This is a time for people of all faiths and backgrounds to come together to shine a spotlight on the issues of torture and to work together to end torture practices around the globe. ICPJ encourages you to participate in June Torture Awareness Month Events through various events and activities.

Sign up by emailing chuck@icpj.net, calling 734-663-1870, or using the form below.

1. Host a Table: Have a table during your coffee hour, or during a social period in your day in June. Ask people to complete postcards calling for legislation that will assure that the International Committee of the Red Cross has access to all detainees held by the U.S. and to sign a petition calling for a commission of inquiry into torture. ICPJ can provide the materials and even volunteers to staff the table.
2. 

   Screening this excellent 20-minute DVD is a great way to get a converasation about torture going.

   Teach: Host a workshop for your congregation, community group, or during a social gathering to discuss the issue of torture and show the 20-minute film Ending U.S. Sponsored Torture Forever. ICPJ can provide a speaker on the topic, or you can use the NRCAT adult study program featuring the film Ending U.S.-Sponsored Torture Forever, which you can borrow from ICPJ along with discussion materials.

3. Attend: Come attend our community-wide Torture Awareness Month Event!

Human Rights Beyond the Prison Door: Stopping Detainee Torture and Prisoner Abuse. Monday, June 14, 7:00 pm- Participants will include former prisoners, human rights experts and others working to protect foreign detainees and domestic prisoners from torture, abuse, and mistreatment while in captivity. Location: Ann Arbor Public Library, 343 South Fifth Avenue, Ann Arbor. Co-sponsors: Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, American Friends Service  Committee Criminal Justice Program, American Civil Liberties Union. Contact: Chuck Warpehoski, Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, 734-663-1870, chuck@icpj.net Continue Reading »

How can the peace movement promote a just and lasting resolution in Afghanistan?

That is a question we wrestle with here at Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, and we want you to join the discussion.

In July we will be hosting a book study of Ending the US War in Afghanistan: A Primer by David Wildman and Phyllis Bennis.

Order your copy now and save 10% of the list price when you pick up your copy at the office.

When you pre-order, you now only pay just $9.00, you also ensure you get your copy in plenty of time for the book group.

About the book:

The Bush administration answered the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 with what it called the “global war on terror,” beginning with the assault and invasion of Afghanistan and then with the invasion and occupation of Iraq. As more and more Americans joined the opposition to the Iraq war, for many, Afghanistan remained “the good war.” But was Afghanistan ever a “good war”? And will President Obama’s plan and escalation of US troop presence in Afghanistan work?

In this easy-to-read volume of “frequently asked questions” (FAQs), analysts David Wildman and Phyllis Bennis examine a wide range of key issues regarding the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Is Afghanistan really going to become “Obama’s war”?  What was the history of the U.S. in Afghanistan before September 11?  What role does NATO play in the Afghanistan war?  Do Afghans want the U.S. troops to stay in their country?  Who are the Taliban?  What is al-Qaeda? And, finally, what are the steps needed to end the war?

In this compact, concise, jargon-free primer, the deeply knowledgeable authors answer all the basic questions and explain the various aspects of the war in Afghanistan.

Order your copy today. The deadline for pre-orders is May 24. Remember, to get the special pre-order price, you have pick up the book at the ICPJ office.

Hear back from a recent delegation to El Salvador commemorating the 30th anniversary of Archbishop Oscar Romero’s assassination. Romero’s killing was authored by graduates of the U.S. Army School of the Americas. Hear about El Salvador’s:

• current human rights situation
• gold mining by Canadian corporations/environmental degradation
• the new martyrs
• get updated on the continuing crisis in neighboring Honduras

Speakers:
Mary Anne Perrone of Ann Arbor
Frank Hammer of Detroit

DATE: Tuesday, June 8^th
TIME: 7:30pm
LOCATION: St. Mary Student Parish (William & Thompson Sts., Ann Arbor)

Sponsored by the Latin America Task Force of ICPJ. For more information, call Grace at (734) 663-1870 or email gracek@icpj.net.

You can read the May ICPJ newsletter before the printers even start turning it out. In there you will find:

• A reflection on the early years of ICPJ;
• A call to fund teachers, not warriors;
• Information on the U.S. Social Forum;
• Reflections by La’Ron Williams about the need to understand race and racism;
• And much more.

Don’t want to wait for your copy to come in the mail? Make a donation and become a member today.