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Women in Black Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

by Woman
Among the first to make the "Honor Roll" of being opposed by the Bush-Ashcroft Gestapo was the outstanding Women in Black, whom the American Friends Service Committee has nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Among the first to make the "Honor Roll" of being opposed by the Bush-Ashcroft Gestapo was the outstanding Women in Black, whom the American Friends Service Committee has nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

See: http://www.womeninblack.net/

We have our own Women in Black vigils here in the San Francisco Bay Area for peace in the Middle East and they are outstanding members of our peace commnity.

The following press release is from:
http://www.afsc.org/news/2003/org%2D121302.htm
NEWS RELEASE
National Office: 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1479
Media Relations: Phone: (215)-241-7060 Fax: (215)-241-7275
e-mail: jshields [at] afsc.org http://www.afsc.org
For Immediate Release
December 13, 2002 Contact: Contact: Janis D. Shields, (215) 241-7060
John W. Haigis, (215) 241-7056

AFSC NOMINATES WOMEN IN BLACK FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
PHILADELPHIA, PA - The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has nominated Women in Black for the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize. Women in Black is a worldwide network of women committed to peace.

The Women in Black movement began in 1988 in Israel among women protesting the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. It spread quickly to cities in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Australia. Women in Black across the world carry out a simple form of protest: they stand together in silent vigil in the same public location at the same time each week, wearing black.

In Italy, Women in Black stand in solidarity with women in Israel and Palestine and also protest the violence of the Mafia and organized crime. In Germany, they protest neo-Nazi violence against migrant workers. Women in Black in Belgrade and Zagreb have held weekly vigils against war and aggression since 1991, continuing after the fall of the Milosevic regime, to protest national chauvinism and inter-ethnic violence.

In making the nomination, the AFSC Board of Directors upheld Women in Black as an example of the substantial yet little recognized role of women in peacemaking. They note: Women in Black, with their silent vigils, speak to both the anguish and the power of women as they raise a worldwide plea for cessation of violence and recognition of human rights. In the words of the women: "We are silent because mere words cannot express the tragedy that wars and hatred bring."

Additionally, the Board notes that women are "prominent victims in a world rife with violence, war, and the abrogation of human rights, yet their concerns are seldom heeded in the formal councils of war and their contributions to resolving and preventing violent conflicts are often overlooked."

Founded in 1917 to provide conscientious objectors with an opportunity to aid civilian victims during World War I, AFSC is grounded in Quaker beliefs respecting the dignity and worth of every person. AFSC has programs in the United States, and in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East that focus on issues related to economic justice, peace-building and demilitarization, social justice, and youth. In 1947, the AFSC and the British Friends Service Council received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Religious Society of Friends, for humanitarian service, work for reconciliation, and the spirit in which these were carried out.

Additional information about Women in Black in the United States may be found at (http://www.womeninblack.net). Additional information of AFSC can be found on the web site, http://www.afsc.org.


# # #

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.



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