wfn.org | AFSC: Gideon Spiro Will Speak in U.S.

[RByler@afsc.org]

For Immediate Release
January 8, 1997
Photo available/Speaking schedule attached
Contact:  J.Ron Byler (215/241-7060)
or Aishah Shahidah Simmons (215/241-7056)

Gideon Spiro, Israeli Anti-nuclear Activist, Will Speak in U.S.

PHILADELPHIA – Gideon Spiro, a leader for peace and disarmament in the
Middle East, will speak in nine cities in the United States, February 1 to
March 1, 1997, including Tucson, Phoenix, Santa Cruz  (N.M.), Seattle,
Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Ann Arbor (Mich.), Atlanta and Boston.
Spiro’s speaking tour is jointly organized by the U.S. Campaign to Free
Mordechai Vanunu and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). 
	While in the U.S., Gideon Spiro will meet with U.S. policy makers and
citizens’ groups to discuss what can be done to rid the Middle East of
nuclear weapons and eliminate the threat of nuclear war there.  Spiro will
also work to expand the constituency base in this country for the U.S.
Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu. 
	Mordechai Vanunu, 42, has been held in solitary confinement in Israel for
more than ten years for telling a British newspaper about Israel’s secret
nuclear weapons program, where he once worked as a technician.  Kidnapped by
Israeli agents and returned to Israel in 1986, he was charged with espionage
and treason, convicted, and sentenced to 18 years in prison.  Now suffering
severe strain from his prolonged isolation, he is the subject of a worldwide
campaign for his release.  His supporters include Amnesty International, the
Federation of American Scientists, and the Jewish and Episcopal peace
fellowships.  
        Gideon Spiro has been at the forefront of the campaign to free
Mordechai Vanunu.  Spiro criticizes the U.S. government’s position by
asking, "How do you suppose the U.S. would have reacted if Saddam Hussein
had done this to an Iraqi for exposing Iraq’s nuclear weapons program?"
        In addition to his work with the Israeli Committee for Mordechai
Vanunu, Spiro has been active in many peace organizations in Israel,
including the Israeli Committee for a Middle East Free of Atomic, Biological
and Chemical Weapons, "Yesh Gvul" (reserve soldiers refusing to serve in
Lebanon and the occupied territories) and the Committee Against the War in
Lebanon, and has participated in various international peace and disarmament
meetings and conferences.
	Having lived in Jerusalem since childhood, Spiro was a paratrooper in the
Israeli army during several wars.  He worked as a journalist in Israel and
abroad, serving as U.S. and United Nations correspondent for the Israeli
press.  As a senior civil servant in the Ministry of Education, he was
dismissed after refusing to serve in the Lebanon war.  He continues as a
columnist in various Israeli newspapers.
        For more information about Gideon Spiro’s speaking tour, contact
Kathy Bergen, national peace education coordinator for the AFSC Middle East
program, at 215/241-7019.
-- 30 --
The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization which
includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace
and humanitarian service.  Its work is based on the Quaker belief in the
worth of every person, and faith in the power of love to overcome violence
and injustice.
 
Speaking Schedule for Gideon Spiro in the United States
February 1-March 1, 1997

    Date and Location				Contact Person

February 1-2				Felice Cohen-Joppa (520) 323-8697
Phoenix				Kitty Ufford-Chase (520) 623-9141 (AFSC)

February 3-4				Scott Kennedy (408) 426-8716
Santa Cruz, NM

February 6-7				Elwyn Clements (206) 632-0500
Seattle					

February 9-10				Kathy Bergen (215) 241-7019
Philadelphia				Bob Smith (610) 544-1818

February 11-19			Sam Day (608) 257-4764
Washington, D.C.

February 21				Betsy Barlow (313) 747-4142
Ann Arbor, MI

February 23-25			Ilise Cohen (404) 586-0460
Atlanta

February 27-March 1			Joseph Gerson (617) 661-6130
Cambridge/Boston

The above speaking tour for Gideon Spiro is jointly organized by the U.S.
Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu and the American Friends Service Committee.
J.Ron Byler
Director of Media Relations
American Friends Service Committee
PH: 215/241-7060
FAX: 215/241-7275
E-MAIL: RByler@afsc.org
http://www.afsc.org