Greetings!

This week is the much-awaited Bay Area speaking tour of Rami Elhanan and Ghazi
Brigieth, members of the Israeli - Palestinian Bereaved Families for Peace. Rami
and Ghazi are two very compelling men -- one Israeli, one Palestinian, who are
traveling together to speak about the need to end the violence on both sides and
start talking to each other. Rami's 14 year old daughter was killed by a
Palestinian suicide bomber in September 1997 in Jerusalem. Two of Ghazi's
brothers (one 14, the other 31) were shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in
November 2000.

I really (REALLY) encourage you to come to one of the events we have scheduled
in San Francisco (Wednesday October 8) or Berkeley (October 9 and 10).
(They will also be speaking at Stanford @ noon on Thursday 10/9 and SF State @
noon on Friday October 10.)

I met with both of these men I was in Israel and Palestine this August as part
of the Fellowship of Reconciliation Interfaith Peace Builders delegation. Their
commitment and humanity and strength is incredible. There was not a dry eye in
the room when we listened to the words of Rami Elhanan. He says, "You don't have
to forgive, you can't forget, but you must overcome this cycle of violence and
find a way to settle this and find a fair peace."

The issue is obviously divisive and there is fear and misunderstanding: Even
here in the Bay Area, people are often unwilling to talk to the other side; I
think the message the two men bring is quite powerful: "if we the bereaved can
talk to each other then everyone can".

If you've seen John Pilger's film, "Palestine Is Still the Issue," you may
remember Rami Elhanan from that.

Information about the Bereaved Families can be found at
http://www.theparentscircle.com/parents/

Details below. Please help us get the word out. I look forward to seeing you and
your friends there.

in peace, emily


Better the Pains of Peace than the Agonies of War
Israeli & Palestinian Bereaved Families for Peace
with Ghazi Brigieth & Rami Elhanan
a Palestinian Muslim & an Israeli Jew


Ghazi Brigieth works for the Beit Ummar Municipality near Hebron on the West
Bank of Palestine. Israeli soldiers shot and killed his 14 and 31- year-old
brothers in November 2000.

Rami Elhanan is a seventh generation Jerusalemite and son of a Holocaust
survivor. A Palestinian suicide bomber killed his 14-year-old daughter Smadar in
September 1997.

These two outstanding speakers - a Palestinian Muslim and an Israeli Jew
- have suffered great personal loss. Both also have made a courageous commitment
to seek a just and sustainable peace. Joint actions have included a peace tent
in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square, a traveling exhibit of coffins draped in Israeli and
Palestinian flags at the United Nations, and Israelis and Palestinians donating
blood for victims of violence from "the other side." Join them at one of the
following Bay Area events as they share their moving stories.

Schedule of Bay Area Evening Appearances:

Oct. 8 - First Unitarian Universalist Society,
1187 Franklin St. @ Geary, San Francisco, 7:00pm

Oct. 9 - UC Berkeley, 145 Dwinelle Hall, Berkeley, 7:00pm Co-Sponsored by the
Faculty Staff Peace Committee

Oct.10 - St. Joseph The Worker, 1640 Addison Avenue, Berkeley, 7:00pm
(ASL Interpreted)

Oct.11 - TBA

A $10-$20 donation is requested for the Oct. 8th & 10th events. No one will be
turned away for lack of funds

Elhanan and Brigieth will also be speaking at SF State and Stanford.
For the full schedule of speaking engagements see: www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org
or www.globalexchange.org/

The Israeli & Palestinian Bereaved Families for Peace consists of over 400
families that have lost loved ones in the conflict. They host dialogues among
members, and sponsor solidarity visits across national lines to those who have
lost loved ones to the violence.

Local Sponsors: American Friends Service Committee, Global Exchange,
International Solidarity Movement Support Group of Northern California, Jewish
Voice for Peace, Middle East Children's Alliance, and The Peninsula Peace +
Justice Center

Tax deductible donations support the ongoing work of the Israeli & Palestinian
Bereaved Families for Peace. Contributions are payable to the Resource Center
for Nonviolence/Parents' Circle 515 Broadway, Santa Cruz, Ca. 95060

Elhanan and Brigieth will be speaking in Minneapolis, Seattle, San Francisco Bay
Area, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Diego. Their tour is sponsored by the
National Fellowship of Reconciliation Middle East Task Force; the Middle East
Committee of the San Francisco Bay Area National Lawyers Guild; Israeli &
Palestinian Bereaved Families for Peace/Parents' Circle; and the Resource Center
for Nonviolence. www.rcnv.org

For more information call 510/464-4911 or email bayareapeacetour@...


___________________
Emily Rosenberg
emuhli@...
(415) 681-0191 (home)
(510) 207-4351 (cell)