[WCUSP] BAWIB calls for support, encouragement, resources, ideas, tricks and strategies.. to deal with counter-demonstrators in their vigils

[yvonne simmons]

--- Lieve Snellings <lieve.snellings at pandora.be>
wrote:

> From: "Lieve Snellings" <lieve.snellings at pandora.be>
> To: <womeninblack at listas.nodo50.org>
> Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 04:39:33 +0100
> Subject: [womeninblack] BAWIB calls for support,
> encouragement, resources,
> 	ideas,
> 	tricks and strategies.. to deal with
> counter-demonstrators in their
> 	vigils
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Sandra Butler" <sandbutler at earthlink.net>
> 
> Dear International Women in Black sisters,
> 
> Bay Area Women in Black just held our large yearly
> in downtown San 
> Francisco and completed the last of the four Gaza
> vigils as part of the 
> outpouring of international solidarity with the
> people of Gaza and 
> Israeli peace and justice activists. We write to you
> because BAWIB is 
> facing a very specific concern and we would very
> much appreciate 
> hearing from any of you who may have had to deal
> with similar issues.
> 
> A group calling themselves San Francisco Voice for
> Israel ( 
> www.sfvoiceforisrael.org) has been dogging us with
> increasing venom, 
> slanderous words and fliers (designed to look
> exactly like ours), 
> waving Israeli flags, carrying boom boxes playing
> Israeli national 
> anthems at top volume, holding up pictures of dead
> Israeli children. 
> Because free speech is protected, they can say
> whatever they want, but 
> infiltrating our vigils confounds our message to
> passers-by. On a 
> recent vigil confused and enraged by what appeared
> to be the presence 
> of a confusing admixture of women in black walking
> in silence with 
> other people waving flags, holding signs that
> expressed unequivocal 
> love and support for Israel, an onlooker had a
> violent outburst against 
> one of our members on the line. SF Voice for Israel
> present themselves 
> as the people who want peace and our distinction of
> peace and justice 
> is confusing to people who have no information about
> Israel/Palestine. 
> They verbally and physically harass the old women,
> weave in and out of 
> our line as we are walking through the street, stand
> in front of us 
> when we are standing in vigil, wrap themselves in
> the Israeli flag, 
> draw both attention to themselves and avoidance of
> both groups from 
> passers-by-- our target audience.
> 
> One solution we have already discussed is to create
> signs that are 
> unmistakable and distinguish our message from
> theirs-- so any thoughts 
> people have on unequivocal and powerful signage
> would be great! Also 
> any thoughts about how to deal with noisy and
> vociferous 
> counter-demonstrators determined to confuse our
> message of silent 
> witness or the powerful street theater we have, in
> the past been able 
> to create with our puppets and drumming, would be
> very welcome. Have 
> any of you had to deal with counter-demonstrators in
> your vigils? What 
> has proved successful?
> 
> This can be, as you know, such demoralizing work,
> any words of support, 
> encouragement, resources, ideas, tricks and
> strategies from our sisters 
> around the world would be gratefully appreciated.
> 
> Many thanks and much gratitude,
> 
> Sandra Butler for Bay Area Women in Black
> www.bayareawomeninblack.org
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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>
http://listas.nodo50.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/womeninblack
> this is the international WiB mailing-out list, for
> the INTERACTIVE WiB e-list, go to
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/interactiveWiB
> 



 
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