Protest Henry Kissinger!
When: April 24, 2014 5:30 p.m.
Where: Central Synagogue, 652 Lexington Ave. @ 55 St., New York, NY
Near E, M, 6, 4, 5, N, Q, R, B, D, 1 subway stops & cross town buses via 57th or 50th

Join ETAN and other organizations in protesting Henry Kissinger's appearance at the Central Synagogue as he shares "his candid perspective on Israel, current challenges in the Middle East, and his more than 60 years as a policymaker and trusted advisor in matters of foreign affairs."

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School of Americas Watch: Message to April 25, 2014 Kissinger Protest

From School of the Americas Watch we bring greetings of solidarity to you all. We also commend you on your decision to not remain silent and your decision to stand up to injustices that continue to occur today. There is a war criminal coming to the Central Synagogue. For what reason, we ask? Don't we remember what Kissinger did as Secretary of State under President Nixon and President Ford, not only in Latin America, but in Southeast Asia?

Time and again, it seems as though many people in this country - public officials and citizens alike - continue to suffer from what appears to be a collective amnesia about the history of the United States and the devastating impact US foreign policy has had on Latin America. Do we remember Allende's Chile? What about Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay, where Operation Condor decimated social and political movements in collusion with the some of most brutal dictatorships South America has ever seen? We remember, and we stand with you to help others remember as well. To never forget is a duty we all have.

At a time when our brothers and sisters in Latin America are holding war criminals accountable for human rights violations committed in the past - many of whom are graduates of the School of the Americas (now renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation), and continues to be a flagship military training school for Latin American soldiers, funded through our tax dollars - we in the United States must begin to do the same and demand accountability as well. Without truth and memory, there is no justice. Without justice, we will continue to fail on our political and ethical demand of NEVER AGAIN!, NUNCA MAS!

Henry Kissinger’s human rights record in Latin America is abysmal. We remember that Kissinger was responsible for promoting and fomenting the September 11, 1973 coup against democratically elected Chilean President Salvador Allende. We remember that he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize just one month after this nefarious coup - the other 9/11. We remember that graduates of the School of the Americas have comprised 1 out of every 7 members of the command staff of DINA, the notorious Chilean intelligence agency responsible for many of the worst human rights atrocities during the Pinochet years. We remember that in 2003, declassified documents revealed that U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and high ranking U.S. officials gave their full support to the Argentine military junta and urged them to hurry up and finish the dirty war before the U.S. Congress could cut military aid to Argentina, thus giving the "green light" to the 1976-83 military junta as they disappeared 30,000 of their own people. Given the backdrop of Kissinger's remarks, it is important to note that 1,500 Jews were killed by the junta; Jews were 2.5 times more likely to be killed and twice as likely to be raped in military prisons. Yes. We remember.

The only place he should stand to speak is before a tribunal and prosecuted so that we too, can begin to demand accountability and to call for justice. Your presence at the Central Synagogue sends a clear message that we will not tolerate impunity any longer. Let’s continue to remember, and continue to struggle for peace and justice always.

Salvador Allende, Presente! Orlando Letelier, Presente! Ronni Moffit, Presente! Victor Jara, Presente! The more than 50,000 murdered, the more than 30,000 disappeared, countless tortured, and the hundreds of thousands of political prisoners under Operation Condor in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, Presente!