FW: Stellenbosch "Bethlehem" protest rally press release

[Lynn T]

PRESS ALERT: Allan Boesak, Breyten Breytenbach, Terry Crawford-Browne expected at Stellenbosch University “Bethlehem” Protest Rally   Monday, 5 March 2012   Media are invited to a protest march, rally and handover of the “Bethlehem Call” today (05 March) at 13h00 at Stellenbosch University. The protest march starts at the Faculty of Arts building (corner of Merriman and Ryneveld Street) and ends at the main gate of the 150-year old Faculty of Theology building (171 Dorp Street.)   The rally is organized by students from Stellenbosch University (several of them are members of Kairos Southern Africa) as part of the nationwide Israeli Apartheid Week initiative. Speakers include Professor Allan Boesak, author Terry Crawford-Browne and Reverend Edwin Arrison.   Students, academics, members of the Rector’s management team and patrons of the Woordfees are expected to participate. As part of the rally, students will also stage an installation of an Israeli military “checkpoint”, similar to those found in the West Bank, Palestine.   Both an Afrikaans and English copy of the “Bethlehem Call” will be handed over to the Beyers Naudé Centre for Public Theology (BNC). The “Bethlehem Call” was issued in December 2011 by indigenous Palestinian Christians together with members from over 15 countries. The Bethlehem Call is an appeal to Christians worldwide to take a stand against the illegalities of the Israeli Occupation. It has recently been translated into Afrikaans by the resident Stellenbosch author, Marthie Momberg.   The purpose of the rally is to sensitise and conscientise people about the injustices in Palestine/Israel, and to foster critical dialogue on campus about the issue. Local student organizer, Christel Erasmus has said of the initiative:   “We focus on an injustice issue in a far away context, Israel/Palestine, because we see so much of the atrocities of the South African apartheid system being practiced afresh in that part of the world.”   ISSUED BY KAIROS SOUTHERN AFRICA CONTACTS: Deon Scharneck:      +27(0) 781033530,         deonsch...@gmail.com Christel Erasmus :    +27(0) 83 2547554,       1545...@sun.ac.za Marthie Momberg:  +27(0) 832907742,         mom...@sun.ac.za Rev. Edwin Arrison:  +27(0) 847351835,        earri...@telkomsa.net   MORE INFORMATION: Kairos Palestine and The Bethlehem Call: www.kairospalestine.ps Afrikaans: www.litnet.co.za/Article/kairos-vir-palestina-en-postapartheid-suid-afrika