The Declaration of Peace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept 21, 2006
CONTACT: Carolyn Eisenberg
Phone: (718) 624-5921
Cell: (347) 743 8401

Brooklyn Protest of Schumer’s Support For Iraq War Set for September 24

“Senator Schumer voted for the war in Iraq and continues to support it,” observed Charlotte Phillips, M.D., pediatrician and Chair of Brooklyn Parents for Peace. “He hides his position with critical sound-bites about President Bush, but when its time to vote he lines up with the Administration.”

Brooklyn Parents for Peace, a network of Brooklyn residents that works to inform themselves about issues of war and peace, is organizing a peace walk and vigil, to protest Schumer’s stand. Scheduled for Sunday evening, September 24, the protest will also memorialize those who have died in the war. Holding candles and carrying placards naming New York soldiers and Iraqi civilians who were killed, the group will gather at 6:30 pm at Grand Army Plaza, at the entrance to Prospect Park.

At sundown (approximately 6:50, when Rosh Hashanah ends), they will walk to Flatbush Avenue, then down 7th Avenue to Carroll Street and left to Prospect Park West. At 7:30 pm, the procession will conclude near Senator Schumer’s residence, with a reading of the names of the dead. Local vocalist Judith Gorman-Jacobs will lead the group in singing.

Members of Brooklyn Parents for Peace were appalled to discover that Charles Schumer was among the minority of Democrats to vote against an amendment to the defense budget bill introduced by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) that would have banned the sale of cluster munitions for use in civilian areas. Cluster bombs contain large numbers of bomblets, many of which do not go off and lie wherever they fall. Children pick up the small cylinders thinking they are toys and end up blowing themselves up or losing limbs. Dr. Phillips, a Brooklyn pediatrician commented: “Given what we know of the horrible suffering these weapons cause children, as well as adults, “it I is shocking that a New York Senator would support their use.”

Carolyn Eisenberg, Professor of US Foreign Policy and Co-Founder of Brooklyn Parents for Peace notes that “Senator Schumer has also voted consistently for every appropriation to fund the war. Just recently, he voted against the Kerry-Feingold amendment to bring troops home by July 2007.”

“For all these reasons, we object to Schumer’s leadership,” concluded Eisenberg. “Polls have shown that most New Yorkers—like most Americans—want a real timetable for troop withdrawal. We hope to remind Senator Schumer that he’s not listening to his constituents. And we intend to make his voting record more widely known.”

Global Candlelight Vigil for Peace
Statement to Senator Charles Schumer
Brooklyn Parents for Peace (718-624-5921)
Read by Carolyn Eisenberg, Co-Founder

September 24, 2006

We stand here this evening to remember those, who have perished in Iraq and to express our fervent wish for peace. Many of us were gathered here on the night of March 16, 2003 asking you to speak out against an invasion, which seemed imminent although not inevitable.

Here is what we said then :

“Our hearts go out to the innocent people of Iraq—the men, women and children—who will face in a matter of days, the full wrath of an American attack…

“Our hearts go out as well to the young Americans, now poised for combat in the Middle East.” If the war comes, “Many of them will never see the age of thirty. Many of them will lose limbs. Many of them will carry images of horror that will never leave them. Many of them will be sick for the rest of their lives.”

Along with other politicians –Democrats and Republicans- you did not speak out. . And everything that we feared has now happened and worse: 2700 Americans dead, 20,000 wounded, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed, a country disintegrating before our eyes, their electricity, water, transportation, medical systems in ruins. People terrified to leave their homes. And still the occupation continues with no end in sight. And still you support it.

It is easy to blame the failures in Iraq on President Bush, to say as you did recently: “we haven’t seen enough smarts…and that’s why the things in Iraq are getting worse.” But this isn’t about “smarts, ” it is about principle and wisdom. It is about understanding that the attacks on the United States and upon Israel cannot be solved through war and domination, but by humane policies and diplomacy.

Look up and see the rage that is brewing in this world, when people contemplate the wreckage in Beirut and the anguish of Iraq. Count the casualties and the money spent, the New York constituents who will never come home. Reflect on the secret prisons, the use of torture, the unauthorized wiretaps, the use of “depleted uranium” and ‘cluster bombs.” These are the moral issues of our time. And you are either “missing in action.” or on the wrong side. The war in Iraq is not simply a “Bush war,” it is a Congressional war.

On this holiday night, we are reminded of the best Hebrew word: “Shalom”-peace. We call upon you to speak for peace, to make New Yorkers safer by rejecting violence and respecting the rights of other nations. We call upon you to show courage, to stand for principle, to do what is humanly possible to end this senseless killing. Shalom!

Brooklyn Parents For Peace
41 Schermerhorn Street PMB 106
Brooklyn NY 11201
Contact: Carolyn Eisenberg
Phone: 718-624-5921
Email: press@brooklynpeace.org

HUNDREDS GATHER OUTSIDE SCHUMER’S HOME IN PEACE PROTEST

Candlelight Vigil to Mourn the Dead in Iraq

Sep 25, 2006, Brooklyn, NY –- Several hundred New Yorkers gathered at Grand Army Plaza and then walked through crowded Brooklyn streets to protest the war in Iraq and their disappointment with New York Senator Charles Schumer, a supporter of the Bush policy. The solemn procession was led by a lone drummer and flutist and coffins draped with the American flag to symbolize the thousands who have died in an unnecessary war, initiated by the White House and backed by Senators Schumer and Clinton.

The participants carried signs, each of which had the name of a U.S. soldier or an Iraqi civilian killed in the war printed on it. As the walk proceeded, other residents applauded or joined the route. Some wondered: “Why does Schumer accept the use of cluster bombs?” “Does he speak for Brooklyn?”

The Peace Walk and Vigil was organized by Brooklyn Parents For Peace, a local peace and justice organization whose members include parents, neighbors and educators who are alarmed by the growing militarism of American society and the misguided, violent response to the attacks on September 11.

The event was also sponsored by United For Peace And Justice, a broad-based coalition of peace organizations, located across the United States. The Brooklyn protest was one of many events, occurring around the country, directed at Senators and Congressional Representatives who still stand with the White House.

The walk ended in a candlelight vigil in front of the Park Slope residence of New York Senator Charles E. Schumer. As hundreds looked on, Carolyn Eisenberg, co-founder of Brooklyn Parents For Peace, delivered a strong and impassioned speech, mourning the needless dead and Senator Schumer’s failure to stand for peace and diplomacy. Pointing out that “the war in Iraq is not simply a ‘Bush’ war. It is a Congressional war” as well, she reminded the assembly that thousands had gathered at the same spot on March 16, 2003, several days before the invasion of Iraq, imploring the Senator to speak out against the war: “Along with other politicians – Democrat and Republicans – you did not speak out. And everything that we feared has now happened and worse: 2700 Americans dead. 20,000 wounded, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed, a country disintegrating before our eyes, their electricity, water transportation, medical systems in ruins. People terrified to leave their homes. And still the occupation continues. And still you support it.”

After the speech, in a dramatic and sober demonstration of mourning, over 100 names of New York soldiers and Iraqi civilians who have died in the war were read aloud. Heads and eyes were turned upward, to the building across the street, as if to ask if the Senator was listening.

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Digital photos available on request.