Utahns for a Just Peace in the Holy Land (UJPHL) is a coalition of civil and human rights advocates who promote peace with justice in Israel and Palestine. We believe that a true and lasting peace in the region cannot be imposed, but instead must be based on justice as already set forth by international law and United Nations Resolutions. Read more….
“War is not a predetermined fate, but a human choice.” The Parents Circle-Family Forums
We have lost our good friend and fellow non-violent peace activist, Bob Brister, this past week. Bob was a quiet, gentle, and deeply passionate person who devoted his entire life to environmental conservation, civil rights, and social justice. For many years, he led efforts to reestablish the wolf populations in Utah, but he was just as active in efforts to end discriminatory practices at many different fronts.
At the time of his death, Bob was vice president of Utahns for a Just Peace in the Holy Land (UJPHL), a non-profit organization dedicated to challenging legislators and informing the American public about our government’s central role in perpetuating Israel’s illegal apartheid system and slow ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Bob established the UJPHL Facebook page and continued to make posts up to the very end, while providing full-time care to his partner, Whitney, who was battling Alzheimer’s, and coping with his own failing health from cancer.
Bob’s unselfish nature and his dedication to UJPHL is a great reminder to us that we must never give up, lose hope, or become complacent about our efforts and the impact they may have on others. Palestinians need our support, our voice now more than ever. Our promise to you, Bob, is to reaffirm our commitment to continue to work to educate Americans about why this issue should be important to them.
We can start with reiterating these brief facts.
- The United States (US) gives Israel, a wealthy country with a strong economy, unconditional military aid and financial support totaling 3.8 billion US tax dollars annually: that’s more than 1 billion US dollars per day, or 7 thousand US dollars per minute.
- Israel simultaneously and repeatedly violates International Law, controlling Palestinians at every turn by denying them equal rights and protections.
- The US then shields legal challenges forwarded by the United Nations and International Courts against Israel, by using their power of veto, in continued support of Israel’s apartheid practices.
The Zionist Israeli Lobby has deep roots in US politics and is largely responsible for the century-old narratives about Palestinian Arabs that are now as commonplace in the US as loaf of bread. UJPHL knows otherwise, as do many other non-governmental organizations.
We vow, Bob, to go forward with this work you have been helping us with for so long. You have shown us what persistence looks like. Farewell, good friend. You will be missed.
Posted April 17, 2021
Most Recent Events
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November 12-14, 2019
Combatants for Peace spoke at the First Unitarian Church, Salt Lake City, November 13.
Former Palestinian prisoners and Israeli Combat soldiers and officers laid down their weapons and established Combatants for Peace, a Nobel Peace Prize nominated movement, founded on the belief that the cycle of violence can only be broken when Israelis and Palestinians join forces. It is the only organization worldwide in which former fighters on both sides of an active conflict have renounced violence and chosen to work together for peace. Their joint action lays the groundwork for a peaceful future by modeling the potential of what can be.
Thank you, KRCL, 90.9 FM, for Radioactive interview November 14, 2019.
September 25, 2019
The newly released Empire Files and ANSWER Coalition documentary, “Gaza Fights for Freedom” was shown at the University of Utah Union Theater. The film’s creators and directors, Abby Martin and Michael Prysner, were present and responded to Q&A after the film. Watch the official movie trailer now: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/gazafights
Massive protests in cities across Gaza—the world’s largest open-air prison—were called under the banner of “The Great March of Return” in 2018 with the demand that Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to their lands seized in the ethnic cleansing that made way for the creation of the Israeli state.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian protesters were met with the brutality of the Israeli occupation forces. ‘Gaza Fights for Freedom’ is a glimpse into the on-going heroic struggle of the Palestinian people to survive a brutal occupation and genocide, and to return to their homeland.
This riveting collaboration between The Empire Files and a heroic team of Palestinian videographers in Gaza features exclusive coverage of the ‘Great March of Return’ protests, and extensive evidence—with frontline footage and victim testimony—of Israeli war crimes.
Sept 19, 2019
Hadley Rampton, renowned Utah Artist, presented slides of her travels to the West Bank at the Phillps Gallery where her watercolors of the West Bank and Morocco were on exhibit. A brief panel discussion with Q&A on Palestine followed the presentation.
Past UJPHL Speakers, Panelists, Film Producers
Demolition of homes is a common tactic used by Israeli Forces to occupy Palestinian land in the West Bank
A Palestinian family sits among their belongings after Israeli occupation forces demolished their home in the Jordan Valley, part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, January 16, 2019
(photo credit: Ahmad Al-Bazz ActiveStills)
Have you ever heard anyone say that the issue of Palestine/Israel is “complicated?” We have, and now there is a video to debunk it.
Watch video here.
