They demanded an end to Israeli military occupation in the region, as well as an end to the violence perpetrated against Palestinians. They believe meeting these demands are key to the establishment of a lasting peace.

�Stop calling it a conflict. It is a war,� said Damu Smith, founder of Washington-based Black Voices for Peace, and coalition organizers. �Call it what it is. The United States has helped to wage this war,� he said.

The group called the aggression against Palestinians an egregiously organized form of racism. They further contend that in the past 14 months over 1,000 civilians have died as a result of the conflict. Through a rigorous system of checkpoints, pass-card identifications, �no-go� areas and curfews, Palestinians are completely surrounded by extremely affluent settlements occupied by Israelis. Israelis, according to the coalition, live in utter luxury in comparison to the squalor and abject poverty of displaced Palestinians.

Using billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars in support of an Israeli policy of occupation, settlement and military violence against Palestinians must end, Mr. Smith said. On Jan. 21, the group planned to launch their campaign at a public rally held at a church in Washington, D.C. �There are people who do not want us to lift our voices, but we will stay the course on this issue,� vowed Mr. Smith.

Among the many who presented reasons for changing U.S. policy were Ron Daniels, director, Center for Constitutional Rights; Joshua Ruebner, executive director, Jews for Peace in Palestine; Dr. Hussein Ibish of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee; Rev. Graylin Hagler of Plymouth Congregational Church; Mauri Salaakhan of the Peace and Justice Foundation; Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, Howard University Muslim chaplain; David M. Zirin, DAWN; Mahdi Bray, of the Muslim Public Affairs Council and Black civil and human rights activist Ruby Sayles.

�Just as Jews and African Americans marched side by side during the civil rights movement to dismantle an oppressive and discriminatory system, so too should we work together today to undo injustice against the Palestinian people that is, sadly, being committed by our brothers and sisters in Israel,� said Mr. Ruebner. He called the Black Voices for Peace effort courageous and called for all Americans of goodwill to oppose U.S. support of Israel�s continued military occupation.

Safa Al-Ahmed of Stop U.S. Tax Aid to Israel Now (SUSTAIN) told the conference that U.S. citizens are responsible for the foreign aid, the grants and military assistance given annually to the Israeli government that is used to kill innocent civilians. �From the year 1949 to 1998, more than $89.8 billion has been given to the state of Israel. To put in perspective, this is more money than sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean (receives from the U.S.) combined,� she said. With a combined population of over 1 billion people, those nations receive less total U.S. aid than the 5.8 million population under Israeli rule. She called the disparity absurd.

�The question as to whether or not Israel has a right to exist within secure borders is axiomatic,� said Ron Daniels. �It is also axiomatic that unless the Palestinians have a state of their own, that they are entitled to as a free people, a people with their own history, culture and aspirations, that there will never ever be security in the Middle East and there will never be security in the world because out of anguish, pain, frustration of this lack of fulfillment will be born terrorism,� he said.

The questions of occupation and land settlement are the hallmarks of the conflict. Problems again, the coalition maintains, that the American government encourages via military and foreign aid.

�The specific problem of the Palestinians, is the military occupation,� said Hussein Ibish of American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. �Occupation is a word that never had any meaning among the American people and needs to be explained. For Palestinian people it means to live under a systematized structure of violence (in) every aspect of your daily life,� he said.

According to the United Nations, Palestine is the only remaining military occupation existing in the world.

The event closed with the coalition questioning who actually runs America, as they reflected on the U.S. recession, unemployment, education and health needs, and the raiding of Social Security in the face of annual $4 to $6 billion gifts to Israel.