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News
and Editorials
War abroad, but can we keep peace at home?
Whether or not you support it, President Bush has
declared war and committed our troops to fight in Iraq. It will be up
to us to keep the peace here at home.
Those who claim this is a war between
religions are just spreading false rumors that will divide us:
- This war is not a Christian crusade against Muslims. Mainstream
churches have not declared war.
- This war is not a Jewish plan for the Middle East. Israel is right
in the crossfire of a war it didn't seek and many Jewish organizations
oppose it.
Let's not repeat the mistakes of past wars:
- During World War II, interning Americans of Japanese descent was
dead wrong! Let's not do this to Muslims in America today.
- During the Vietnam War, Americans shunned returning soldiers. Let's
not treat our service men and women, who sacrifice much, so shabbily
again.
People of Middle-Eastern descent feel particularly
vulnerable in America now:
- Let's be sensitive to the fact that, though they may support the
removal of the Iraqi regime, they are still fearful for their relatives
in the war zone.
- Children are frightened by what they see and hear about the war.
Let's not teach them to hate or to fear one another.
The kind of America we are left with hangs in the
balance of our behavior toward our neighbors. Peace at home is ours to
declare.
(This message is an outgrowth of Interfaith Dialogue
between religious leaders in Silicon Valley organized by SVCCJ.)
Bart A. Charlow, President
Silicon Valley Conference for Community and Justice
March 2003
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