Israeli Peace Activist Speaks in New Milford

The New Milford United Methodist Church will host a talk by a visiting Israeli peace activist on Monday, July 15 at 7 p.m. at the Church, which is on Route 7 at the intersection with Picket District Rd. in New Milford.

Fred Schlomka, an Israeli citizen and resident of Jerusalem, is operations manager of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), whose main goal is to facilitate a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians. ICAHD is a non-violent, direct-action coalition group, comprised of members of many Israeli peace and human rights organizations. Their work in the Israeli Occupied Territories of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza is closely coordinated with local Palestinian human rights organizations.

Based in Jerusalem, ICAHD was originally established to oppose the ongoing Israeli practice of demolishing Palestinian houses in the Occupied Territories. As ICAHD activists gained direct knowledge of the Occupation, they expanded their resistance activities to other Israeli Occupation practices, including the expropriation of Palestinian land, Israeli settlement expansion, Jewish-only by-pass road construction, and the uprooting of thousands of Palestinian fruit and olive trees.

Mr. Schlomka's talk is part of a lecture tour he is giving in the U.S. this summer. In Connecticut, the American Friends Service Committee will sponsor his speaking at Trinity College in Hartford on Thursday, July 11, and the Benedictine Grange in West Redding will host him on Sunday, July 14.

All are invited to attend Mr. Schlomka's timely presentation.