This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/982
August 16, 2005
MIM:The media circus surrounding the protest of the bereaved mother Cindy Sheehan,whose son was killed in Iraq has been orchestrated and stage managed by the Crawford Peace House, whose VP is pro Baathist Iraqi Hadi Jawad, who has exploited the press time given to Cindy Sheehan to bash Bush,Blair and promote a radical Islamist agenda.
Below are some examples of how Jawad has used the attention given to Sheehan and his and the Crawford Peace House, and of the Jawad's connections to Wahhabist funded groups such as the CNI - Council for the National Interest, whose co founder, Eugene Bird, was a speaker at a recent Peace House rally.
MIM: In an article about 'Iraqi Americans' views of the overthrow of Hussain Javad proclaimed that it was a "criminal act"
Iraqi Americans joyful relieved
But not all Iraqi-Americans shared those feelings. Hadi Jawad, vice president and board member of the Dallas Peace Center, said he sees coalition forces not as liberators but as subjugators of Iraq's people and resources.
"They have resorted to war, to violence, to killing thousands of Iraqi civilians," he said. "The means they have resorted to to accomplish the removal of the regime is unconscionable. It's a criminal act."
MIM: At one demonstration which received media attention Jawad used the media to blast Blair's support of the Iraq war.
"Other political slogans and chants were heard, including one from Hadi Jawad of the Crawford Peace House who urged the news media keep reporting on the Downing Street memos. These documents are a series of classified, British reports made during a planning session between British and American officials over Iraq months before its invasion. The British officials note in the memos that the United States was "fixing" evidence around the administration's policy to justify the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq." http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=hadi+jawad+cindy+sheehan&btnG=Search
MIM: This account of a protest against Israel shows that the Peace House is pursuing an anti Israel and anti semitic agenda. One of the speakers at the event was Eugene Bird - the president of the Council for the National Interest, whose virulent wish to destroy Israel would make the named Council to Nuke Israel a more apt appellation.
http://www.ntimc.org/newswire.php?story_id=2283&search_text=caterpillar
Hadi Jawad, a board member of the Crawford Peace House, welcomed members of Women In Black, North Texas for Justice and Peace, United for Peace and Justice, Veterans for Peace, and others. Mr. Jawad said that the investment of time and other resources by many people has created the Peace House, through which they all have a voice.
Photos are included with the main text.
Hadi Jawad introduced Eugene Bird, President of the Council for the National Interest (CNI ) and former Middle East specialist for the Department of State, who served in Jerusalem and other cities of the Middle East. Mr. Bird said that many groups influence US policy, and it must change. The mis-use of Caterpillar bulldozers by the government of Israel and the construction of the security wall are actually US policies. The wall is a tremendous impediment to peace and "we let it be built".
Mr. Bird advised that the public must be persistant in its efforts to change policy. There must be more marches and rallies. He contrasted the 5,000 supporters of the CNI with the 60,000 supporters of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which lobbies in Washington for the Israeli government. He also advised that Israel's border must be defined in order to make progress toward resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He said that, after disengagement in Gaza and the northern West Bank, there are unlikely to be further moves toward resolution in the near future, and President Bush needs strong encouragement to end the occupation of Palestine by the end of his term in office.
Mr. Jawad requested a moment of silence for three Palestinian children killed on April 9 by the Israeli Defense Force. Ashraf Mousa (14 years old), Khalid Ghannam (14), and Hassan Abu Zaid (17), died in Rafah, Gaza Strip.
Laray Polk, organizer of Women in Black in Dallas, said that they protest at Ferris Plaza in downtown Dallas on Thursdays from 12 to 12:45 pm., with the goal of reducing chaos and alleviating human suffering, and she expects no less of President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon. On Wednesday, April 13, Dallas Women in Black will protest the use of Caterpillar armored bulldozers by the government of Israel, at Ferris Plaza from Noon to 3:00 p.m.
Ms. Manetta Prince of Austin said that Women in Black have been active there for three years. She related how Israeli women started the group in Jerusalem in 1988 to protest the occupation of Palestine and the humiliation and killing of Palestinians. They were later joined by Palestinian women and now have groups in Latin America and worldwide. They meet Wednesdays, at 12 noon, in front of the Texas Capitol Building.
The founder of the Crawford Peace House, John Wolf, told the audience that "... speaking the truth has become a crime." He said that Bush criticizes Syria for its occupation of Lebanon, but has not criticized Israel for its occupation of Lebanese and Syrian territory.
The Director of Palestinians for Peace and Democracy (based in San Antonio), Mr. Mohammed Al-Atar has recently returned from visiting Palestine. He brought thanks to the protestors from Palestinian mothers, farmers, and prisoners. He spoke loudly, so Bush could hear him say, "There is one thing that cannot be said of Sharon. He is not a man of peace." He also said, "The people of the Holy Land are bleeding every day, bleeding for peace."
The Wheels of Justice bus pulled into the parking lot just in time for the rally. Bill Hill, the driver, said the tour started in 2000 after an Iraqi boy, Omar, was decapitated by an illegal cluster bomb. The bus carries resource material about occupations in Iraq and Palestine and often travels with eyewitnesses to the occupations on board.
Mr. Robert Jensen, writer and Professor of Journalism at the University of Texas, Austin, said the occupation is the responsibility of U.S. citizens, as U.S. support has allowed it to go on so long. Jensen focuses on three dates to explain the injustice, illegality, and immorality of the occupation to others. In 1948, ethnic cleansing accompanied the establishment of the state of Israel, as 750,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes. In 1967, occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank began, and it was later declared unlawful by the United Nations. He said, "Our support should not go to another nation in such flagrant violation of the law." On September 11, 2001, we were told that our government must get tough on terrorists just as the government of Israel was. But Israel's toughness has not made Israelis safer.
Jensen also said, "The only way to be safe is to have policies that support peace and justice, to remedy injustice." These policies must be applied across the Middle East and across the developing world. He said the grievances of the people of the Middle East are legitimate. US policy has not been aimed at creating conditions for justice which lead to peace. The current US foreign policy only represents the interests of the upper 1% of the U.S. population.
People gathered around the stage to raise an 800-foot-long banner listing violations of U.N. resolutions by the government of Israel. They carried the banner to downtown Crawford, with calls of "Free, free Palestine!" and responses of "Occupation is a crime!" Following the banner down the road was Engine #786-1/2 of the Hill Country Flyer, "the Peace Train", with three passenger cars and a caboose. The engineer for the train was Mr. Jewel Johnson of Lake Travis.
The four-city-block-long banner was carried to a field next to the Peace House where it was used to create an outline of the original state of Palestine, then shrunk to represent the West Bank, and shrunk further to represent the current Palestinian terrritories. Marchers inside the wall created by the banner thought of the people who are living with the Israeli wall.
Marchers later moved to the Peace House to share a delicious meal of tabouli and stir-fried vegetables.
A press conference has been organized by the Crawford Peace House for Monday, April 11, while President Bush hosts Prime Minister Sharon at his Crawford ranch.
This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/982