End the Siege

The WESPAC Committee for Justice & Peace in the Middle East is a group of concerned people from the Westchester County area formed to educate the general community, promote open discussion and dialogue and advocate for just solutions to the current destructive situations in the Middle East, particularly in Palestine/Israel. WESPAC supports the call by over 200 Palestinian civil society organizations for punitive measures including boycotts, divestment, and sanctions to be maintained until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian People’s inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law. We call for an end to all occupations in the region. The committee meets regularly and invites participation from the public. Please contact the office at 914.449.6514 or email [email protected] for more information.

Revelations on Hariri assassination

Revelations on Rafik Hariri’s assassination by Thierry Meyssan* While western media have announced that indictments against Hezbollah will be issued shortly by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Russian magazine Odnako challenges the entire UN investigation....

Obama’s Afghanistan Speech

President Obama's Afghanistan Election Speech by Phyllis Bennis There was one way in which President Obama’s escalation speech brought significant relief to the 59% of people in this country, as well as the overwhelming majorities of people in Afghanistan,...

Palestine in Pieces

Palestine in Pieces By JEFF GORE   In 1979, Kathleen and Bill Christison retired from the CIA, where they worked as analysts. Ever since then, they've had an unorthodox retirement, to say the least. With only a couple relatively brief interludes, they've...

Oceans of blood and profits

Robert Fisk: Oceans of blood and profits for the mongers of war   Saturday, 27 November 2010 PA As casualties continue to mount in Afghanistan, so does the cost of war after nine years     Since there are now three conflicts in the greater Middle East;...

Palestinian Author at Ossining Library

 

Dear Friends,

 

 

World-renowned commentator and author Ghada Karmi will be coming to Westchester County as part of her upcoming North America Tour.  A powerful and eloquent speaker, Karmi will be speaking at the Ossining Public Library on October 8, 2009, at 7pm in the theater room speaking on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.  Her tour coincides with the release of a second edition of her memoir In Search of Fatima. As Edward Said eloquently articulated, "Ghada Karmi’s stunning memoir is remarkable. Extraordinarily well-written, it is the amazingly honest story of a Palestinian woman of incredible self-awareness. Hers is a story of exile and displacement… rich in detail and human experience. Karmi is excellent on

Debate Between Salman Abu Sitta and Michael Lerner

Debate Between Salman Abu Sitta and Michael Lerner of Tikkun on The Right of Return The Right of Return by Dr Salman Abu Sitta 1. Michael Lerner wrote: Would you be interested in participating in a roundtable discussion on the telephone or writing a piece for us on...

Ten Tumultuous Days

TEN TUMULTUOUS DAYS Ardeshir Ommani, July 11, 2009   The ten days of turmoil in the aftermath of Iran’s presidential election sharply divided world public opinion into two opposite poles: those who believed in and supported Iran’s sovereignty and...

WESPAC on Facebook

2 weeks ago

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Dear WESPAC Members, Friends, and Supporters,In these extraordinarily challenging times, strong and independent community organizations are more important than ever. We invite you to renew your WESPAC membership—or to become a member for the first time—and help sustain our shared work for justice, peace, and meaningful social change.As we celebrate WESPAC’s 52nd anniversary, we remain inspired by our rich history and deeply grateful for the community that has sustained us. WESPAC continues to serve a unique and essential role as a hub for progressive organizing in Westchester County and throughout the Lower Hudson Valley. You can donate at wespac.org/donate ...
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2 weeks ago

Explore WESPAC
Dear WESPAC Members, Friends, and Supporters, @followers In these extraordinarily challenging times, strong and independent community organizations are more important than ever. We invite you to renew your WESPAC membership—or to become a member for the first time—and help sustain our shared work for justice, peace, and meaningful social change.As we celebrate WESPAC’s 52nd anniversary, we remain inspired by our rich history and deeply grateful for the community that has sustained us. WESPAC continues to serve a unique and essential role as a hub for progressive organizing in Westchester County and throughout the Lower Hudson Valley.With the support of our members, WESPAC:• Brings people together through community meetings, solidarity gatherings, educational programs, and public events;• Works with local high school and college students, providing meaningful internships and volunteer opportunities;• Organizes the annual Westchester Social Forum, where organizations and activists from Westchester, Rockland, and neighboring communities share skills, strengthen relationships, and build collective strategies;• Supports organizing for climate justice, affordable housing, immigrant defense, food sovereignty, racial and economic justice, public banking, and worker-owned cooperatives;• Advocates for investment in communities rather than cages, and for a clean and safe transition away from fossil fuels;• Calls upon our federal representatives to invest our tax dollars in schools, affordable housing, healthcare, and meaningful job creation—not war and endless killing overseas;• Provides affordable office and meeting space to like-minded organizations working for a more just, equitable, and peaceful world; and• Honors outstanding local justice advocates at our annual awards ceremony, a cherished highlight of Westchester’s social justice calendar.Annual membership dues are $100 per person, and $50 for students and people living on fixed incomes. Sustaining contributions above that amount are warmly welcomed. No one is ever turned away for lack of funds, and volunteer hours may be arranged in lieu of payment.Please renew or join today by mailing a check to:WESPAC Foundation77 Tarrytown Road, Suite 2WWhite Plains, NY 10607You may also contribute securely online at wespac.org/donate. To arrange volunteer hours or discuss another way of supporting WESPAC, please call us at 914-449-6514.We hope to see you at our upcoming events, including our September 10 author talk with Brian Barber about Gaza and our September 16 Community Partners gathering featuring Common Cause New York on election integrity. Details are available at wespac.org.Thank you for standing with WESPAC. Your membership is not simply a contribution—it is an affirmation that principled, locally rooted organizing matters. Together, we can continue building the relationships and movements needed to create a more just and peaceful world.With gratitude and determination,Steven Rabinowitz, Board Chair and Nada Khader, Executive DirectorContributions to WESPAC Foundation are tax-deductible. ...
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3 weeks ago

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Friday, October 9th at 6pm at the Barn at Vassar College! RSVPs required at [email protected]. Contributions for the farm collective can be made ahead of time. We can also arrange car pools.The WEBATUCK VALLEY FARM COLLABORATIVE (WVFC), established in 2023, is a regional food sovereignty and farm cooperative development initiative rooted in a larger movement for cultural reclamation, economic & racial justice, and community healing. Rock Steady Farm, Sweet Freedom Farm, and WILDSEED Community Farm & Healing Village leveraged a ten-year partnership to transform local farming, economic opportunity, and food access. They aim to remove barriers to entry for Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) and LGBTQ+ beginning farmers in ways that support the prosperity of our communities and the future of our planet.The current food system is built on exploited labor and land, leaving many hungry and malnourished despite excess and waste. WVFC works with communities within, against, and beyond this broken system to build resilient local economies. Their organizations collaboratively support New York State farmers through land access, training and apprenticeships, shared infrastructure, equipment and product aggregation, advocacy, community events, and employment. They advance land-based liberation by training young land stewards, supporting beginning farmers with land access, growing nutrient-dense and culturally relevant food and medicine, and distributing their harvests to families impacted by food scarcity or state violence.This year, that vision takes physical form. They are renovating two barns—one at Rock Steady which will winterize the barns, expand the cold storage three fold for aggregation, build much larger wash-pack space with new equipment, a retail store and new CSA pick-up, Rock Steady staff space and workplace kitchen, short term housing for all the trainees and facilitators and so much more. The barn at Wildseed will be home to a gorgeous event space, and an added value commercial kitchen. Sweet Freedom Farm will be stewarding grain processes equipment and grain processing space that has been a significant need of small to mid-sized grain producers in the area.This shared processing infrastructure will expand the capacity of over a dozen BIPOC- and LGBTQ+-led farms to wash, store, and process food year-round. It's an investment in a more resilient future where farmers across the region can enter a food system designed for their success.The Elias Foundation is kindly subsidizing the cost of the dinner so that more of the proceeds can support the farmers' fund! @followers ...
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3 weeks ago

Explore WESPAC
Friday, October 9th at 6pm at the Barn at Vassar College! RSVPs required at [email protected]. Contributions for the farm collective can be made ahead of time. We can also arrange car pools.The WEBATUCK VALLEY FARM COLLABORATIVE (WVFC), established in 2023, is a regional food sovereignty and farm cooperative development initiative rooted in a larger movement for cultural reclamation, economic & racial justice, and community healing. Rock Steady Farm, Sweet Freedom Farm, and WILDSEED Community Farm & Healing Village leveraged a ten-year partnership to transform local farming, economic opportunity, and food access. They aim to remove barriers to entry for Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) and LGBTQ+ beginning farmers in ways that support the prosperity of our communities and the future of our planet.The current food system is built on exploited labor and land, leaving many hungry and malnourished despite excess and waste. WVFC works with communities within, against, and beyond this broken system to build resilient local economies. Their organizations collaboratively support New York State farmers through land access, training and apprenticeships, shared infrastructure, equipment and product aggregation, advocacy, community events, and employment. They advance land-based liberation by training young land stewards, supporting beginning farmers with land access, growing nutrient-dense and culturally relevant food and medicine, and distributing their harvests to families impacted by food scarcity or state violence. ...
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