Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Local Groups Call for End to Gaza Fighting

Four events are coming up calling for an end to the fighting in the Gaza Strip. A coalition of local groups including the Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee, the mostly Jewish Middle East Peace Forum, the Muslim Student Association, and the Thomas Merton Center Antiwar Committee are holding vigils and leafleting campaigns starting Thursday.

Pittsburgh native Jonas Moffat now heads Students for Justice in Palestine at Pitt after spending 2 years in Palestinian areas. He says there was a humanitarian crisis and lack of basic necessities in Gaza even before the latest hostilities. Moffat says the situation now, after twelve days of fighting, is unbelievably dire for Gaza residents, who are trapped there.

Moffat condemns any military action against civilians, including Hamas rocket attacks. On Saturday, some concerned Pittsburghers will bus to Washington to urge the Bush Administration to take a more active role to end the fighting in Gaza.

Events:
Thursday, January 8, 5 p.m.: vigil on corner of Forbes Avenue and Bigelow Blvd.
Friday, January 9, 8 p.m.: photo exhibit at the Kimbo Art Gallery, William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh
Saturday, January 10, 12 noon: vigil and leafleting on corner of Forbes and Craig St. for those who can’t take bus to Washington, D.C.
Sunday, January 11, 7 p.m.: outside Cathedral of Learning, the Tel Rumeida peace and justice circus

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