Walk with Guilford Peace Alliance Sept. 21

by Yann van Heurck, Guilford Peace Alliance

The Guilford Peace Alliance (GPA) invites all progressives to join them walking in the annual town fair parade on Saturday morning, Sept. 21, 2024. The march begins at 9:30 a.m. at 40 High Street in central Guilford to walk in the parade at 10. Join and help hand out leaflets.

The GPA holds weekly Saturday morning vigils, which have been going on for 45 years! Attend their Saturday peace vigils on the Guilford Green (11 a.m. to noon) to highlight important issues of the day.

ALL ARE WELCOME! Bring signs and issues, come to talk. GPA also sponsors public lectures, opposes the arms industry and US colonialism and supports pro-democracy movements and freedom for Palestine from the US political arrangements that partitioned and stole its land.

For more information, contact Yann at [email protected] and 203-245-9720.

Zionist Betrayal of Jews Slide Show Available

by Stanley Heller, Middle East Crisis Committee

A new and expanded edition of the book “Zionist Betrayal of Jews” has been published. The book was first published in 2019 but is now updated with new material about the Zionist embrace of Trump and white-nationalist enabler Elon Musk. It also has a new section about the collaboration of a Hungarian Zionist leader with the Nazis.

I have created an 80-photo slideshow about the revelations of the book that I’d be happy to present to your organization online or in person. It’s one thing to read about events and another to see photos of the history. For instance, there are photos in the slideshow of an anti-Nazi campaign capped by the 100,000 who turned out in New York in 1933. The Zionists undermined this effort with their sabotage of the anti-Nazi boycott. Photos also show Zionist leaders’ deals with dangerous antisemitic governments in South America and the nefarious activities of Trump and Musk.

The information is not only of great value for Jews but also for all non-Jews sympathetic to Palestinian rights. The latter are routinely tarred as antisemites. My book and slide show demonstrate the utter hypocrisy of the Zionists, who collaborated again and again with violent antisemitic forces. The slide show lasts about 35 minutes and is followed by Q&A and discussion.

More about the book at stanleyheller.com. Reach me at [email protected].

Reentry Program for People Who Were Formerly Incarcerated and Their Families

by Rebeka Bamgboye, Outreach Specialist, Urban League of Southern CT

The Urban League of Southern Connecticut’s True Haven program supports individuals and families affected by incarceration, focusing on stable housing and mental wellness. Participants receive six months of intensive financial education and housing support. The program also trains community members in trauma-informed counseling to improve their mental health and the community’s safety. True Haven aims to break cycles of instability and empower families within our community.

To participate, one must be:

  • 18 or older
  • Recently released from prison or have an incarcerated family member
  • Live in Beaver Hills, Newhallville, Hill North and South, Fair Haven, Dwight/West River, or Dixwell

    Visit www.ulsc.org or call 203-327-5810 for more information.

Elm Shakespeare Company presents Richard III

Elm Shakespeare Company presents Richard III, Tuesday-Sunday at 7:30 p.m. through Sept. 1.

This production is free in Edgerton Park!

Elm Shakespeare Company’s 29th annual summer production, Richard III, directed by Rebecca Goodheart, Elm’s seasoned Producing Artistic Director, is set to be a landmark event at the Alexander Clark Playhouse Stage in Edgerton Park, running until Sept. 1st.

With over two decades of experience in directing, acting, and teaching Shakespeare, Goodhearted will explore the role society plays in creating villains and the cost of political violence on us all.

This year’s production features Lisa Wolpe, an internationally renowned theater artist known for her groundbreaking work on Shakespeare and gender, in the title role of Richard. Wolpe’s involvement brings a unique depth to the character, offering audiences a new perspective on the classic play. Her innovative approach to gender in theater juxtaposed to a traditional medieval setting, promises to be a production that continues Elm Shakespeare’s tradition of bringing thought-provoking and accessible Shakespeare to New Haven.

For more information, visit https://www.elmshakespeare.org.

Interfaith Service Festival — Sunday Aug. 4, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

New Haven Green (at College and Elm)

This announcement has everything you need: the Program Schedule, Early Morning Joe Volunteer links, Kosher Cookout Menu, Habitat Volunteer links, bring your lawn chair reminder….. it’s all here.

Read on, take your time, plan ahead, and make the most of our day together on August 4.

Thank you for waging peace,
Bruce A. Barrett, Founder/President

For complete information, visit https://mailchi.mp/e028abead27c/interfaith-festival-update-august-4th-schedule-and-more?e=f00696fb56

Black Wall Street Festival Aug. 12-18, New Haven

Black Wall Street Festival focuses on supporting black and brown entrepreneurs and creatives. It aims to combat systemic racism and enhance economic growth within these communities in New Haven. The event celebrates their contributions to the city’s prosperity and encourages community engagement, education, and activism on racial and economic justice.

For more info on being a vendor, volunteering, becoming a sponsor or partner, visit

https://www.bwsfestival.com

or — on Facebook

or on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/blackwallstreetfestival/

Interfaith Service Festival on New Haven Green 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday Aug. 4

The Interfaith Service Festival on New Haven Green will take place under the trees behind the churches 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday Aug. 4, 2024. The theme this year is Courageous Love. The schedule of volunteer service projects, discussion groups and learning opportunities and much more will be updated here: https://www.iwagepeace.org. Community involvement opportunities include Swing a hammer and pound guns into Jewelry at the forge: Swords to Plowshares CT; Join a Round table on Gun Violence: Swords to Plowshares CT; Enjoy a Crypt Tour under Center Church (learn our challenging history); Clean a beach with Save The Sound. (shuttle bus provided); Build a house with Habitat for Humanity (advance signup required); Joyfully assemble 875 Blessing Bags for the unhoused with Columbus House and Beth-El Shelter; and many more listed here https://www.iwagepeace.org!

Peace Activist Killed in Hit-and-Run

by Dereen Shirnekhi, April 29, 2024, New Haven Independent

[The PAR Planning Committee was shocked to learn of Yusuf Gürsey’s tragic death. We extend our condolences to all who knew him. Yusuf was a well-known peace and justice activist for decades and will be greatly missed.]

Seventy-year-old scholar and city Peace Commission member Yusuf Gürsey died Sunday night [April 28] after a car fatally struck him — and then fled the scene — while he was walking near his home on Whalley Avenue.

New Haven Police Department Public Information Officer Christian Bruckhart announced Gürsey’s death in a Monday press release.

… At 9:26 p.m. Sunday night, officers responded to the area of Whalley Avenue and Brownell Street for a car accident involving a pedestrian. They found Gürsey in the street, injured.
… The car, which had fled after the accident, was found later and is being processed for evidence. Police ask that anyone who may have witnessed this incident or who may have information valuable to investigators to call detectives at 203-946-6304 or through the department’s anonymous tip-line at 866-888-TIPS (8477).

Gürsey was originally from Istanbul, Turkey. He had lived in New Haven for almost 40 years and had studied both engineering and linguistics. He was an academic who spent his life at times as a researcher, a professor, and a freelance medical and court translator. He spoke both Turkish and Arabic. Gürsey served on the Greater New Haven Peace Council as well as the city’s Peace Commission.

Fellow city peace commissioner Aaron Goode … described Gürsey as someone who wanted peace in the Middle East: he advocated for nuclear nonproliferation, ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now, ending the war in Gaza.

“It’s very shocking,” said Goode, who said he knew that Gürsey had attended [a] downtown protest in support of Palestine.

Yusuf Gursey. Photo: Yale University

Gürsey was passionate about ending the conflict involving Israel and Gaza, and according to fellow peace commissioner Millie Grenough, he attended every one of the commission’s community conversations around the conflict, the most recent one being just two weeks ago at the Mitchell Library in Westville.

“He was a very learned person,” Goode said of Gürsey, especially when it came to Middle East history. He had an​“encyclopedic knowledge” of history, geography, and theology. Gürsey brought his scholarly nature — he often posted on social media for the birthdays of Turkish writers and thinkers — to everything he did, including the Peace Commission.

“He wasn’t loud and assertive and ebullient,” Goode remembered, ​“he was just a very quiet, scholarly, intellectual, thoughtful presence in whatever setting he was in.” …

[Entire article available here: newhavenindependent.org/article/70_year_old_pedestrian_killed_in_hit_and_run]

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