FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      Jan. 9, 2009

WHAT:  CODEPINK, Muslim women deliver white roses to Obama's DC hotel, plea for ceasefire
WHEN:  12 p.m. Jan. 9 - TODAY
WHERE:  Begin at 16th and H Streets NW (across from the Hay-Adams Hotel where Obama will be staying)
Speakers: Anisa Abd el Fattah, chairwoman, National Association of Muslim American Women
    Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK co-founder
    Moderated by Gael Murphy, CODEPINK

WASHINGTON -- To plea with President-elect Barack Obama to speak out against Israel's war on Gaza, CODEPINK and Muslim women will deliver a flood of white roses, purchased by concerned citizens nationwide, at 12 p.m. TODAY to Obama's Washington, DC hotel, the Hay-Adams Hotel at 16th and H Streets NW.

They will host a press conference outside the hotel with their message, "Please do not be silent - the children of Gaza need your help," to highlight how one in five of  the 600 Palestinians killed in the attacks of the past 13 days have been children. Speakers at the press conference include Anisa Abd el Fattah, chairwoman, National Association of Muslim American Women, Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK co-founder, Palestinian-American Mary Kate Chaath, and Yusuf Bashir, of Gaza.

This plea to Obama comes at a particularly alarming time, as on Thursday, the Senate passed a resolution to unilaterally support Israel's right to "support" to "defend" itself against Hamas, and the House plans to vote Friday morning. Obama has been made no condemnation of the massacre, nor a call for an immediate ceasefire.

"We must push Obama to show moral leadership and truly be the peace president the American people elected," Benjamin said.

The white rose plea to Obama to speak out harkens back to the White Rose Society — the World War II non-violent resistance group in Germany — a tiny band of college students and their professor adopted the motto "We will not be silent" and exposed what they saw and knew was happening around them.

Following the press conference, the women will gather in front of the White House and march at 1 p.m. to Upper Senate Park on Capitol Hill for a rally from 2 to 4 p.m. The march and rally are organized by the National Association of Muslim American Women.

CODEPINK is also selling white roses through its Web site here for people to send to Obama -- in about three hours, 404 people had purchased these roses. It is also asking its members to contact Obama's transition team at 1-202-540-3000 (x 2) to ask for an immediate ceasefire and massive humanitarian aid to the civilians. CODEPINK will participate in the National March to Stop the U.S./Israeli War on the Palestinian People on Washington at 1 p.m. Saturday, beginning at the White House.

For information about the action, please call Medea Benjamin at 415-235-6517.

CODEPINK, founded in 2002, is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the war in Iraq, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into health care, education and other life-affirming activities. With an emphasis on joy and humor, CODEPINK women and men seek to activate, amplify and inspire a community of peacemakers through creative campaigns and a commitment to non-violence.  For more info, visit www.codepinkalert.org.