Wheels of Justice

The Wheels of Justice Network (To join the network, please send an email to Mazin at qumsi001@hotmail.com)

The idea behind this network came about as the bus tour (http://www.justicewheels.org) traveled in 48 states in the US and was hosted by hundreds of organizations working for peace and justice. Through this activity and other activities by key members (talks, conferences, conventions etc.), we have collected hundreds of key organizational contacts and tens of thousands of individual contacts. An important asset we developed is the credibility we built for doing actions to reach beyond the choir (to middle schools, high schools, colleges, churches, mosques, community centers, etc and in the media world with hundreds of stories in mainstream publications). Bookers, speakers, managers, and drivers (all volunteers) made these contacts and served by spreading the message. We found that a great side benefit is learning from host groups’ new skills and new ideas that we did not think of before. We transmitted those to our own local groups. The reverse was also true (many local host groups learned new ideas transmitted verbally by those on the bus). But there are limits of this: interactions limited to people actually on the bus interacting with host groups or individuals attending events; the informal and verbal communications that is not available to others, etc. There was no systematic way for communications between groups working for peace and justice. Such a communication forum is important in order to:

a) Share lessons learned from mistakes and challenges in other places (so that different groups do not have to reinvent the wheels so to speak)

b) Share successes and innovative ideas from each other. For examples the successes of the Somerville Divestment Project, the University of Wisconsin Divestment Project, the Olympia-Rafah sister City Project, the AFSC Olive Oil sale campaign, the Ibdaa cultural tour, the Wheels of Justice, the IMEU media project, the Palestine Freedom Project etc.

c) Share resources (expertise, networking ability etc). For example, some groups have access to excellent and almost free web hosting or web design capabilities, some to vast email lists, some to graphic designers, some to printing presses, etc.

d) Solicit support from other groups for nation-wide or international campaigns (e.g. response to articles in a national or international publications, response to attacks on academic freedom, coordinating global campaigns). The network is now planning a series of evens for the 60th anniversary of the Nakba to launch at the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (29 November).

Towards these goals we set-up a listserve (wojn@lists.riseup.net) that includes representatives from organizations and key activist individuals. This listserve is strictly limited to the goals listed above (e.g. NO posting of news articles, chats or discussions unless action oriented along the lines above). To join the list, an organization or key activist must agree to the following conditions:

• Agree to the principles of human rights as articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• Agree to the Palestinian Civil Society Call to Action; see: http://www.pacbi.org/boycottnewsmore.php?id=66010M

• Agree that the US army must withdraw from all countries in Western Asia and respect the rights of self-determination for people in that part of the world

• Agree to select/elect two members of the group (one and a backup if available) to join the list serve and participate by communicating information in both directions (from WOJN to his/her group and vice versa) to achieve the goals set forth above.

If your group would like to join, please contact qumsi001@hotmail.com with information on the group, its agreement to the principles outlined and the name and contact information of the liaison person/persons.

Current member groups:

Wheels of Justice Danbury Peace Coalition If Americans Knew, Washington DC International Solidarity Movement, Italy Middle East Children’s Alliance Middle East Crisis Committee, New Haven Middle East Peace and Justice Alliance, Albuquerque Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, Palestine Palestine Human Rights Campaign, Auckland, New Zealand Canada Palestine Association Siraj Center, Palestine Somerville Divestment Project, Massachusetts Boycott Israel Association, Gaza Palestinian American Congress Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Friends of Sabeel, North America Madison Rafah Sister City Project Boycott Israel Association, Gaza Students for Justice in Palestine, Penn State Palestine Solidarity Coalition at Bard College Axiom Media and The Axiom Foundation Birthright Unplugged