up streets, massive holes in walls, women crying, and explosions from least ten drone airstrikes and small munitions from residents.

Pictured, above: Two Palestinian girls return to find their home in Jenin Refugee Camp heavily damaged by Israeli assault July 3-5, 2023.

Sviatohyrs’k: New Ashland Sister City in Ukraine Taking Shape

by Elizabeth V. Hallett

The Ashland – Sviatohyrs’k Aid Project (ASAP) is under way, in an effort to help restore the Ukrainian town hit by Russian occupation between February  and September of 2022, before it was retaken by Ukrainian forces. Sviatohyrs’k is in the eastern part of Ukraine, in the Oblast Donbas region.

Due to the war in Ukraine the population of 4,000 – 5,000 has shrunk to about 500 now, as those who are left work to rebuild what used to be a very popular tourist destination set in a once-beautiful world of forests and natural landscapes. It is southeast of Kharkiv and north of Mariopul.

Cluster Bomb Opponents ‘Appalled’ by Biden Decision to Send Banned Weapons to Ukraine

One campaigner warned the move “will contribute to the terrible casualties being suffered by Ukrainian civilians both immediately and for years to come.”

by Jake Johnson for Common Dreams

President Joe Biden has reportedly given final approval for the transfer of U.S. cluster munitions to Ukraine, ignoring warnings from human rights groups and progressive lawmakers who underscored the indiscriminate weapons’ devastating impacts on civilians immediately upon use and far into the future.

According to The Washington Post, a drawdown of the globally deplored weapons from Pentagon stocks is set to be formally announced on Friday. The U.S., which has used the weapons around the world, is believed to possess more than 3 million cluster munitions containing over 400 million submunitions.

Uncle Food’s Diner Requests Kitchen Volunteers

This summer, as many volunteers take vacations, Uncle Food’s Diner has room for a few new cooks in the kitchen. You do not have to be a trained chef to help prepare food for the Tuesday Community Meal in Lithia Park. We open the kitchen just before 10 a.m. each Tuesday at Ashland’s United Methodist Church kitchen and shifts last between two and four hours until we serve at 4:30 p.m.

We strive to create a welcoming, inclusive kitchen environment with lots of opportunities to learn and share cooking experience. 

To sign up, please fill out this form or email us at editor@peacehouse.net. We look forward to meeting you!

A tragedy for us all’: Ketanji Jackson’s impassioned affirmative action dissent: Ketanji Brown Jackson

The US supreme court ruled against considering race in university admissions. Here is Ketanji Brown Jackson’s dissenting opinion

Gulf-sized race-based gaps exist with respect to the health, wealth, and well-being of American citizens. They were created in the distant past, but have indisputably been passed down to the present day through the generations. Every moment these gaps persist is a moment in which this great country falls short of actualizing one of its foundational principles – the “self-evident” truth that all of us are created equal. Yet, today, the Court determines that holistic admissions programs like the one that the University of North Carolina (UNC) has operated, consistent with Grutter v Bollinger (2003), are a problem with respect to achievement of that aspiration, rather than a viable solution (as has long been evident to historians, sociologists, and policymakers alike).