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On Friday evening, March 30, First Lady Michelle Obama received an unusual
request at her San Francisco fundraiser: instead of “Can I have a picture
with you?” one major donor asked, “Will you use your leadership
to prevent an attack on Iran?” Kristin Hull hand delivered to Ms. Obama
a petition against war
on Iran that was signed by prominent women including Gloria Steinem, Alice
Walker, and Eve Ensler, and over 20,000 American women and allies. Hull
implored the First Lady to think of the military families and veterans that
have paid the price of war. Ms. Obama has championed veterans issues while
in office and for this reason, in addition to her obvious proximity to the
President, women’s groups have made her a focus of their peace efforts.
Lande Ajose assisted Kristen in the delivery and can be reached for comment
at 510-708-0961.
The petition implores three powerful American female politicians—Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton, Ambassador Susan Rice and First Lady Michelle
Obama—to use their influence to push for diplomacy, not bombing,
in our relations with Iran. CODEPINK launched this petition online on
March 20th, the 9th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq (coincidentally
also on the Iranian New Year, Norooz). “Nine years ago, I joined
CODEPINK in front of the White House in an act of civil disobedience to
try to stop our government from bombing Iraq,” said Pulitzer Prize-winning
author and petition signee Alice Walker. “None of us could live with
ourselves if we sat by idly while a country filled with children was blown
to bits using money we needed in the United States to build hospitals,
housing and schools. We must not let another tragic war begin.”
Indeed, the writing on the wall looks eerily similar to what the government
was saying in the lead up to the Iraq invasion in 2003: heightened sanctions,
fear, terror, and security. The millions who marched in 2003 did not succeed
in preventing an attack on Iraq, but that will not deterred people from
trying again with new tools and perspective now.
The American petition launched by CODEPINK was created at the request
of an Israeli group, the Coalition of Women for Peace, who modeled their
own petition after a call to action from a group of women inside Iran.
Another cross-border phenomenon erupted last week on facebook when an Israeli
teacher posted a photo of himself with his daughter and the message “Iranians
We Love You. We will never bomb your country.” He invited others to
make similar images and the message took off running online. The message
was carried at anti-war demonstrations in Tel Aviv last weekend. Iranians
responded with similar messages of love for Israelis, highlighting images
of Jewish historic landmarks in Iran, and Iranians who saved Jews during
the Holocaust. The pictures of American and Israeli families holding up
signs aren’t just a cute cliché, they are emblematic of the
disconnect between the people and their governments, which are driving to
war. |
