Nonviolent education and action

against war and occupation in Iraq and Palestine

for justice and universal human rights

Since July, 2003, the Wheels of Justice tour has brought its witness of war and occupation to more than forty states. Traveling by Biodiesel-powered school bus, the WoJ has carried its message of peace more than 30,000 miles across the United States.

Having seen and lived with war, terror, and occupation in Iraq and Palestine, participants in the Wheels of Justice tour offer first-hand experience irrespective of partisan politics and media sound bites.

Our tour does many things, but its primary focus is education. Not everyone has the option to witness unfolding events thousands of miles away; not everyone has the means or time to find first-hand stories of life under occupation and war. We are a resource. Offering these perspectives to your campus, class, or school community is the way we can be most effective.

School Programming

We find younger students to be very curious about basic things—what Palestinians and Iraqis look like, what they think of Americans, etc. We often illustrate this by bringing in first-hand stories of visits with Iraqi and Palestinian students, artwork, artifacts and poetry from young people in the region. We draw similarities between needs and interests of children here and there, highlighting points of interest that close the distance between our two worlds.

For high school and college students, we frame our presentation thus: eyewitness to war and occupation tapered to the particular class and are happy to engage students at any level of studies (undergrad, graduate, etc).

At high schools, we often speak to assemblies, show slides/videos or powerpoint, and visit classrooms. An effective presentation lasts about 90 minutes: 30 minutes on Palestine, 30 minutes on Iraq, and 30 minutes for question-and-answer interaction with your students. This can be tailored to your schedule.

For classroom visits (college, university, or junior high-high school), we serve as a launch pad for student-led discussion and questions; typically we give brief testimony that provokes discussion and debate moderated by the professor (but often led by the students), especially to suit the course material (religious studies, political science, int’l studies, history, etc). We are a primary source; our witness may is a current events supplement and applicable reality to accompany the course material. Either going to the classroom or having classes visit us in a reserved room is the norm, but we are flexible.

We hope to be a valuable resource to your school, classroom, or campus and look forward to visiting you and your students. Please have a look at our programming background on the next page.