PEACE AND JUSTICE VIGIL: ARMS EMBARGO NOW

Date/Time
Date(s) - 09/07/2024
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Location
Corner of Main St and Illinois Ave

Categories No Categories

YOU CAN’T BUILD PEACE WITH BOMBS AND BULLETS: ARMS EMBARGO NOW
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2024 NOON TO 1:00 PM
The Peace Coalition of Southern Illinois will hold the Monthly Peace and Justice Vigil on Saturday, September 7, Noon to 1 P.M. at the corner of Main and Illinois Ave., Carbondale. On Sunday, September 8 at 2 P.M. join the weekly Rally for Peace in Gaza, corner of Main and Illinois Ave in Carbondale (Pavilion) for a Rally from 2 P.M to 3 P.M.
A growing movement has demanded the U.S. impose an arms embargo on Israel as a way to signal to Prime Minister Netanyahu that he cannot continue to violate international law with impunity. An arms embargo is not only what 60% of Americans and nearly 80% of Democratic voters want — it is required by law. According to a recent Israeli Defense Ministry report, the U.S. has sent over 50,000 tons of arms and military equipment to Israel since October 7, an average of 2 arms shipments per day. Israeli hostages and Palestinian civilians are the ones harmed by the repeated undermining of a ceasefire.
The Foreign Assistance Act holds that no assistance can be provided to a country “which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.” The Leahy Law prohibits the provision of weapons “to any unit […] of a foreign country if the Secretary of State has credible information that such unit has committed a gross violation of human rights.” An independent United Nations expert warned that “Israel’s genocidal violence risks leaking out of Gaza and into the occupied Palestinian territory as a whole” as Western governments, corporations, and other institutions keep up their support for the Israeli military, which stands accused of grave war crimes in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
In our own hemisphere the Quixote Center reports that the criminal gangs in Haiti have more and higher-caliber weapons than the Haitian National Police or the police officers from Kenya. Weak gun laws in the U.S. and insufficient investment in the prevention of weapons smuggling through the port of Miami allow the smuggling of an abundant supply of guns and ammunition flowing into Haiti fueling the violence there.
Appropriate signs will be provided at the vigil, but all are invited to bring their own. The next monthly meeting of the Peace Coalition will be held on ZOOM, Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 6pm. For information about joining, contact georgeannhartzog@gmail.com.