IOA Editor: See also Billboards calling for end to military aid back up in Albuquerque
New Albuquerque billboard
For Immediate Release
December 10, 2009
LOCAL HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP CALLS FOR
END TO MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL
New Billboard Says We Should Spend Our Money at Home Instead
Similar billboards were erected in April, but were unilaterally removed by company after
being pressured by persons who didn’t want Israel held accountable for its war crimes
Contacts:
Bernadette Garcia home (505) 293-3365 email: bjg0102@aol.com
Rita Erickson cell (505) 228-9151, home (505) 828-0546
What: Billboard
Who: Sponsored by Albuquerque-based Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel, a
grassroots coalition of 14 groups from the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim
communities of New Mexico, and from local veterans and human rights communities.
www.stop30billion.com
Where: Billboard is located at 7918 Central Ave SE (just east of Pennsylvania St) in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. It will be moved to another location soon.
How: Billboard is funded by donations.
Why: Because American tax dollars are better spent at home and because we want to
ease the suffering of the Palestinian people.
History: Our first billboards (“Stop Killing Children!”) were erected last spring, and
called attention to the 350 children massacred by Israel during their attack on Gaza in
January 2009, using sophisticated airplanes and missiles supplied by American tax
payers.
After opponents pressured the local billboard company, the signs were taken down after
only three weeks of a two-month contract.
The war crimes committed by Israel were painstakingly detailed in a UN report (the
Goldstone Report). Even though most members of the U.S. House — under heavy
pressure – voted to condemn the report, we are proud that New Mexico Representatives
Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan refused to go along.
Our Mission: The Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel seeks a justice-based peace for
both Israelis and Palestinians. We seek to end the occupation in the West Bank, East
Jerusalem and Gaza; to support self-determination for the Palestinian people and equality
for Palestinians living inside Israel; we urge Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza and to
enable refugees to return to their land or receive fair compensation.
The Coalition has received many statements endorsing our billboard and its
message:
“I thank the Albuquerque coalition for putting a billboard up to remind everyone that the
U.S. will give $30 billion to Israel in the next 10 years– and that Israel in its 22 day
attack on Gaza used U.S. weaponry bought with U.S. money to kill 1440, wound 5,000
and make 50,000 homeless–we must end military support to Israel, the most powerful
military in the Middle East.”
–Ann Wright, retired US Army Reserve Colonel
and former U.S. diplomat who resigned
in opposition to the war on Iraq.
“The Albuquerque based Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel had ten billboards taken
down back in the Spring due to pressure from people who refuse to hold Israel
accountable for its human rights record. This little group of volunteers was knocked
down but they’ve obviously gotten back up again–the proof is that they managed to get
their message back up on a billboard again. Their message is crucial–that a better use of
our taxpayer dollars is to provide for our people back home, here in the USA rather than
provide military aid to a country that has consistently violated international law and
oppresses the Palestinian people. Kudos to the Coalition for continuing to advocate for a
justice-based peace in the Middle East. I congratulate them on their achievement and
hope New Mexicans flood their members of Congress with phone calls asking for an end
to military aid to Israel.”
–Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey Sheehan who was killed
in the Iraq War, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and is
the host of her own radio show: Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox
“The billboard speaks eloquently about the horrible situation in Palestine and the
culpability of Israel and the US. It is time for American citizens to make a stand against
financing the excessive military might of Israel and its use against Palestinians. I
commend The Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel for this action.”
–Paul Stokes, Former IAEA nuclear weapons inspector in
Iraq, and resident of Corrales, NM
“We commend the New Mexico community for erecting this important billboard calling
for an end to military aid to Israel. Hopefully their project will become a model for
persons in other parts of the country who are increasingly recognizing the link between
American security and ending the shipment of weapons to a state with a highly repressive
agenda.”
–Kathleen and Bill Christison, former CIA analysts, now
living in Santa Fe, NM
“The key to peace in the Middle East is stopping our country’s military and political
support for Israel’s occupation. Let’s hope this billboard begins to awaken the citizens of
New Mexico to our responsibilities to act for peace. Call our congressional delegation
immediately!”
–Mark Rudd, member of Another Jewish Voice
(Albuquerque, NM), and well-known activist
“The $30 Billion aid to the IDF is the worst, most destructive support the US can be
providing in Israel. Please support Grassroots organizations building foundation for
Justice, Human Rights and realistic Peace.”
–Micha Kurz is a former IDF soldier, co-founder of Breaking the Silence
(http://www.shovrimshtika.org/index_e.asp), and Founder and Director of
Grassroots Jerusalem (http://www.grassrootsjerusalem.org/) and resides in
Taos, NM
“With more than 46 million Americans without health care and ongoing domestic
economic hardship, there is no reason to be funding and arming Israel’s system of ethnic
and religious segregation and oppression, fundamentally contrary to American values and
basic human rights. I join hundreds of other Jewish Americans who know that we will
never achieve security for Americans, Israelis, or Palestinians through US-sponsored
Israeli Apartheid against Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land.”
–Anna Baltzer, granddaughter of Holocaust refugees,
author of Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American
Woman in the Occupied Territories
“Almost 30 years ago, my father, the late Israeli General Matti Peled, was asked how the
U..S can help the peace process in Israel/Palestine. He said “stop all military aid to
Israel.” Today this is even more true. The way to advance the peace is to stop funding the
war.”
–Miko Peled, an Israeli writer and peace activist living in San Diego, CA
“Americans have ideas on how to spend $30 billion dollars. We need to focus on our
needs at home– to keep people in their homes, affordable health care, mass
transportation, job creation and the resources to fight global warming. It is immoral to
give billions of dollars in military aid to Israel, a country with a booming economy that
brags about investment opportunities; a country with nuclear capabilities and the
strongest army in the Middle East. Bravo to those who get informed and speak out!”
–Iris Keltz, author, retired Albuquerque Public Schools Literacy
Specialist, founding member of Arab-Jewish Dialogue group and
Another Jewish Voice.
“We Americans give Israel $12 million a DAY…. It is up to us to stop it by insisting that
not one more dollar goes to an occupier.”
–Greta Berlin, cofounder, Free Gaza Movement
________________________________________________________________________
PLEASE HELP KEEP OUR BILLBOARD UP!!
Keep the truth in front of the American people!
With your help, we hope to keep our sign up for as long as we are financially able.
Send your donation to: Coalition to Stop 30 Billion, POB 10,856, Albuquerque, NM
87184. THANKS!!
________________________________________________________________________
ERECT A BILLBOARD IN YOUR COMMUNITY!!
Individuals in San Francisco and Seattle are already mobilizing to erect billboards in their
cities based on our experience.
Feel free to use our graphics — or use your own.
Please contact us for assistance.
www.stop30billion.com
