Baltimore Activist Alert -- December 13, 2023

42] Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza and International Law -- Dec. 13

43] Conversation about what is antisemitism – Dec. 13

44] Abolition working group – Dec. 13

45] Virtual screening of film on sustainability -- Dec. 13

46] Wednesday Night Peace Circles – Dec. 13

47] Biden / Xi Summit – Dec. 13

48] Nuclear Information & Resource Service fundraising webinar -- Dec. 13

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42] – Lindsay Koshgarian [npp@email.ips-dc.org] wants you to attend a webinar -- The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza and International Law – on Wed., Dec. 13 from noon to 1 PM ET. Find out what the United States is obligated to do in this moment. There is a virtual briefing with Craig Mokhiber, former director of the NY office of UN Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) and Hani Almadhoun, a Gazan Palestinian, and the Director of Philanthropy for the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA).  This briefing will be moderated by Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism Project, Institute for Policy Studies, and Khury Petersen-Smith, Michael Ratner Middle East Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies.

This virtual briefing will highlight various aspects of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the efforts to respond to it — and the implications for the US Congress as well as US obligations under international law.  Register at ips-dc.org/events/crisisingaza. 

43] – Join JVP, PARCEO, Jewish Currents, and Haymarket Books on Wed., Dec. 13 at 1:30 PM ET for a conversation about what antisemitism is — and how we fight it through the lens of collective liberation. RSVP at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/haymarketbooks/1088718?sourceid=1001761&emci=58c7d807-0a99-ee11-8925-002248223cbb&emdi=6121056f-1c99-ee11-8925-002248223cbb&ceid=237778

As Israel's genocidal war against Palestinians rages on with full backing of the US government, we are witnessing a troubling rise in anti-Semitic bigotry and violence here at home. Jewish communal spaces have been graffitied with swastikas and neo-Nazis have marched through Madison. Alongside such disturbing trends, anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim racism is surging, and Palestinian college students are experiencing mass censorship; three Palestinian college students were shot; a six-year-old Palestinian child was murdered; and rightwing white supremacists are gaining wide audiences.

But a coordinated campaign from the Israeli and US governments and organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is aiming to misstate and even legally redefine antisemitism in order to buffer the Israeli government from accountability for its war crimes. We see this from the House of Representatives regularly pushing forward dangerous and harmful conflations between antisemitism with criticism of Israel, to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer delivering a speech on the Senate floor that misstates what antisemitism is and largely ignores the central threat of white nationalism in the fight against antisemitism. We need to understand what antisemitism is (and what it is not) so that we can fight it effectively, along with all forms of injustice.

44] – The Metro DSA and Northern Virginia Democratic Socialists [novabranch@mdcdsa.org] Abolition working group will meet on Wed., Dec. 13 at 7 PM.   The group works to challenge oppressive institutions and imagines the capacities for community care.  RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfEcShQX51IL2Z1sNff7bqiYz68vAtPjUxpTuIrfvAK8iBDqA/viewform?link_id=1&can_id=3fcd7916f2ff367c3b859d45270fd1d5&source=email-nova-branch-dsa-upcoming-actions-and-events-80&email_referrer=email_1819087&email_subject=nova-branch-dsa-upcoming-actions-and-events?clear_id=true&link_id=6&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&email_referrer=email_2117478&email_subject=nova-branch-dsa-upcoming-actions-and-events

45] – Solar United Neighbors [info@solarunitedneighbors.org] are doing a virtual screening on Wed., Dec. 13 at 7 PM ET – The Transformation Cannot be Stopped.  Enjoy a live Q & A with filmmaker Roger Sorkin, and watch a virtual movie screening. RSVP at https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/event/movie-screening-the-transformation-cannot-be-stopped/

46] – Little Friends for Peace is hosting Wednesday Night Peace Circles via Zoom from 7:30 - 8:30 PM to discuss various topics. All ages are encouraged to attend, and absolutely everyone is welcome.  Please feel free to join and invite others within your networks that could be enriched by the sharing. Register at https://forms.gle/NC9WhiTU83paiwK47. On Wed., Dec. 13, the topic is Open Heart. Join on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8637175637?pwd=N3pvcmNuZmVxaW1DT0dHTHFqVDVFdz09. The meeting ID is 863 717 5637, and the passcode is peace. 

47] – The Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security [mailto:info@masspeaceaction.org] is hosting a webinar: Biden / Xi Summit – Implications for US-China relations on Wed., Dec. 13 at 7 PM ET. Michael Klare will be one of the speakers. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ih6TVVC1TpmYPj4RUEPaEw?emci=b8eb6125-f595-ee11-8925-002248223f36&emdi=8bbdfe2b-1699-ee11-8925-002248223cbb&ceid=269591#/registration

48] – The Nuclear Information & Resource Service [nirs@nirs.org] wants you to join a fundraising webinar on Wed., Dec. 13 at 8 PM ET. Get with "Power to the People: How Grassroots Power Overcomes Big Nuclear," and explore the vital intersection of environmental justice, energy democracy, and the grassroots advocate's path to a sustainable energy future. Get insights into the fight for environmental justice and its impact on communities, and discuss strategies for promoting energy democracy and inclusive decision-making.  This will be a glimpse into the roadmap for a sustainable energy future. RSVP at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8FjN4qowRQCT8UWL1KR0Mg?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=863e3fde-d111-402e-9421-556cb0bcfc07#/registration

To be continued.

Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, Baltimore, MD 21212.  Ph.: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/.

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs