U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice - Rome Italy anti-war demonstration in Rome

Past Events


Solidarity with Bradley Manning
December 17, 2011

No to "war as usual"
March 19, 2010

Winter Soldier Europe
March 14, 2009

Palestinian Flags Flutter
Alongside Peace Banners

January 17, 2009

Close Guantanamo Now!
January 17, 1009

10-Day Vigil for Gaza
January 8-18, 2009

Supporting La'Onf
October 29, 2008

Free the Cuban 5
Sept 13, 2008

Cheney in Chains
Sept 8, 2008

No Bush, No War
June 11, 2008

May Day ILWU Solidarity Action
May 1, 2008

War Tax Day
April 15, 2008

World Social Forum Global Day of Action
Jan 26, 2008

Shut Down Guantánamo Now!
Jan 11, 2008

No U.S. Military Base in Vicenza
Dec 15, 2007

Meeting Iranian Artists
Dec 05, 2007

End the War in Iraq, No War on Iran
Oct 27, 2007

Report on Final Days of No Dal Molin Festival in Vicenza, Italy
Sept 16, 2007

Camping for Peace in Vicenza, Italy
Sept 12, 2007

Impeach Them Both +
Judiciary Fax Blast

July 23, 2007

I-M-P-E-A-C-H !
April 28, 2007

4th Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq
March 20, 2007

No Dal Molin, Vicenza, Italy
Feb 17, 2007

Congress: Act Now to End the War
Jan 27, 2007

No Military Bases, Vicenza, Italy
Dec 2, 2006

No War, No Cluster Bombs
Sept 23, 2006

Protest Calling for Cease-fire in Lebanon
July 26, 2006

Military Spending
Bean Poll

July 18, 2006

Stop the Escalation
in the Middle East

July 17, 2006

Refusing to Kill
July 06, 2006

Shailja Patel:
Poetry in Times
of War

July 05, 2006

Troops Home Fast
July 04, 2006

Italian Vote on
Military Missions

June 27, 2006

Peace Parade
June 02, 2006

Michael Uhl of
Veterans for Peace

April 29, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Hidden in Plain Sight

April 26, 2006

War Tax Day
April 15, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Hotel Palestine: Killing the Witness

April 12, 2006

National Anti-war Protest in Rome
March 18, 2006

Soldiers Against War
March 18, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Aristide and the Endless Revolution

March 15, 2006

Women (and men!) Say No To War
March 8, 2006

An Eyewitness Account of Post Katrina New Orleans
March 2, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Life and Debt

February 09, 2006

Vote to Renew Italian Mission in Iraq
February 09, 2006

Cindy Sheehan
February 06, 2006

NBC Today
Show Blitz

February 06, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
The Revolution Will
Not Be Televised

January 26, 2006

Cindy Sheehan
In Rome

January 18, 2006

Crimes & Lies:
with Dave Lindorff
and Maurizio Torrealta

January 13, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Peace Propaganda and
the Promised Land

January 12, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
The Oil Factor

December 15, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Plan Colombia

December 01, 2005

Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre
November 30, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Wal-Mart

November 17, 2005

Protest at U.S. Embassy: White Phosphorus in Fallujah
November 14, 2005

Control Arms Petition
at Piazza Chiesa Nuova

November 12, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Invisible Ballots

November 10, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
The Corporation

October 27, 2005

Movie Night:
Viva Zapatero

October 25, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Hidden Wars of
Desert Storm

October 13, 2005

Anti-war rally
at U.S. Embassy

Sept 24, 2005

USC4P&J Social
at the Beehive

June 22, 2005

Die-In with
Articolo 11
at Palazzo Chigi

June 21, 2005

Collecting Photos
with Control Arms

June 18, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Unconstitutional

June 16, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Outfoxed

June 09, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Weapons of
Mass Deception

May 19, 2005

Vigil at Palazzo Chigi with Articolo 11
May 05, 2005

Vigil at Palazzo Chigi with Articolo 11
April 28, 2005

Vigil at Palazzo Chigi with Articolo 11
April 21, 2005

International Day of Protest
March 19, 2005

 

Eyes Wide Open Film Series, Part III
Peace Propaganda and the Promised Land: U.S. Media & the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

January 12, 2006

The third season of the Eyes Wide Open film series got underway on January 12, 2006 with the documentary Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land: U.S. Media & the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict by Bathsheba Ratzkoff & Sut Jhally screened to a full house. The film examines the spin of coverage of the conflict in the U.S. media, comparing it with the Israeli and British press. (See the handout distributed at the screening)

The films starts by presenting the Israeli occupation, showing what Palestinians go through on a daily basis, with violence, checkpoints and curfews. It then goes on to compare the media coverage, showing clips from U.S. news outlets contrasted by British and Israeli coverage of the same stories.

The importance of influencing public opinion in the U.S. is demonstrated in the film by illustrating the pressure exerted on U.S. journalists by pro-Israeli PR campaigns, watchdog groups and lobbyists as well as the sophisticated press offices churning out ready-made stories.

The film lists several PR strategies and shows how these are carried out in the U.S. media. For example, there are strategies to render invisible the occupation and colonization by simply never referring to them as such. Israeli colonies first became "settlements" and are now simply "Jewish neighborhoods." The reversal of the cause and effect is also discussed, with the U.S. media describing the Israeli occupation as a response to suicide bombings and terrorism. And the renaming of the occupation as part of the "global war on terror" is also underlined.

The voice of the Israeli peace movement, which views the occupation as the primary cause of the conflict, is silenced in the U.S. media, which reminded us all of the anti-war movement with regards to Iraq.

During the discussion that followed, the film, while receiving an overall positive reaction, was criticized. Several noted that is was one sided and that it would have been much more powerful had the other side been given at least some space. Others found it lacking in information on the history of the conflict, though we all understand that alone would make for another film, and then some.

We talked about the amount of aid the U.S. gives to Israel, noting the recent request for $2 billion to pay for the withdrawal from Gaza, which was suspended after Katrina, but has now resurfaced with a lesser amount, $1.2 billion.

As there were a number of people from several countries present, those of us from the U.S. tried to impress upon them how taboo this issue is, how difficult it is to talk about it. One person attributed it to how very personal it is for many, while another countered saying that even if you know no one of Jewish faith/culture is anywhere near, you still feel a slight twinge of guilt at even implying that Israel is in the wrong.

We discussed corporate control of the media, as we do at almost all our films, being a fundamental issue. One person criticized the film as not giving any solutions to this control. It was pointed out that the DVD included a PDF file with an enormous number of links to web sites, with everything from alternative media to advocacy groups, both U.S and Israeli based, as well as international. [Download, 300Kb]

When you consider that most U.S. coverage of international issues is, in fact, centered on the Middle East, you realize how important it is to have balanced, accurate information on the conflict in order to understand the role of U.S. foreign policy in the world. This film, though certainly one sided, exposes the spin and helps consumers of U.S. press view the coverage with a more critical eye.

Stephanie Westbrook


Special thanks to Linux Club for their hospitality.

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Ongoing/Future Events


Our Eyes Wide Open Film Series is suspended; for further information click here.


Upshot of our Nov. 9th group discussion on current politics:

It wasn't the Russians that got us Trump. Or Comey. Or even the massive GOP election fraud. It was the DNC.*
*Dem National Committee

To learn how to stop the DNC from delivering us another Trump, read Autopsy: the Democratic Party in Crisis.


Photo of a school in Yemen bombed by Saudi Arabian jets supplied by the U.S. and fueled in the air by the U.S. Air Force. Tell Trump to STOP THIS CARNAGE, not fuel it! Click here.

Also participate in the CodePink email and/or phone initiative:




Click here to sign a petition, to put an end to the sanctions against Syria - their only effect is to take a terrible toll on the population, causing them to migrate! And click here to see the video by the Italian Committee to lift sanctions against Syria.



Iraq Deaths Estimator
Did someone tell you that U.S. military intervention in Iraq was over? Not true: we're at it again. This time the pretext to drop bombs is "curbing ISIS" (which was created by the U.S. in the first place, to overturn al-Malaki in Iraq and then Assad in Syria, and is now out of hand. Like what happened to "our" creature al Qaeda in Afghanistan). And the death toll continues to rise...
Write your senators and tell them: "Enough! U.S. out!! Iraq has shown it can curb ISIS by itself!"

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Copyright © 2006 Stephanie Westbrook  All rights reserved.
U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice - Rome, Italy