MEETING NOTES

People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
May 19, 2012

People for Peace, Justice, and Healing met on May 19, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. at the Antique Sandwich Company in Ruston. Present for check-in were Sallie, Susan, Mark, Carl, and Sheila.

AGENDA

1. DISCUSSION (All).

POINTS OF INFORMATION

1. BERTOLUCCI'S "1900" (Sallie)
"1900" a powerful epic 1976 film ("Novecento" in the original) directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and starring Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Donald Sutherland, Alida Valli, and Burt Lancaster.  The film tells the story of two men born on New Year's Day 1900 and their involvement in the violent Italian politics during the first half of the 20th century.  Robert De Niro plays Alfred Berlinghieri, the son of a powerful family of landowners, and Gérard Depardieu plays Olmo Dalcò, the illegitimate son of a peasant.  The original director's cut ran 317 minutes, and the film exists in a number of versions of different length.

2. BRAND ISRAEL and STANDWITHUS NORTHWEST
"Brand Israel" is an Israeli propaganda initiative launched in 2006, but whose origins date to 2001.  WhenTzipi Livni was foreign minister she appointed Ido Aharoni of the Israeli Foreign Service to head Brand Israel, with an annual budget of several million dollars.  Pilot programs began in Toronto, Tokyo, London, Boston, New York, etc. in 2008, with festivals featuring Israeli films, food, and wine.  The goal was to devise a new image of Israel free of associations to Arab-Israeli conflict, focusing instead on themes like technological innovation and scientific and cultural achievement.  For more background, see Ben White, “Behind Brand Israel: Israel’s Recent Propaganda Efforts,” The Electronic Intifada, Feb. 23, 2010.  --  StandWithUs Northwest is an effort promoting a positive image of Israel in the Pacific Northwest.  It trains speakers for appearances in high schools, colleges and universities, churches, and civic organizations, and maintains groups of volunteers who monitor and counter local media reports unfavorable to Israel.  It is part of a larger international organization, StandWithUs, based in L.A., according to its website, and with 15 offices acorss the U.S. and in Israel, Paris, and the U.K.  StandWithUs characteries BDS as “a global campaign to poison hearts and minds against the Jewish state” that is devoted to spreading “misinformation and lies” to “delegitimize and demonize Israel.”

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. UFPPC SALON (Sallie)
On Sun., May 20, at 3:00 p.m. United for Peace of Pierce County will present a salon in North Tacoma featuring a cooking demonstration and talk by Rosalind Bell featuring mostly local foods.  This salon is a fund-raiser for United for Peace of Pierce County.  A donation of $25 is suggested, though no one will be turned away for lack of funds.  An RSVP would be appreciated but isn’t required to attend.  Please call or write Kristi:  253-573-1504 or kristinebel@msn.com

2. BIX TO BE AWARDED GREATER TACOMA PEACE PRIZE (Mark)
On Jun. 2, 2012, at the annual Spring Banquet of the Scandinavian Cultural Center at PLU, the Rev. William Bichsel, S.J., popularly known as "Bix," will be awarded the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize. See here for more information about the banquet.

Respectfully submitted,
Mark