Holiday Greetings to All Friends
of Dorchester People for Peace!
Best Wishes from DPP to those observing the holidays – or simply enjoying the spirit of the season. . .
And a PEACEFUL NEW YEAR!
We have posted these videos many times before during the Holidays. Watch them for the first time if you haven’t seen them before; watch them again and you won’t be disappointed.
CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES -- 1914
In December, 1914, after months of slaughter during the First World War (it was supposed to be “The War to End all Wars”!), British and German soldiers declared an informal and spontaneous truce. The story of their fraternization and holiday celebration is told in detail here and here.
The event has been immortalized in a song by folksinger John McCutcheon, which you can hear and watch along with contemporary illustrations and a moving introduction by the performer.
The song ends with this stanza:
My name is Francis Tolliver, in Liverpool I dwell
Each Christmas come since World War I, I've learned its lessons well That the ones who call the shots won't be among the dead and lame And on each end of the rifle we're the same.
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John Lennon
(killed on December 8, 1980)
VIDEO: “All we are saying is give peace a chance” (1969)
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VIDEO: John Lennon – HAPPY CHRISTMAS (The War is Over)
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Yusuf Ibrahim (aka Cat Stevens)
VIDEO: “Peace Train”
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ISRAEL, PALESTINE, GAZA. . . and the US
Jerusalem: UN resolution rejects Trump's declaration
The UN General Assembly has decisively backed a resolution effectively calling on the US to withdraw its recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The text says that any decisions regarding the status of the city are "null and void" and must be cancelled. The non-binding resolution was approved by 128 states, with 35 abstaining and nine others voting against. It came after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut financial aid to those who backed the resolution. More
The vote by population was even more overwhelming if we look at the countries which voted with the US:
· The nine who voted against the resolution were the US, Israel, Guatemala, Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo
Abstainers were either white settler colonies or small countries dependent on the US and/or looking for Israeli support in Washington.
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 Bethlehem: Living Between Tear Gas and Christmas Ornaments (from last year)
Bethlehem is a besieged city surrounded by a 26-foot-high wall erected on much of its perimeter. This imposing edifice prevents many farmers from getting to their land and restricts residents from performing everyday actions, like going to school or work. By the time it is completed, 56 kilometers of this barrier—which many call the apartheid wall—will leave 12 communities physically separated from the rest of Bethlehem. Fully 85 percent of the Governorate of Bethlehem is classified as part of Area C—under complete Israeli control in all security and civil matters. In addition, there are 19 settlements—illegal according to international law and officially opposed by the U.S. government—surrounding the governorate which house over 100,000 Israeli settlers… This Christmas season, as Christians the world over sing of Baby Jesus’s little town of Bethlehem, they must also remember that this city remains under a crippling Israeli occupation. There will be no meaningful peace in Bethlehem as long as the Palestinians there have to live with the wall, settlements, and an unrelenting military chokehold. More
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OTHER EVENTS
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SPAM? If you know someone who is not receiving the Weekly DPP Update and wants to – or if you don’t get it regularly – please be sure to set your “spam blocker” to allow emails from jjk123@comcast.net and mikeprokosch@verizon.net . Many email services and programs refuse mail from mass mailers not identified as “safe”.
If you don’t want to keep receiving these emails, please reply to the address of the sender and you will be removed from the mailing list. Do not mark the mailing as “SPAM” as this will make it more difficult for those who want to receive it. Thanks.
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CONTACTING DPP and Joining Our Work:
To make it easier to get involved with DPP, we've decided to publish contact info for our coordinators in every issue of this update. We will also regularly publish upcoming meetings of work committees, create a brochure or flyer about DPP, and greet new people at monthly meetings with an explanation of how we work. Here's how to reach them.
Facilitation Team:
Sydney Miller sydsail@gmail.com
Alison Gottlieb: asgottlieb1@gmail.com
Rosemary Keane rosemarykean@yahoo.com
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Sunday, December 31, 2017
Holiday Greetings to All Friends of Dorchester People for Peace! Best Wishes from DPP to those observing the holidays – or simply enjoying the spirit of the season. . . And a PEACEFUL NEW YEAR!
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