Effective Forms of Protest Utilized by Jewish Peace Groups

What type of Protests did they use?

Several peace groups in Seattle didn't protest in the same way as human rights groups did. Instead, groups such as the Seattle Tashkent Sister City group hosted conferences and focused on the commonalities among both groups. This group and other groups such as the War Without War Council also wrote peace letters and focused on forming personal connections.

"Friendships across borders in foreign countries and other languages and other religions and other circumstances is the most important thing to bring peace”-Betsy Bell

1985 and 1987 Protests

Type of Protest: Conferences

The Seattle Tashkent Sister City group got together at the 1985 conference so they could continue to build their relationship without focusing on any political aspects during this time period. The groups also focused on this notion of cultural exchange as they built their friendship on getting to know each other's culture. Seattle mayor at the time, Royer, and other representatives thought that focusing on Soviet Union's authoratative control would possible impede their friendship so they chose to ignore this subject. Thus in the 1987 conference, both groups focused on both cultural exchanges and trade deals. Anything but politics.

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Seattle and Tashkent individuals met at a conference to strengthen their relationship. At conferences like this one, they would discuss trade deals, cultural exchanges, and tend to ignore any political aspects. Both sides feared that discussing politics could harm the relationship between the two cities.

1983 Protest

Type of Protest: Peace Letters

The Target Seattle peace activist group protested the conflict of the U.S. and Soviet Union in a unique way in 1983. They wrote peace letters to the individuals in Tashkent and even went to Tashkent to personally hand out the letters. This protest highlights the importance of the Cold War, which was for both countries to form connections with each other as a way to resolve tension and any preconceived ideas about each other. This protest was a way for Soviet individuals to really see what Americans were like as many only knew what they were like through news outlets.

In addition, Executive Director of War Without War Council Holt Ruffin advocated peace among the U.S. and Soviet Union through writing a letter to the major organization, Sister Cities International. Ruffin thought he could make an impact through this personal action that addressed his concerns on reciprocity and divided family members.

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Executive Director of War Without War Council at the time Holt Ruffin addressed his concerns about installing peace among the U.S. and Soviet Union.

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A member of the Target Seattle Peace Activist group distributed letters in Tashkent. As members handed out letters, they got to personally know many Tashkent individuals.

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In this photo, a child received a letter from the Target Seattle peace activist group. Many Tashkent individuals welcomed the guests and were excited to see their efforts in installing peace.

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A group of Target Seattle women wrote a peace letter and attained 42,000 signatures.

Did Ignoring Politics Maintain the Sister-City Relationship?

Short answer: yes. There are now annual celebrations in which both Seattle and Tashkent individuals embrace their different cultures and most importantly, their long-standing friendship. The pictures shown below are from a recent celebration in 2016, Navrus Celebration. Tashkent and Seattle individuals celebrated their friendship through dancing, food, and music.

However, this is a complex issue. Many groups such as human rights groups were upset that peace groups such as the Seattle-Tashkent sister city group didn't focus on politics. On the other hand, several peace groups thought it was more important to focus on the commonalities among the people in order to make a more direct impact.

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Both Seattle and Tashkent represented their unique cultures through the food served at the event.

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The members of the Seattle Tashkent Sister City Association.

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Both Seattle and Tashkent individuals were able to represent their culture at this celebration. These events provide a platform for both cities to educate each other in their culture!

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Seattle and Tashkent individuals interacted through the different food options present at the event.

How did other Jewish peace groups (not based in Seattle) protest?

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Jewish representatives from D.C. helped put together petitions and distributed them to officials in the Soviet Embassy. This group used a similar approach to the Target Seattle peace group who distributed personal peace letters in Tashkent.

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Although this isn't necessarily a peace group, the Congressional Wives for Soviet Jewry used a very similar tactic as the Target Seattle peace group. They gathered and wrote appeals supporting Soviet Jews and handed this to First Lady Mrs. Carter. This personal connection of meeting Mrs. Carter and advocating for peace was very effective for this group and other peace groups.