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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>NOTE: Rudy Perkins will also give "An
Inside Look at Iran" Slideshow & Talk on Thursday June 19 at 6:30pm at
Green Fields Market, 144 Main Street, downtown Greenfield.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-left:.5in;text-align:center'><b><span
lang=FR>PRESS RELEASE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b>FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: </b><a
href="http://www.westernmassafsc.org/">American Friends Service Committee</a>, (413)
584-8975 or <a href="mailto:afsc@crocker.com">afsc@crocker.com</a> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-left:.5in;text-align:center'><b><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Activist Gives an Inside Look at Iran<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>On Thursday and Friday evenings
June 26 and 27, long-time peace activist, attorney, and co-founder of <a
href="http://www.swingthevote.us/">Swing the Vote</a>, Rudy Perkins will
present a slide show and talk about his recent two week interfaith
“citizen diplomacy” delegation to Iran. The tour is co-sponsored by
grassroots community groups SAGE and the Pioneer Valley Coalition to Prevent
War on Iran.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>The Thursday, June 26 event will be
held at 7 PM in Grace Episcopal Church Parish Hall on Spring Street, Amherst.
Mr. Perkins will speak on Friday, June 27 at 7 PM in Lyman Hall, First
Churches, Main Street, Northampton. Both events are free, open to the public,
and handicap accessible.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>The delegation was organized by the
interfaith organization Fellowship of Reconciliation and was headed by a member
of the Fellowship and Rabbi Lynn Gottleib. They visited the cities of
Tehran, Esfahan, Shiraz, and Qom. With the group, Mr. Perkins met with
Iran’s former deputy foreign minister, the current and the incoming
Jewish members of the Iranian parliament and other Jewish leaders in Iran,
leaders of the Armenian Christian community there, the head of the Center for
Inter-religious Dialogue in Tehran, and department heads at the Center for
Religious Studies in Qom. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:14.4pt'>Mr. Perkins suggests, “The
fact such high-ranking Iranians would meet with ordinary Americans shows how
important these citizen delegations are and that Iranians are eager for
dialogue.” He criticizes the Bush administration for resisting
calls for greater dialogue between the U.S. and Iran. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>The presentation on June 26 and 27
will include a brief history of U.S.-Iranian relations, and will discuss some
of the issues which have caused tension between the U.S. and Iranian
governments, and what can be done to improve relations between our two
countries and prevent a widening of the war in the Persian Gulf. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>Perkins laments what he
calls “the drumbeat for war against Iran,” that he claims is
“growing dangerously loud” in Washington. He hopes that
direct conversations between Americans and Iranians might help reduce this
“war fever.” “The American people do not favor our government
launching another ill-conceived war in the Persian Gulf. If we have to
try to open a dialogue between our countries ourselves to help stop that war,
then that is what we’ll have to do.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send an email to wmjwj@wmjwj.org with a Subject
of "Unsub Solidarity Calendar".<br>
<br>
Western Mass Jobs with Justice<br>
640 Page Blvd #101<br>
Springfield MA 01104<br>
(413) 827-0301</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p>
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