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Mission and Purpose
Formed in 1989 by activists from the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the Arab and Jewish communities, the Louisville Committee for Israeli/ Palestinian States provides the opportunity for individuals of various backgrounds and faiths to work together for a just and constructive resolution to the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. We support the right of the Palestinian people to establish a state of Palestine beside the state of Israel, with mutual and international guarantees of peace and security for both nations. Our work expresses our hope that the two communities can be reconciled in the land they both claim and must share.
We use resources available in our community to promote a just and peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As Americans providing massive aid to Israel, we call upon the United States government to become a friend and supporter to both the Israelis and the Palestinians by taking the following actions:
1) Call for an immediate end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), which it signed and officially supports;
2) Call for and support the convening of an international peace conference under the auspices of the United Nations, to include, at a minimum, the members of the Security Council, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, with a timeline for the implementation of the end of the occupation and the establishment of an independent and viable nation of Palestine;
3) Recognize the state of Palestine and its right to exist alongside the state of Israel, with mutual and international guarantees of peace and security for both nations.
History of the Committee
Through educational programs, community outreach and periodic meetings with our elected representatives, we have emphasized the historical continuity of the Palestinian people as the indigenous community in the land of Palestine and their rights to self-determination and liberation from the Israeli occupying forces.
Among the events we have sponsored are "The Palestinian Experience," an exhibit of Palestinian posters, books, costumes and other artifacts held at the Louisville Free Public Library in 1990; public rallies on June 5, 1991 and 1992 which called for an end to the Israeli occupation and the convening of an international peace conference to deal with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict; "Palestine: Yesterday, and Tomorrow," a series of five talks in 1992 featuring local authors who had recently written books or produced videos about the Palestinians; and programs with speakers such as the theologians Rosemary and Herman Reuther; Landrum Bolling, President Carter's envoy to the Middle East, and Kathy Kern and Cliff Kindy of the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron.
In 1993, the Committee purchased 20 modems and sent one of our members to install them in computers at 20 nongovernmental organizations in the West Bank and Gaza. She then trained individuals at these NCOs to access the Internet network, PeaceNet. In the mid-1990’s, we used the Public Access Channel to air videos about the Middle East such as Disabled for Palestine andThe Golan Heights: Facts and Fiction.
In 1996 on the eve of the aborted final status negotiations of the Oslo Accords we sponsored five programs about Jerusalem designed to emphasize Palestinian rights and attachments to the city, as well as its historical and contemporary significance. Fourteen organizations signed on as cosponsors of these programs, and endorsed a statement calling for the political and religious sharing of Jerusalem to be arrived at through openly negotiated agreements.
Since November 2000 the Committee has been holding a vigil each Friday from noon to 1:00 PM at the Federal Courthouse on the corner of 6th Street and Broadway. There, we are calling upon the U.S. government to intervene to stop the ongoing violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians and for an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
Meetings & Current Projects
Contact Beverley Marmion (451-5658) for further information and to arrange for speakers.
Our officers are:
Beverley Marmion, Chair
Karen Bossmeyer, Vice-Chair
Marcia Schneider, Secretary
Milton Carpentier
The Committee is an affiliate of the United Nations North American Coordinating Committee for Non-Governmental Organizations on the Question of Palestine.
Two States Internet Resources
On this site: Contact information for U.S., Israeli and UN officials
Americans for Middle East Understanding
American Palestine Public Affairs Forum
Churches for Middle East Peace
The Electronic Intifada
From Occupied Palestine
Gush-Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)
International Women's Peace Service
Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel
International Solidarity Movement--- local Louisville ISM contact
Moveon.org's discussion of the Israel Palestine Roadmap
U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
We use resources available in our community to promote a just and peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As Americans providing massive aid to Israel, we call upon the United States government to become a friend and supporter to both the Israelis and the Palestinians by taking the following actions:
1) Call for an immediate end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), which it signed and officially supports;
2) Call for and support the convening of an international peace conference under the auspices of the United Nations, to include, at a minimum, the members of the Security Council, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, with a timeline for the implementation of the end of the occupation and the establishment of an independent and viable nation of Palestine;
3) Recognize the state of Palestine and its right to exist alongside the state of Israel, with mutual and international guarantees of peace and security for both nations.
History of the Committee
Through educational programs, community outreach and periodic meetings with our elected representatives, we have emphasized the historical continuity of the Palestinian people as the indigenous community in the land of Palestine and their rights to self-determination and liberation from the Israeli occupying forces.
Among the events we have sponsored are "The Palestinian Experience," an exhibit of Palestinian posters, books, costumes and other artifacts held at the Louisville Free Public Library in 1990; public rallies on June 5, 1991 and 1992 which called for an end to the Israeli occupation and the convening of an international peace conference to deal with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict; "Palestine: Yesterday, and Tomorrow," a series of five talks in 1992 featuring local authors who had recently written books or produced videos about the Palestinians; and programs with speakers such as the theologians Rosemary and Herman Reuther; Landrum Bolling, President Carter's envoy to the Middle East, and Kathy Kern and Cliff Kindy of the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron.
In 1993, the Committee purchased 20 modems and sent one of our members to install them in computers at 20 nongovernmental organizations in the West Bank and Gaza. She then trained individuals at these NCOs to access the Internet network, PeaceNet. In the mid-1990’s, we used the Public Access Channel to air videos about the Middle East such as Disabled for Palestine andThe Golan Heights: Facts and Fiction.
In 1996 on the eve of the aborted final status negotiations of the Oslo Accords we sponsored five programs about Jerusalem designed to emphasize Palestinian rights and attachments to the city, as well as its historical and contemporary significance. Fourteen organizations signed on as cosponsors of these programs, and endorsed a statement calling for the political and religious sharing of Jerusalem to be arrived at through openly negotiated agreements.
Since November 2000 the Committee has been holding a vigil each Friday from noon to 1:00 PM at the Federal Courthouse on the corner of 6th Street and Broadway. There, we are calling upon the U.S. government to intervene to stop the ongoing violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians and for an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
Meetings & Current Projects
- Weekly Vigil to End the Israeli Occupation of Palestine, Fridays 12noon-1pm at the corner of 6th & Broadway.
- Monthly Committee meeting, third Sundays 3-5p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 4th & York Streets, in downtown Louisville. We invite interested individuals and organizations to join us in pursuit of justice and peace for the Palestinian and Israeli people.
Contact Beverley Marmion (451-5658) for further information and to arrange for speakers.
Our officers are:
Beverley Marmion, Chair
Karen Bossmeyer, Vice-Chair
Marcia Schneider, Secretary
Milton Carpentier
The Committee is an affiliate of the United Nations North American Coordinating Committee for Non-Governmental Organizations on the Question of Palestine.
Two States Internet Resources
On this site: Contact information for U.S., Israeli and UN officials
Americans for Middle East Understanding
American Palestine Public Affairs Forum
Churches for Middle East Peace
The Electronic Intifada
From Occupied Palestine
Gush-Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)
International Women's Peace Service
Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel
International Solidarity Movement--- local Louisville ISM contact
Moveon.org's discussion of the Israel Palestine Roadmap
U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
