Dear Friends of Peace,
I have sent this reply to Santa Claus of North Pole AK, and others on the local Call for Ceasefire email list, for his recent testimony submitted to the Anchorage Assembly, appended below.
Maia Genaux
currently on the traditional homelands of the Nez Perce people, the Nimiipuu Practice seeing and creating our best possible future
Begin forwarded message:
From: Maia Genaux <mg88morgan@gmail.com>
Date: January 5, 2024 at 11:08:03 PST
To: Santa Claus <SantaClaus@usa.net>
Subject:Re: Request for Public Testimony Received (GAZA CEASEFIRE – ANCHORAGE ASSEMBLY)
Dear Santa,
Thank you for sharing your testimony with us.
I really appreciate your naming Netanyahu and Hamas as the actors.
I am practicing seeing Zionists and Hamas as the actors … still testing that.
It certainly is not Israel or Israelis vs Palestine or Palestinians.
Many Israelis and Palestinians have worked together for decades, building relationships and trying to build a loving, healthy environment for all people. And for the Land and all creation.
Also, thank you for naming love and fear. Both are so important and both need tending … via friendships, connections, advocacy, negotiations and other nonviolent attentions and actions.
It is tragically pathological, that the US economy has become centrally, and somewhat invisibly, dependent on the war machine, which is constantly and eagerly exporting militarism and weapons.
It is past time to stop the obscene usage of petroleum for the intentional harm to people, infrastructure and land. Beyond those explicit intentions, there is damage to our very planet, the air, water, living creatures and all of creation, caused by both preparation for and conduct of armed conflicts, whether named War or not.
Let us breathe and appreciate one another, in our work for Peace. This work is not easy. Breathe. Love one another. So we may work. And build peace.
Thank you, Santa, for using your voice coming from love,
Maia. (with the Alaska Peace Center) currently on the traditional homelands of the Nez Perce people, the Nimiipuu Practice seeing and creating our best possible future
On Jan 4, 2024, at 19:49, Santa Claus <SantaClaus@usa.net> wrote:
TO: All of us who are keeping track of Alaska-centric efforts to urge legislators to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
PLEASE NOTE: In addition to my testimony for the Anchorage Assembly (below), my similar testimony at our rally at Murkowski’s Fairbanks office last year has garnered some traction on Twitter (TheRadicalSanta & SantaClausforAK) and Bluesky (SantaClausAlaska) and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3T4jqPd0SY Hoping it all helps!
HAPPY NEW YEAR :-)}
—— Original Message ——
Received: 04:52 PM AKST, 01/04/2024
From: “wwmas@muni.org” <noreply+3f53a2bdd8c6be37@formstack.com>
To: SANTACLAUS@USA.NET. Subject: Request for Public Testimony Received Submission ID: 1180594114, Received: Jan 4, 2024 4:52 PM
Details:
- Name: SANTA CLAUS
- Contact Info: ; SANTACLAUS@USA.NET
- Testimony Type: Written
- Agenda Item: THE ANCHORAGEASSEMBLY ‘PALESTINE/GAZA CEASEFIRE’ RESOLUTION
- Date of Meeting: January 9, 2024
- Written Comments (if applicable): I’ve been an advocate for vulnerable children for decades. My name, Santa Claus, is derived from the Dutch expression for Saint Nicholas: Sinterklaas.
He would be appalled, as I am, by Hamas’ slaughter of women and children and Netanyahu’s escalating genocide, especially the murders of thousands of women and children.
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, recognized annually by the United Nations, serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for justice, freedom, and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
I join millions of others, in calling for a lasting ceasefire by Netanyahu and Hamas, release of all hostages, the shut down of military operations in Gaza, ensuring the protection of vulnerable Palestinians and Israelis, especially women, children, the elderly, and the sick and wounded, safe access to Palestine for humanitarian organizations and their aid supplies, and restoration of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
It’s the leaders, not the Israeli or Palestinian people, who are to blame for the current atrocity. I fail to understand why the United States has been funding, and proposes to continue to fund, the Israeli military that has conducted operations that have been directed, for decades, at expansion, rather than for their security and defense.
I demand our federal legislators stop using millions of Alaskans’ tax dollars to fund Israel’s genocide.
I want to make it very clear that the dynamic is love versus fear and hatred. We see it manifest in our own streets. Show children here and abroad that we love them; give them hope for a better future. Love is the greatest gift.
Thank you for signing up to provide testimony to the Anchorage Assembly during an upcoming meeting.
To watch the Assembly Meeting live, go towww.muni.org/watchnow.
If you signed up for phone testimony before the 5 p.m. deadline the day before the meeting, then you are on our call list. When the Assembly reaches your agenda item, staff will phone you at the number you have provided. You will have 3 minutes to provide testimony on the item you wish to speak.
If you signed up to speak under Audience Participation, there are time constraints that may not allow us to call you to speak. If time constraints prevent the Assembly from addressing a Public Hearing item you want to speak on, that item may be postponed to another meeting so you will not receive a call.
To make your telephonic testimony most effective, please consider following the tips found here under the section titled, “If you wish to provide testimony on the phone.”
If you signed up for written testimony, then your testimony has been received by all members and will be incorporated into the record through formal action.
As always, general comments and feedback can be emailed to the full Assembly at wwmas@muni.org.
—
Alaska Peace Center 