I Saw it in Palestine

An Open Letter to Michael Moore: Please Ask Oprah to visit Palestine

Hi Michael! My name is Joy Ellison and I'm a long time fan. When you came to Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, before the release on Bowling for Columbine, I was in the audience. That night you said something that I still remember clearly.

You said that all of us like to believe that if we were in Nazi Germany, we would have been brave enough to hide the people targeted by Hilter's death machine - romaine gypsies, people with disabilities, communists, gay people, and Jews. You said that today we had another opportunity to speak up for justice by speaking out about the situation in Palestine.

I took your words to heart. I currently work in the West Bank with an organization called Christian Peacemaker Teams. CPT accompanies Palestinian children on their way to school, because even these kids are the targets of violence under the Israeli military occupation of Palestine.

I'm writing you today because I recently learned that you will be on the Oprah Show. Congratulations! I also understand that Oprah has been invited by Elie Wiesel to visit Israel on a "solidarity" visit. I want to beg you, Michael, to ask Oprah to reconsider her decision to visit Israel. Right now, the Palestinian people need leading public figures to carefully consider all of the facts before choosing to stand in "solidarity" with one side over the other.

I realize that Oprah is unlikely to cancel her trip to Israel. Please, ask her to include a visit to Bethlehem or another community in the West Bank. I've been working with two other organizations called Open Bethlehem and the Holy Land Trust that I know would be happy to host her in the city of Jesus' birth. In fact, CPT itself has asked Oprah to come and visit us in the village of At-Tuwani. I know that many other Palestinian and international organizations have written Oprah asking her to visit them. Palestine wants Oprah! Tell her that we all say "Ahlan wa Sahlan!" Welcome to Palestine!

Thank you, Michael, for all of the work that you do. I hope that you will be able to speak to Oprah about this important issue.

Sincerely,
Joy Ellison
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To write your own letter to Michael, send an email to mike@michaelmoore.com I think that several hundred letters to Michael might make a difference!