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

[Joyce McLean]

Hooray for you and all your peristance....how about letters to the 
Chronicle? Ask reporters from newspapers and all TV stations to witness what 
is happening...it is certainly newsworthy....be prepared with a short 
statement.....
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "yvonne simmons" <roweenayvonne at yahoo.com>
To: <wcusp at wilpf.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2006 2:21 AM
Subject: [WCUSP] BAWIB calls for support, encouragement, resources, 
ideas,tricks and strategies.. to deal with counter-demonstrators in 
theirvigils


>
> --- 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
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> womeninblack mailing list
>> womeninblack at listas.nodo50.org
>>
> 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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