Hawaii County Council Calls for

Ceasefire in Gaza!

The Hawaii County Council voted on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, to pass an amended Peace resolution # 449-24 to include a call for a CEASEFIRE in Gaza.  The CEASEFIRE additions were proposed by Councilwoman Jenn Kagiwada and seconded by Councilman Matt Kaneali’i Kleinfelder.  The vote in the Government Operations Committee that included all the Council members was unanimous.  The vote came after many Big Island residents all testified for strengthening the general peace resolution to call for an immediate Ceasefire in light of the massive killing, injuries, and destruction happening in Gaza with direct US military aid to Israel. A copy of the amended resolution will be posted on our website www.malu-aina.org when it is made available.

Other Actions Needed!

An End to the US/Israel Genocide in Gaza! An End to All US military Aid to Israel!  A termination of the strategic partnership between Hawaii and Israel signed in Oct. 2022.

In less than six months, more than 100,000 people in Gaza have been killed or injured by US weapons provided to Israel, the majority of victims being women and children.  Most houses, businesses, schools, even hospitals and refugee centers have been damaged or destroyed.  Disease is now rampant.  Many people are starving.  This Genocide must be stopped now by an immediate and permanent Ceasefire, and a massive influx of humanitarian aid. In addition, we urge support for the following:

1. Remove the military exemption made in 1984″ from Hawaii County’s historic Nuclear-Free Law passed in 1981, Having an exemption for the military to a Nuclear-Free law is like having an exemption for smokers to a No Smoking Law.  It makes no sense.

2. File Hawaii County and/or state legal action against the military decision in 2008 to leave in place (dispose of) Depleted Uranium radiation at Pohakuloa.  That appears to be a clear violation of the Hawaii State Constitution that says: Section 8. No radioactive material shall be disposed of in the State without the prior approval by a two-thirds vote in each house of the legislature. [Add Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978]

3. Provide follow-up action to Hawaii County Resolution 639-08 passed July 2, 2008, by a vote of 8-1 that called for 8 actions, including stopping all live fire at Pohakuloa until there is a comprehensive, independent assessment and clean up of Depleted Uranium at Pohakuloa.  None of the 8 actions called for in Resolution 639-08 have been carried out by the military. 

4. End the State lease of 23,000 acres of Hawaiian conservation zone lands to the military at Pohakuloa for a total of $1 for 65 years. 84,000 acres at Pohakuloa, was seized by a presidential executive order at zero cost in 1964. Return all the land at Pohakuloa to the Hawaiian people for reforestation, etc. before PTA bombing and shelling creates a Lahaina firestorm on Hawaii Island.

5. Pohakuloa Commander LTC Tim Alvarado should participate in town hall public forums around the island to respond to community concerns about Pohakuloa. To date, he has refused participation.

6. De-militarize Hawaii. Hawaii is one of the most militarized places on the planet with more than 100 US military installations, including the US Indo-Pacific nuclear command center for more than half the earth. Hawaii has been illegally occupied by the US since 1893.

1 . Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject violence & war as solutions. 3. Defend civil liberties.
       4. Oppose all discrimination: anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hawaiian, anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Russian, anti-LGBTQ, etc. 5. Seek peace through peaceful means and work for justice in Hawai`i and around the world.

Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action

P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760

                         Phone (808) 966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org to receive our posts.

For more information see https:malu-aina.org

March 8, 2024, Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet – week 1171– Fridays 3:30-5 PM downtown Post Office

emailed to the Hawaii County Council March 3, 2024, 7:45 PM

Testimony in support of Council Resolution #449-24 to be heard on Tuesday, March 5, 2024

at 9:30 AM in The Hilo Hawaii County Council chambers.

On behalf of our organization, Malu ‘Aina, I testify in support of Hawaii County Resolution 449-24 for Aloha and Peace.  But given the global situation of US/Israeli GENOCIDE in Gaza, the resolution is not enough.  It needs to be strengthened to call for an end to the Genocide, an immediate and permanent CEASEFIRE in Gaza, an end to all US military aide to Israel, and termination of the strategic partnership between Hawaii and Israel signed in Oct. 2022.

Let’s be clear.  This County resolution is tied to a UN Resolution around disarmament and non-proliferation.  Yet the US in recent months has vetoed a UN security council resolution three times calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

When the Titanic was sinking, it wasn’t enough to call for rearranging the deck chairs.  More was need to save lives.  The same is true today in Gaza and our entire planet. In less than six months, more than 100,000 people in Gaza have been killed or injured by US weapons provided to Israel, the majority of victims being women and children.  Most houses, businesses, schools, even hospitals and refugee centers have been damaged or destroyed.  Disease is now rampant.  Many people are starving.  This Genocide must be stopped now by an immediate and permanent Ceasefire, and a massive influx of humanitarian aid.

In addition, I urge the following actions:

1.  Support the Hawaii Interfaith call for an immediate Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza signed by dozens of Hawaii religious leaders of many faiths that acknowledges we live in the Hawaiian Kingdom which has been illegally occupied by the US since 1893. Now, over 100 years later, it urges people to join the call for the de-occupation of Hawaii, Palestine, and all occupied nations across the globe.

2.  Remove the military exemption made in 1984″ from Hawaii County’s historic Nuclear-Free Law passed in 1981, the first county in the US to pass such a law, now followed by many other counties and municipalities.   Having an exemption for the military to a Nuclear-Free law is like having an exemption for smokers to a No Smoking Law.  It makes no sense.

3.  File Hawaii County legal action against the military decision in 2008 to leave in place (dispose) Depleted Uranium radiation at Pohakuloa.  That appears to be a clear violation of the Hawaii State Constitution that says: “Section 8. No nuclear fission power plant shall be constructed or radioactive material disposed of in the State without the prior approval by a two-thirds vote in each house of the legislature.” [Add Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978]

4.  Provide follow up action to Hawaii County Resolution 639-08 passed July 2, 2008, by a vote of 8-1 that called for 8 actions, including stopping all live fire at Pohakuloa until there is a comprehensive, independent assessment and clean up of Depleted Uranium at Pohakuloa.  None of the 8 actions called for in Resolution 639-08 have been carried out by the military.  Are we in Hawaii County living in a democracy or under military rule?

5.  The State lease of 23,000 acres of Hawaiian conservation zone lands for a total of $1 for 65 years is being renegotiated.  Hawaii County should take a stand to cancel that lease, call for a complete clean up of the entire 133,000 acres at Pohakuloa, most of which was seized by a presidential executive order at zero cost in 1964, and return that land to the Hawaiian people for reforestation, etc. before PTA bombing and shelling creates a Lahaina firestorm on Hawaii Island. 

Let’s see some substance, not just lip service, to DEMONSTRATING THE ALOHA SPIRIT AND FOSTERING PEACE, DIPLOMACY, AND UNITY WITHIN THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I, THE STATE OF HAWAI`I, AND BEYOND.  Otherwise, we simply make a mockery of peace and aloha.  Imagine if The Nazi Auschwitz extermination camp passed a resolution for Shalom (Peace) in the midst of Genocide.  Remember in the center of our island is a 133,000 acre military toxic waste dump, burn pit, and training ground for war, including nuclear war.  Strategic US nuclear bombers do practice bombing missions flying non-stop from Louisiana, Missouri and Guam to practice bombing Pohakuloa.  Nuclear weapon spotting rounds, and perhaps even actual nuclear weapons, have been fired at Pohakuloa.  Perhaps it is time for the Federal Pact Act, passed to cover military veterans exposed to toxic substances, to be expanded to cover civilians living around toxic military sites like Pohakuloa, where toxins are blowing in the wind around the island.  US occupied Hawaii has more than 100 US military installations including the headquarters of the US Indo-Pacific command that is the military nuclear Headquarters for more than half the earth.  That’s a classic example of the aloha spirit and peace under US occupation.

As South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Together, let’s not choose to side with the oppressor. Let’s take a meaningful stand for aloha and peace.  Amend this resolution to be clear. Mahalo.

Jim Albertini

President

— 
Jim Albertini Malu ‘Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown) Hawai’i 96760
Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org

Prevent Nuclear War —

Abolish Nuclear Weapons!

March 1st Remembering Bikini,

Marshall Islands

     March 1st is known as Bikini Day and Nuclear-Free and Independent Pacific Day. On March 1, 1954, the U.S. exploded a 10-megaton (10 million tons of dynamite equivalent) hydrogen bomb code-named Bravo on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. March 1, 2024, marks the 70^th anniversary of the Bikini Nuclear explosion. Overall, hundreds of nuclear weapons have been tested in the Pacific by the U.S. Britain, and France.

      The March 1st (monthly 1st working day of the month at 11:45 AM) nuclear attack warning siren test is a reminder that we need to abolish all nuclear weapons before they abolish us. It is still important to stand in opposition to nuclear weapons and war in solidarity with people all around the Pacific and the world. There is no defense against nuclear weapons. The only shelter is peace and the elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide.

Join the weekly Hilo Peace Vigil every Friday from 3:30 to 5 PM at the downtown Hilo Post Office/Federal Building on Waianuenue Ave.

Peace organizing meetings are held on the 2^nd and 4^th Mondays of each month at the Kea’au Community Center from 6 – 8 PM and available by Zoom.

Please spread the word. Mahalo.

Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action

P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760

                            Phone (808) 966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org to receive our posts.

For more information see https:malu-aina.org

Ceasefire in Gaza Now!

Immediate & Permanent!

                    Stop the Gaza

                        Genocide!

Join the weekly Hilo Peace Vigil every Friday from 3:30 to 5 PM at the downtown Hilo Post Office/Federal Building on Waianuenue Ave.

Call County, State, and Federal elected officials for 1. An immediate and permanent Ceasefire in Gaza; 2. End all US military aid to Israel; 3. Terminate the Hawaii/Israel Strategic partnership signed in Oct. 2022; 4. Stop US Bombing of Yemen, etc.

Call for 1. An immediate end to all bombing and live fire at the military 133,000-acre Pohakuloa Toxic Area (PTA) in the center of Hawaii Island. PTA is contaminated by a wide range of military toxins, including Depleted Uranium (DU) radiation from 75 years of bombing and shelling. These tiny DU oxide particles can be carried long distances in the wind and easily inhaled, causing various cancers, birth defects, and genetic damage. 2. Cancel, not renew, the 23,000 acres of State leased conservation zone land for bombing at PTA. 3. Revoke the presidential executive order signed in 1964 that seized 84,000 acres of Hawaiian crown and government lands at Pohakuloa at zero cost for bombing, 4. Make the military clean up its toxic mess and return the lands to the Hawaiian people.

Bombing a dry, windy area like Pohakuloa is a Lahaina fire in the making! Many fires have been started, and large areas burned, by bombing and shelling at PTA. The extremes of climate change are only adding to the risk of further disasters.

Peace organizing meetings are held on the 2^nd and 4^th Mondays of each month at the Kea’au Community Center from 6 – 8 PM and available by Zoom.

Please spread the word. Mahalo.

Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action

P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760

                              Phone (808) 966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org to receive our posts.

For more information see https:malu-aina.org