WILPF – November 2016

WILPF – November 2016

WILPF BUSINESS MEETING

WILPF will meet Thursday Nov 10 at 7 PM, at Fresno Center for Nonviolence, 1584 N Van Ness.  This meeting is open to all.

WOMEN IN BLACK   Nov 2, (first Wednesday of each month) at noon at Fresno County Courthouse; come on the month in which your birthday falls! Wear black, bring a sign if you wish, and stand in silence for peace.

STIR IT UP – WILPF – ON KFCF 88.1 FM (Listener -supported Free Speech Radio for Central California)

Nov 23 at 3 PM (4th Wednesday of each month)  Jean Hays does outstanding interviews on subjects involving WILPF interests and activities.  Tune in to 88.1!

RAGING GRANNIES

Meetings on selected Mondays at 7 PM.  Ellie Bluestein’s new phone # is 559-449-1817.Call for details.

Thank You Interns – your participation is valuable!

We thank our interns, Karla, Christie, and Veronica for tabling at the Intermountain Nursery Harvest Festival on October 14-15, 2016.  This annual event is a great way for the community to meet our new interns, discuss issues and to be updated on our upcoming actions and events.


 

wilpf2PALESTINE WOMENS EMPOWERMENT UNDER OCCUPATION

In collaboration with Tully Partnerships, we are very excited to welcome Nawal Slemiah on her first visit to California.  Nawal is the founder and director of the Fair Trade Embroidery Cooperative –Women in Hebron (WiH) which is a Palestinian non-profit under the Idna Cooperative Association for Embroidery and Handicrafts.

Join us at Nawal’s speaking presentation on Wednesday November 9th from 7:00 to 8:30 pm at the Community United Church of Christ, 5550 North Fresno Street.  At this FREE EVENT, Nawal will speak about daily life in Palestine and the work of the Women in Hebron Embroidery Cooperative.  Nawal will have items from WiH for sale.  Palestinian refreshments will be offered following talk. Learn more at www.womeninhebron.com & www.tullypartnerships.org

Event sponsored by WILPF Fresno, Peace Fresno, and Fresno Center for Non Violence.

Nawal will also sell WiH embroidery items at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno Craft Fair, November 6th 9am – 2pm 2672 E. Alluvial Ave, Fresno


 

wilpf1AN EVENING & BOOK SIGNING WITH MEDEA BANJAMIN

On November 14th 6:30 pm at the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno, 2111 E Nees Ave

We welcome Medea back to Fresno to speak about her new book, Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S. Saudi Connection.  Medea Benjamin is an inspiring American political activist, best known as the co-founder of Code Pink and Global Exchange.  In 2000, she was the Green Party candidate in CA for the U.S. Senate.  She currently contributes to OpEdNews and the Huffington Post.  Medea was last in Fresno in 2012 to speak about drone warfare.  Please join us to hear her in depth information regarding the relationship between the U.S and Saudi Arabia.  The event is hosted by ICCF and co-sponsored by Fresno WILPF, Peace Fresno, Fresno Center for Nonviolence, and the Human Rights Coalition of the Central Valley.  $5.00 at the door.


 

PEACE CRAFTS FAIRE NEWS

Our 2016 Peace Crafts Fair will be on December 3 (which is the first Saturday in December). The time will still be from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., but we will be at a NEW VENUE: Fresno City College.

We will use the Student Cafeteria Main Hall, the Staff Dining Hall as an annex for more vendors, and also the patio areas outside the hall. Parking is relaxed – free – on weekends. We already have 26 booths paid for so the prime locations are going quickly. If you want to secure a place in the Main Hall, you need to get your application turned in ASAP.  Feel free to forward this information to all of your friends, artists, crafters, and activists who you think may be interested in knowing about this special annual event.

Jay Hubbell – Chair Peace Crafts Faire 2016

5965 E. Shields Ave. Unit 170 Fresno, CA 93727-8061; Landline 559-292-4905; jayhubbell@comcast.net

WILPF – Fresno Branch PO Box 5114, Fresno, CA 93755


 

MEMBERSHIP UPDATES

Please join or renew in December or at the Crafts Faire

Over the past years, we have had quite a bit of confusion with our national, WILPF U.S., decisions and management of branch membership.  First, please realize that you can join WILPF at the international and/or national levels, but we are requesting that all who join the Fresno branch to pay locally (not online) so that we can keep a roster of members.  Membership dues at the national level, which Fresno is an active WILPF U.S. branch, is $35 per year (Note that our branch has voted to offer a $20/year student / low income rate).  Therefore, an individual can make the determination of the level they fall into and pay accordingly – higher amounts are always appreciated, if desired and able.  Please send your membership information and dues to Fresno WILPF at PO Box 5114, Fresno CA 93755, or pay cash at a meeting or at the Crafts Faire; or contact our treasurer, Jay Hubbell at 559-292-4905 or jayhubbell@comcast.net  A membership letter will be emailed to our list serve by our secretary, Mary Perich.

Thank you all for working with us while we try to sift through our updates and work on our membership list and connections with national.

Additionally, we also are working to update our branch directory.  If you have not been contacted yet, or if you have any issues regarding branch notifications and membership, please contact Nora Dewitt noradewitt@gmail.com or Teresa Castillo taca_03@ymail.com

National lists the following information regarding our goals and reasons to become a member, from the WILPF U.S. website, www.wilpfus.org

The Aims and Principles of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

To bring together women of different political beliefs and philosophies who are united in their determination to study, make known and help abolish the causes and legitimization of war.

  • To work toward world peace
  • Total and universal disarmament
  • The abolition of violence and coercion in the settlement of conflict and their substitution in every case of negotiation and conciliation
  • The strengthening of the United Nations system
  • The continuous development and implementation of international law
  • Women’s political, social and economic empowerment to achieve gender equality and justice for all.
  • Cooperation among all people
  • Environmentally sustainable development

Believing that under systems of exploitation these aims cannot be attained and a real and lasting peace and true freedom cannot exist, WILPF makes it its duty to further by non-violent means the social transformation that enables the inauguration of systems under which social and political equality and economic justice for all can be attained, without discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, or any other grounds whatsoever.

WILPF sees as its ultimate goal the establishment of an international economic order founded on the principles of meeting the needs of all people and not those of profit and privilege.


wilpf4Students and Community Members Rally to Take Back the Night!

Fresno Wilpf joined the Fresno State Women’s Alliance held the 37th annual Take Back the Night event in the Free Speech Area Wednesday night 10/19/16 where students, faculty and community groups partnered to raise awareness of the harms of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

Our interns joined the event with our informational table about our branch programs

Among the booths were the Cross Cultural and Gender Center, Women’s Alliance, Planned Parenthood, Marjaree Mason Center and RCS Fresno – a rape crisis center.

The night included a performance by the Raging Grannies who sang a satirical original piece titled “Legitimate Rape.” The song spoke out about the effect of rape culture on women.

*****

November WILPF Page was edited and compiled by Teresa Castillo taca_03@ymail.com OR contact:  Leni Villagomez Reeves lenivreeves@gmail.com or Patty Bennett patriciajb@aol.com

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  • Community Alliance

    The Community Alliance is a monthly newspaper that has been published in Fresno, California, since 1996. The purpose of the newspaper is to help build a progressive movement for social and economic justice.

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