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PORTSIDE CULTURE

LIBBY FRANK PRESENTE! – MEET THIS EXTRAORDINARY ACTIVIST FOR MIDDLE
EAST PEACE IN A NEW BOOK!  
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Marilyn Albert
April 29, 2024
Portside
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_ Jewish activists who support the cause of the Palestinians will
take particular interest in her growth from a girl who grew up in a
traditional Jewish family, active in the young Zionist movement, to a
fierce fighter for peace in the Middle East.... _

Kate Butler Books,

 

Leading American Middle East peace activist Libby Frank and member of
the Committees of Correspondence passed away in December at age 95.

I knew Libby for decades, as she was one of my parents’ oldest
friends, going back to their youth in anti-racism and Left movements
in Cleveland, Ohio.

Life of Libby: Chasing Peace & Justice with Humor, Guts, & Passion
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By Libby Frank and Heather Shafter
Kate Butler Books; 210 pages
March 12, 2024
Paperback:  $14.99
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1962407292
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1962407298
back cover - Kate Butler Books
 

So I was happy to see the new book, “Life of Libby: Chasing Peace
and Justice with Humor, Guts, and Passion”, published just after
Libby’s passing. This inspiring memoir was co-written by one of
Libby’s  younger co-workers, Heather Shafter.

Jewish activists who support the cause of the Palestinians will take
particular interest in Libby’s narrative of her growth from a girl
who grew up in a traditional Jewish family, active in the young
Zionist movement in the 1940s and 50s, to a fierce fighter for peace
in the Middle East and true freedom for the Palestinians.

Part 2 of the book is titled, “Zionist to Peace Delegate”. In it
Libby tells of her involvement during the 1940s in various Zionist
groups of young people, explaining why she and others were attracted
to Zionism at that time.  In 1947 she was involved in planning a
conference called the Palestine Youth Conference, which was intended
for Jewish youth.  A workshop at the conference was titled, “Arabs
Live There Too”. Libby was proud to be promoting this consciousness
at a time when Palestine was talked about as a “land without
people” by Zionists.

In the 1970s Libby started working full time in the anti-Vietnam war
movement.  It was during this period that she was hearing from some
activists, “It’s not good what Israel is doing.”

As director of the local Peace Center, Libby immediately said,
“Let’s have a public meeting about it.”  The meeting took place
with longtime pacifist and anti-war leader Dave Dellinger as the
featured speaker. It was controversial and some people walked out.

Later as a longtime activist in the Women’s International League for
Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Libby asked to be on the WILPF Middle East
Committee. But there was no such committee, so Libby started one.  In
1974, she organized support for Yasser Arafat’s appearance at the
United Nations, amid Jewish organizations’ opposition to him.
Shortly thereafter, as she became more involved in the struggle for
peace in the Middle East, she met a Palestinian for the first time.

From that point in 1974, for the next 50 years, Libby Frank was a
leader in the fight for peace in the Middle East, always focusing on
the role of the United States in funding Israel’s policies against
 the Palestinians. It was largely through personal contact with
Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese, Israelis, and many others through her
participation in international delegations that Libby’s positions
supporting Palestinian liberation and achieving lasting peace evolved
to the same viewpoints we see in groups like Jewish Voice for Peace
and the militant student movement now growing on American college
campuses.

Other aspects of Libby’s life – her suggesting to Pete Seeger to
change the words to “If I Had a Hammer” , raising two children
while being a full time activist, gently fighting male supremacy in
the movement whenever she came across it, and a marriage based on
equality and common commitment with Dr. Mort Frank, who passed away
shortly before Libby did – all enrich this book and make it worth
buying and reading.

* Middle East Peace
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* Israel-Palestine
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* Activism
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* socialism
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* CCDS
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* Committees of Correspondence
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* Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism
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* Anti-Zionism
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* peace movement
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* Jewish peace movement
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* Anti-Vietnam War movement
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* U.S. history
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* WILPF
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* American Jewish community
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