DPJC Position Statement
DPJC Reaction to the Supreme Court Decision on the Muslim Travel Ban
June 26, 2018
The Dallas Peace and Justice Center unequivocally condemns the Supreme Court decision to uphold President Trump's travel ban that barred travelers from five mainly Muslim majority countries to enter the United States. In a 5-4 decision, the court wrote in its majority decision that the president's proclamation was "squarely within the scope of Presidential authority under the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA)." The travel ban will effectively bar travelers from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Libya from entering the United States. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts declared, "the president has extraordinary powers to set immigration policy" and "the INA exudes deference to the president."
But Jose Espericueta, Co-Chair of the DPJC's Human Rights Committee said, "the travel ban is counter-productive, immoral, and at its heart un-American. Despite Chief Justice Roberts' opinion, there is little visible reason to separate this ban from the president's past anti-Muslim rhetoric. Sadly, this emboldens the president to continue abusing the language of terrorism and security as a justification for anti-immigrant policies. Now more than ever it is our responsibility to work to preserve the United States as a refuge and beacon of hope for those seeking the American dream."
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a written dissent, cited Trump's inflammatory rhetoric about Muslims to compare the "stark parallels" between the majority opinion and one of the court's most shameful moments, "Korematsu v. U.S.," the decision that upheld the internment of Japanese Americans. She further wrote, "a reasonable observer would conclude that the Proclamation was motivated by anti-Muslim animus. The majority holds otherwise by ignoring facts, misconstruing our legal precedent and turning a blind eye to the pain and suffering the Proclamation inflicts upon countless families and individuals, many of whom are American citizens."
DPJC activist Hadi Jawad said, "The decision will help advance the narrative of terror groups like ISIS that the U.S is at war against Islam when the truth is that America has historically been a welcoming nation. Now the high court has issued a proclamation that attacks the essence of America."
DPJC Position Statement
DPJC Statement on Israel's Atrocities in Gaza
May 15, 2018
The Dallas Peace and Justice Center (DPJC) joins international rights groups to strongly condemn Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) malicious killing of unarmed protesters in Gaza. According to media reports, more than 60 people, including women and children, have been willfully killed by IDF snipers using high-velocity weapons. Nearly 3000 have been injured. Early medical reports show many of the protesters were shot in the head or chest.
DPJC Position Statement
DPJC Statement on Nuclear Weapons Negotiations with Iran
May 8, 2018
63% of Americans (and nearly that many Texans, we believe), say the U.S should stay in the nuclear agreement with Iran. The Board of Dallas Peace & Justice Center asks our Texas Senators and Congressmen to make a statement or use social media today in anticipation of President Trump's expected announcement at 2:00 PM to ‘fail to waive sanctions’ passed in the FY 2012 NDAA as the United States agreed to do under the Iran accord.
The nuclear agreement with Iran is working. There is no evidence to support the accusations that Iran is cheating.
The collapse of the nuclear agreement with Iran seems likely put the U.S. on a path to war. This is especially true given president Trump’s appointment of many long-time advocates of war with Iran.
Withdrawal from the agreement without cause, a violation of the agreement, seems likely to further damage America’s credibility on the world stage. It may also undermine U.S diplomatic relations with North Korea and international trade agreements.
Our diplomats fear that ending the agreement may undermine political moderates in Iran and further strengthen the hand of the hardliners who want to further pursue nuclear weapons development.
DPJC Media Advisory
Subject: Media Advisory from Dallas Peace & Justice Center Regarding President Trump's Declaration on Jerusalem
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Dec 5 2017 (Dallas, TX)
The Dallas Peace and Justice Center/Friends Committee on National Legislation joint statement on President Trump's unilateral declaration designating Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel.
"President Trump’s irresponsible political theatre to grant recognition of unified Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a deliberate provocation that puts Palestinian, Israeli, and American lives at risk."
"Trump’s decision will have immediate and potentially catastrophic impacts for Palestinians living in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem. This announcement will encourage the further entrenchment of Israel’s illegal annexation of East Jerusalem and the daily humiliations of occupation that Palestinians there and throughout the occupied territories endure."
"Trump said that Jerusalem is a place where 'people of all faiths are free to live and worship according to their conscience and according to their beliefs.' The thousands of Palestinians in East Jerusalem that have staged historic protests of mass civil disobedience in order to freely access and worship at the Al Aqsa Mosque Compound in recent months belie this misleading narrative."
"The fall-out from this reckless decision will not be confined to Israel-Palestine but will foment violence around the world, as the U.S. State Department and political and religious leaders around the globe have warned."
"FCNL will be working with our nation-wide network to press members of Congress to denounce this decision and refuse to fund Trump’s plans to build a fortress-like embassy in Jerusalem. Like Trump’s promise to build a border wall with Mexico and dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Trump’s plan for a behemoth of an embassy in Jerusalem cannot be realized unless Congress acquiesces on funding. At this time of such turmoil, members of Congress have a particular responsibility to end the U.S.-backed Israeli military occupation and press for the beginning of a just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) has worked for more than a century to promote a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. FCNL is a national Quaker organization committed to pressing the United States to play a more constructive role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Our work is rooted in historic Quaker testimonies on peace and equality and Quaker witness in the region.
The Friends Committee on National Legislation, the oldest registered religious lobby in Washington, is a nonpartisan Quaker lobby in the public interest. FCNL works with a nationwide network of tens of thousands of people of many different faiths from every state in the U.S. to advocate for social and economic justice, peace, and good government.
The mission of the Dallas Peace and Justice Center is to promote a just and peaceful world through constructive action in education, dialogue, reconciliation, advocacy, and action.
DPJC Position Statement
DPJC Statement on President Trump's Upcoming Speech About U.S. Involvement in Afghanistan
August 21, 2017
After months of delay and apparently difficult conversations at top levels to come up with a "winning" strategy for Afghanistan, what President Donald Trump will announce Monday evening will be nothing more than an extension of the failed strategy that has kept U.S. forces in the country for 16 years with no end in sight.
The announcement would represent a total abandonment of Trump's repeated calls before he was president that U.S. troops should come home and, based on reports of his plan, will represent a continuation of a failed strategy taken by his two predecessors that will likely worsen security for ordinary Afghans.
Don Dillard, president of the board of the Dallas Peace & Justice Center said, "Americans are way ahead of Congress and the Trump Administration on this issue. A strong majority believes we should bring our troops home and instead focus on rebuilding America's dilapidated infrastructure such as bridges, roads and schools. We should pay to attention to them."
According to DPJC activist Hadi Jawad, "Afghanistan has been a utter failure for America, and an unwillingness to admit failure is dangerous. Whether America 'cuts and runs' or 'stays and bleeds' it's a win win for America's enemies. The lesson to draw is not that America should never give up after having intervened, but that we should avoid staying the course no matter what the cost."
"Rather than building more military power, which results in the loss of even more human life, a plan to bring all parties in the region to the peace table could result in a cohesive, peaceful society," says Len Ellis of DPJC. "A long term strategy of replacing boots and guns with society-building strategies and projects would be a welcome turn of events. Imagine instead of 5,000 soldiers, a force of 5,000 Peace Corps workers! Yes, it is possible."