DECEMBER 15, 2010

Please make a year-end donation to build the “End military aid to Israel” campaign in Chicago and beyond.

Top 5 reasons to support our work:

1. Chicago October CTA launch reached thousands of commuters
2. “Be on our side” website reaches thousands more around the U.S. and the world
3. Signs are now up on the San Francisco BART public transit system; similar efforts are being explored in other cities
4. 6,000 “guerrilla marketing” pocket cards are being placed around Chicago and in other cities
5.  Plans in the works to expand this Spring to CTA buses and theater programs

We are on a roll! Your support has made it possible!

Only two months after the successful launch of the Chicago CTA campaign, our hope that the campaign would be picked up by activists in other media markets has already been realized.

The “Be on Our Side” posters are now up in on the BART public transportation system in the San Francisco Bay Area, sponsored by local groups who now have their own presence on our website, www.TwoPeoplesOneFuture.org. And there are exploratory developments underway in several other U.S. cities.

In addition, the project has been picked up on other websites and blogs, drawing people nationally and internationally to our website.  We’ve received positive coverage in traditional print media, too, with articles in the Oak Park/River Forest, IL Wednesday Journal and the Berkeley, CA Daily Planet.

In just two months, over 3,000 people from more than 60 countries have been drawn to our website, and we are approaching 800 “friends” on our companion Facebook
page – which is updated daily with news and activities to support. Our “Fast Facts” guerilla marketing pocket cards are flying out the door.

In the scant two months since the campaign launch, hundreds of individuals have signed our letter to President Obama and the members of Congress using the user-friendly Democracy in Action portal on our website to demand an end to military aid to Israel.

The peace process collapses – the people pick up the momentum.

As the official “peace process” betrays any hope of peace and justice, the “Be on Our Side” campaign offers a path forward and a way to bring real change by educating American citizens and taxpayers about the U.S. role in militarizing and perpetuating the conflict.

The “Be On Our side” campaign also offers a compelling alternative to the simplistic, false “pro-Israel” vs. “pro-Palestine” dichotomy: a durable, lasting peace will be built on security, human rights, and equality for both Palestinians and Israelis.

With your help, we can reach more audiences in Chicagoland and beyond.

As we assist people in other cities to use our posters on their rapid transit systems, we are planning to expand our Chicago campaign to better reach people as they work and play. Our plans include:

• Putting the posters on the sides of CTA buses. By moving the posters to the outside of buses, we will reach public transportation riders, drivers, and pedestrians.
• Placing the ads to theater programs. Our proposed ad placement can reach 60,000 people who seek out cultural arts, targeted for their ethnic/cultural diversity, capacity to invest in projects they support, and tendency for civic engagement.

Your generous donations started this. Please help us make it bigger and stronger!

The scope of our expansion plans is directly related to donations from the supporters of this campaign. Please give generously.

• Each sign on a bus will cost $640 – we aim to have dozens to make an impact. We will need thousands of dollars to make this an effective program.
• An ad on a premium page of theater programs will cost $3,000 for six months.

• • •

Please Donate at our website or, mail a check to CJPIP, PO Box 3667, Oak Park, IL 60303. (For a tax-deductible donation, make checks payable to Illinois Justice Foundation and write CJPIP in the memo line.)

As always, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT and best wishes for a peaceful holiday season.

Be On Our Side – End Military Aid to Israel
www.TwoPeoplesOneFuture.org

THE COMMITTEE FOR A JUST PEACE IN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
www.cjpip.org