Christian Peacemaker Teams urges halt to US support for Israeli

CPTnet ~ www.cpt.org
29 July 2006

CHICAGO: CPTers urge halt on U.S. funding of Israeli aggression in Lebanon
and Gaza

On Monday 24 July, Chicago police arrested six CPT members as they appealed for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel in the office of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin.

More than forty-five CPTers, CPT training participants and supporters gathered for prayer outside the Israeli Consulate, then walked a mile through downtown Chicago to the Federal Building, making the connection between Israel's military actions and U.S. military aid to Israel.
Participants carried large STOP signs and a banner that read, "U.S.A. STOP Funding Israeli Aggression."

Prayers of confession and songs of peace echoed through the Federal Plaza as the six member delegation made its way into the office of Senator Durbin, a ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. The group expressed their concerns to the Senator's Chief of Staff, asked that the Senator take a public stand regarding U.S. military aid to Israel, and said they were prepared to wait in the office until receiving a response from the Senator.

Group members prayed and quietly read the names of civilians killed in Gaza over the past month while waiting for a reply from the Senator's Washington, D.C. office. A short time later, the local Chief of Staff insisted that the group leave or he would have them arrested. The delegation continued in prayer until Homeland Security agents took them into custody and turned them over to Chicago Police on charges of criminal trespass. The six spent up to eleven hours in jail. A judge told them they must appear in court on 14 September 2006.

Those arrested were Jason Arndt (Gary, IN), John Funk (Armstrong, BC)
Abigail Ozanne (Falcon Heights, MN), Jessica Phillips (CPT Personnel Coordinator, Chicago, IL), Howard Taylor (Wentworth, NH), and Shirley Way (Stanley, NY. ) Other members of the training group who participated in the witness were Michele Braley and Nils Dybvig (Minneapolis, MN), and Joel Gullege (Chicago, IL.)

Related article in the Chicago Tribune

Related blog posting from SoapBlox/Chicago