June - July 2008
No. 14, 15,16 (166)
North America
Brit Tzedek v’Shalom – Jewish Alliance for Justice & Peace held its 2008 Grassroots Leadership Training Institute and National Advocacy Days from 21 to 24 June 2208, in Washington D.C. Yossi Beilin, member of the Knesset, delivered the keynote address. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@btvshalom.org or visit the web site: http://www/btvshalom.org
Foundation for Middle East Peace, Americans for Peace Now, Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, Churches for Middle East Peace, Israeli Policy Forum & Middle East Institute held a presentation in June 2008 entitled “Conceiving Two States: Possibilities for an Israeli-Palestinian Agreement in 2008 and Beyond” by Yossi Beilin. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@fmep.org or visit the web site: http://www.fmep.org
Foundation for Middle East Peace, Americans for Peace Now, American Task Force on Palestine, Churches for Middle East Peace, Arab American Institute, Israel Policy Forum, and Brit Tzedek v’Shalom issued a press release on 15 July 2008 entitled “Travel Rights for Gazans to Study Abroad”. The organizations sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Israel’s new policy of altering a total ban on Gazans student travel by allowing a few dozen with recognized scholarships from friendly countries to study abroad, while hundreds of other students who have been admitted to foreign universities who do not fit this category were still trapped in Gaza.
Institute for Palestine Studies has created a special online resource to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Nakba entitled “1948: Sixty Years On…”
with articles on the 1961“Plan Dalet” Master Plan for the Conquest of Palestine”, and a memoir by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser about his own participation as an officer in the 1948 war. Articles also include eyewitness accounts of the fall of Lydia, the conquest of Nazareth, the Tantura episode, and the capture of other towns. In the sections of “Exodus and Refugees” articles by historians Walid Khalid, Ilan Pappe and others analyze factors of the exodus. For further information, contact E-Mail: pcostic@palestine-studies.org or visit the web site: http://www.palestine-studies.org
International Crisis Group issued in July 2008 a report entitled “Ruling Palestine II: The West Bank Model?” The report measures progress in the West Bank one year after Prime Minister Salam Fayyad became prime minister. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.crisisgroup.org
Jewish Voice for Peace - Chicago held in June 2008 a presentation entitled “The Frog and the Goat: The Success of Israeli Colonialism” by journalist Amira Haas, at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The event was co-sponsored by American Friends Friendship Committee, Arab Jewish Partnership for Peace and Justice in the Middle East, Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine, Jane Adams Hull-House Museum, Neighbours for Peace, Palestine Solidarity Group and Students for Justice in Palestine UIC. For further information, lynnpollack@ameritech.net
The Palestine Center held on 28 May 2008 a briefing and book signing of “Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation”, by Saree Maksidi, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, UCLA. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@palestinecenter.org or visit the web site: http://www.thejerusalemfund.org
Palestine Center held a briefing on 2 July 2008 entitled “The Urgent Need to End the Occupation” by Hanan Awwad, founder of the Palestine section of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@palestinecenter.org or visit the web site: http://www.thejerusalemfund.org
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation will hold from 25 to 28 July 2008 its 7th Annual National Organizer’s Conference. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.endtheoccupation.org
Sabeel – The Voice of Palestinian Christians will hold a conference from 25 to 27 September 2008 entitled “Peace, Palestine and US Policy 1948-2008”, at the First Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Michigan. Speakers include: Pulitzer Prize Winner Chris Hedges, historian Ilan Pappe, authors Joel Kovel, Susan Nathan, Naim Ateek, Don Wagner and John Quigley. For further information, visit the web sites: http://www.fosna.org or http://www.sabeel.org
Europe
Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), Amnesty International & WW. Norton held on 8 July 2008 a presentation and discussion of the book “Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation” by Saree Makdisi. The book reveals, through statistics and daily reports, how the peace process has institutionalized Palestinians’ loss of control over their lives. For further information, contact E-Mail: markakisd@caabu.org or visit the web site: http://www.caabu.org
The International Jewish Solidarity Network (IJSN) will hold an event in solidarity with the 60 years of Palestinian resistance, at the Trinity United Reformed Church, London. Speakers include: Professor Moshe Machover; Daniel Machover, lawyer, working to indict Israeli army officers for war crimes; Sue Blakwell, Birmingham University and others. For further information, contact E-Mail: uk@ijsn.net or visit the web site: http://www.ijsn.net
Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) held in June 2008 a fundraising event entitled “Palestinian Student Night”, for a project aimed at sending an underprivileged student to the An Najah University in Nablus. IPSC also held a benefit concert for Gaza; and a national demonstration entitled “Nakba: 60 Years of Dispossession”. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@ipsc.ie or visit the web site: http://www.supportpalestine.org
Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) issued in June 2008 a fact sheet about the Jordan Valley and posted a new article by Ben White on the subject on its website. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@palestinecampaign.org or visit the web site: http://www.palestinecampaign.org
PSC announced the screening in June for the film “Battle for Jerusalem”, followed discussion with Professor Avi Shlaim and Karma Nabulsi, Oxford University. The event was organized by Another Israel, PSC and Jews for Justice for Palestinians, supported by National Union of Teachers. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.anotherisrael.org.uk
PSC also announced in July 2008 the screening of the film “Gaza Strip” by James Longley organized by Jews for Justice for Palestinians. Profits of the event will be sent to the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (www.gcmhp.net). For further information, visit the web site: http://www.llittleredbutton.com/gaza
Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) issued a report in June 2008 entitled “Gaza: Facts of Gross Humanity”. According to the report the total number of Gazans killed since the beginning of 2008 stands at 420, including 62 children and 16 women. Additionally, 372 dunums of land were razed and 15 houses have been destroyed. For further information, contact E-Mail: khalil@prc.org.uk or visit the web site: http://www.tinyurl.com/6cy368
The Peace Cycle is organizing a tour in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory from 14 to 31 August 2008. The initiative aims to raise funds to sponsor a mobile Medical Aid for Palestinians mobile health clinic in the West Bank. After the ride, participants will join the Peace Cycle Campaign to Europe from 7 to 9 September in Brussels and meet EU representatives. For further information, contact E-Mail: cyclists@peacecycle.com or visit the web site: http://www.cosmos.ucc.ie or http://www.thepeacecycle.com
Trocaire hosted on 15 May 2008 several events commemorating the Nakba, in Dublin and Belfast. For further information, contact E-Mail: emurray@trocaire.ie
The Edinburgh Festival will present in August 2008 the art installation “The Nakba Project - The Journey of the Soul” by Scottish artist Jane Frere. The installation comprises thousands of tiny figures in a state of suspension symbolizing the Palestinian refugees. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.returnofthesoul.wordpress.com
Asia and Pacific
Women for Palestine issued a press release regarding the settlement of Ofra, one of the earliest Israeli communities in the northern West Bank, established on the lands of the Palestinian villages of Ein Yabroud and Silwad, where 85% of the land is Palestinian owned. In a pioneering court case, Yesh Din and B’Tselem are asking the Supreme Court to grant an order to demolish homes being built on Palestinian land in the West Bank. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.australiansforpalestine.com or http://tinyurl.com
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem
Al-Haq issued a press release on 9 July 2008 entitled “The Case of Al-Nu’man Village: Israel’s High Court of Justice Legitimizes the Treat of Indirect Forcible Transfer”. The Israeli Court of Justice issued its decision brought by Al-Haq and Defense for Children International – Palestine Section and the residents of Al-Nu’man. Al-Haq also issued another press release in July entitled “Seeking Justice Abroad: Bil’in Village Council Submits Case before Canadian Court Against Canadian Corporations Settlement Construction”. The defendants are Canadian corporations involved in construction, marketing and selling residential units in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, on the land of the village of Bil’in. The organization issued a press release on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on the wall, calling all Third State Parties to create as well as act upon existing domestic legislation that will open their jurisdictions to provide fair and balanced access to justice for Palestinians in their domestic courts.
The village of Bil’in announced on 8 July 2008 that it has commenced legal proceedings in Canada against two Canadian companies that are illegally constructing residential and other buildings on land under the municipal jurisdiction of the village and are also marketing and selling condominium units. For further information, contact E-Mail: michael@jurists.co.il or mark.arnold@gmalaw.ca or visit the web site: http://www.bilin-village.org
Al-Haq held in June 2008 the screening of the documentary “Memory of the Cactus”. The film addresses the story of the destruction the Palestinian villages of ‘Imwas, Yalo and Beit Nouba in the West Bank, the transfer of their civilian population in 1967, and subsequent creation of the “Canada Park” by the Israeli Government. For further information, contact E-Mail: rabie@alhaq.org of visit the web site: http://www.alhaq.org
The Alternative Information Center in cooperation with eight Palestinian organizations from the Hebron municipality and Hebron civil society hosted in June 2008 a book and cultural exhibition. For further information, contact E-Mail: bryan@alt-info.org
Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) issued a report in June 2008 entitled “Jerusalem 2008”, focusing on the social gaps and discrimination suffered by East Jerusalem’s Palestinians. Findings indicate that “discrimination in planning and construction, requisitioning of land and minimal investment in infrastructure and services which create a vicious circle of neglect, discrimination, poverty and deprivation”. The report also states that 76 % of Palestinian families, compared to 21% of Jewish families, live below the poverty line; 39% of Jewish children and 77% of Palestinian children live below the poverty line in the city. More than one third of the land in East Jerusalem, which had previously belonged to Palestinians has been requisitioned by the Israeli Government and over 50,000 homes have been built on this land. East Jerusalem lacks 70 kilometres of sewage piping, and 66% of Palestinian homes are not properly connected to the water system. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.acri.org.il or http://www.nif.org
Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights & The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) announced on 20 June 2008 the results of the proceedings before the UN Human Rights Council Complaints Procedure, regarding the petition “1503” by members of the Palestinian communities of Kaft Bir’im, a village at the Lebanese border, removed from their land in 1948, and Arab-Subeih, a Bedouin community in the Naqab/Negev whose land had been progressively seized by Israeli authorities over a number of decades. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@badil.org or visit the web site: http://www.badil.org
Badil issued a press release informing about the Peace Cycle Petition to suspend the EU-Trace Agreement to be delivered personally to the members of the European Parliament at a special campaign event in Brussels on 9 September 2008. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.thepeacecycle.com
Badil issued a press release in June about the recent initiative of Doha Children Cultural Center: The Right of Return International Arts Festival that took place from 29 to 31 May at Bethlehem University, with Palestinian folkloric dance, song and theatre. The Cultural Center is a socio-cultural, educational organization founded in 2001 to provide educational, cultural and psychological support to the children and women of Al-Doha. Approximately half of the population of Al-Doha are between the ages of 6-18. For more information about the Center contact E-Mail: dccc_pal@hotmail.com, or visit the web site: http://www.dohachildren.org
Badil informed on 9 July 2008 that the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) launched the Global BDS Movement Website. The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) is a wide coalition of the largest Palestinian organizations, trade union, and networks. BNC is calling the EU to reverse the decision taken by the EU Association Council on 16 June to upgrade the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The call is supported by 100 European organizations. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.bdsmovement.net
B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories issued a press release on 1 July 2008 entitled “Grave Water Shortage in the West Bank”. The press release notes that the unfair distribution of water resources shared by Palestinians and Israel will be very serious this summer because of this year’s drought, and water stored from rainfall had already been used. The high rate of unemployment and poverty in the West Bank has made water purchases an economic burden for a substantial portion of the population. Israel allocates for Palestinians only 20% of the water from the Mountain Aquifer and prevents the PWA to develop additional water resources.
B’Tselem has also issued two press releases in June: “Video” Testimonies by Israeli and Palestinians victims of torture”; “Soldier assaults B’Tselem worker filming settler violence, takes the cassette”. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.btselem.org
B’Tselem issued a press release on 9 July entitled “Israel has dismantled no section of the Barrier nullified by High Court. The press release says” “Four years after the Hague advisory opinion, the separation wall has not been moved in any of the sections that were built and later nullified by the Israeli High Court of Justice.
The Campaign for the Right of Entry/Re-Entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territory issued a press release on 16 July 2008 entitled “Israel’s Arbitrary and Discriminatory Practices for Entry into OPT”. The Campaign has highlighted Israel’s continued practice of denying entry to foreign nationals, especially of Palestinian descent, who are trying to reach the Occupied Palestinian Territory. At the press conference before the Palestine Investment Conference in Bethlehem this year, the Campaign brought this issue to the attention of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and US Consul General Jake Walles. The organization has recorded the denials of entry to investors, parents, children, spouses, physicians, instructors and clergy. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@righttoenter.ps or visit the web site: http://www.RighToEnter.ps
The Civic Coalition for Defending the Palestinians’ Rights in Jerusalem issued a press release in June 2008 announcing the demolition of 7 houses in Jerusalem in May. Since January 2008 home demolition has remained a high rate, varying between 5 and 12 homes a month. In Beit Hanina alone, 12 families numbering over 75 families are currently living under the threat of demolition orders. According to the organization, the Jerusalem Master Plan 2000, which sets the Israeli strategic plan for Jerusalem until 2020, has the objective of keeping the Palestinian population at no more than 30% of the land. The Civic Coalition is launching an international campaign entitled Stop the Expulsion of Palestinians from Jerusalem. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@ccdprj.ps or visit the web site: http://www.ccdprj.ps
The Coalition also issued in June 2008 a report about child victims of aggression in Jerusalem, in commemoration of the UN International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.
COHRE Center of Housing Projets issued a press release on 15 July 2008 on house demolitions in East Jerusalem. The organization is concerned by recent statements by high ranking Israeli officials that the demolition of homes of the families of suspected terrorists is East Jerusalem is permissible by law. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.cohre.org/opt
Cohre issued in June 2008 a report entitled “Hostage to Politics: The Impact of the Siege on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation in Gaza”.
Defense for Children International (DCI/PS) send a press release on 16 June 2008 expressing concern over the EU-Israel Association Council. A letter signed by DCI, Addameer, Al-Haq, and Al-Mezan, was sent to several EU officials highlighting Israel’s recent violations of children’s right to live. The press release states that as of 11 June 2008, 79 children had been killed by the Israeli army since the beginning of 2008 in military operations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Operation “Warm Winter” alone resulted in the deaths of 33 children in the space of five days, between 27 February and 3 March. DCI issued another press release in June entitled “Israeli Military continues to torture Palestinian children”, regarding the torture of a 10 year-old boy. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.dci-ps.org
DCI issued a press release in July 2008 entitled “Israel continues to build illegal wall in defiance of ICJ ruling”. On July 9, the Israeli High Court held down its decision in the petition brought by DCI and Al Haq on behalf of the residents of the West Bank village of Al-Nu’man. The majority of its residents have West Bank ID’s but have been cut off by the wall which surrounds them on three sides and illegally incorporates the village into the Jerusalem municipality, where they are prohibited to visit. Movement of goods and people is severely restricted by the wall and impedes the rights of Palestinians to travel, work, access health and education services and visit family. For further information about the Nu’man case visit the Al-Haq web site: http://www.alhaq.org
Diyar Center opened Dar al-Balad in June 2008 to encourage a revitalization of life in the old city in Beit Sahour, Palestinian heritage through art and cuisine, and creation of jobs. The Center is an effort for people who moved out of the old city, because of the financial situation, to reopen their business. For further information, contact E-Mail: diyar@annadwa.org
Gisha issued a press release on 18 June 2008 informing about the results of a public opinion in Israel toward the year-long closure of Gaza. The poll was commissioned by Gisha together with its partner organization Physicians for Human Rights-Israel. The poll showed that Israelis believed that goals of the year-long closure of the Gaza Strip – blocking the movement of goods and people are political, and the closure was ineffective in achieving those political goals. 79% of Israelis believe that the closure primarily affects the civilian population in Gaza and causes hardships in the daily lives of its residents. For further information, contact E-Mail: sari@gisha.org or visit the web site: http://www.gisha.org
Gisha published a report in June 2008 entitled “Held Back: Students Trapped in Gaza”. The report is part of the organization’s campaign to change the policy banning Palestinian students from studying abroad and to call attention of the year-long closure of Gaza. Gisha also issued a press release on 17 July 2008 expressing its continued concern over hundreds of students in Gaza from reaching their studies abroad. Gisha provides a link to a power point presentation highlighting the problem. The press release also points out that six weeks later very little has changed and only a handful of students with prestigious scholarships, have been permitted to reach their universities abroad.
The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) announced its annual Summer Rebuilding Work Camp from 15 to 28 July 2008. This year, the home of the Elyyan family in the village of Anata, near Jerusalem, will be rebuilt. For further information, contact E-Mail: angela@icahd.org or visit the web site: http://www.
Ir Amin and Keshev issued in June 2008 a report covering six major Israeli newspapers and main television broadcasts of the Jerusalem issue, based on three months of coverage before and after the Annapolis summit. Based on the analysis of all media coverage during the period, the organization discovered patterns to characterize the Israeli media’s treatment of the issue of Jerusalem. For the report, visit the web site: http://www.ir-amin.org.il
Ir Amin conducted a poll in June 2008: Forty-one years following the unification of Jerusalem, 78% of Israeli citizens believe that Jerusalem is divided; and while the Government of Israel continues to create unilateral facts on the ground in Jerusalem, 65% of the Israel public favour a political accord in the city. The organization also organized a conference in June entitled “Between Jerusalem and Annapolis”.
The Israeli Committee for the Right of Residency (ICRR) issued a press release in June 2008 regarding the petition on people with foreign passports being denied entry and re-entry into the Occupied Palestinian Territory. For further information, contact E-Mail: adi7_1@netvision.net.il or visit the web site: http://www.petiononline.com/entryOPT/petition.html
Jewish Peace News informed in June 2008 about the Mahsanmilin project dedicated to witnessing and conveying routine manifestations of Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank, through various media. Several Israeli women lead the project regularly standing witness at military checkpoints, recording, photographing and speaking with Palestinians in various events. JPN is dedicated among other things to disseminate information about significant alternative sources. For further information, visit the web sites: http://www.mahsanmilim.com or http://www.jewishpeacenews.blogsopt.com
Laity Committee in the Holy Land issued a press release on 19 June 2008 entitled “Israel is Deporting Jerusalem Christians”. The press release states that hundreds of Jerusalem Christians are loosing residency rights due to policies of the Israeli Ministry of Interior to reduce the number of non-Jews in the city. Seven years of being out of Jerusalem was the deadline for losing one’s rights to live in his/her own city. In addition, other regulations are also applied like the freezing of law of family reunion to impossible requirements for building in the city. According to the organization, Palestinian Christians who make today not more than 9,000, would loose an additional 15% of their population as a result of this policy. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@holylandchristians.com
The Palestine Festival of Literature, a project of Engaged Events, a UK charity, held in May 2008 a presentation entitled “The Power of Culture vs the Culture of Power”, with the presence of 17 world renowned writers. Patrons include: Nobel Prize winners Chinua Achebe, Harold Pinter, Seamus Heaney, and Booker Prize winner John Berger and Mahmoud Darwish. Partners included: The British Council, A.M.Qattan Foundation, Bethlehem University, Birzeit University, and Ford Foundation, Arab Fund for the Arts and Culture and UNESCO. For further information, contact E-Mail: palfestinfo@gmail.com or fionam@fmcm.co.uk or carolmichel@hotmail.com or visit the web site: http://www.palestinefitfest.org
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) issued in July 2008 a report on “Extra-judicial Execution of Palestinians”, covering the period from 1 August 2006 to 30 June 2008. The report cited that since the beginning of the intifada, Israel committed 348 raids killing 754 Palestinians, constituting 20% of the total number of Palestinians killed during the intifada. These victims include 521 intended targets and 233 civilian bystanders, among them 71 children and 20 women. The West Bank victims were 350 that included 273 targeted persons and 76 bystanders; and in the Gaza Strip, the victims number 405 that included 157 bystanders and 248 targets. For further information, contact E-Mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org or visit the web site: http://www.pchrgaza.org
PCHR issued a press release on 8 July 2008 condemning IOF measures against Nablus charities, as arbitrary measures that constitute collective punishment. The press release states that an order has been signed to close a large number of associations and charities and confiscate their property using a pretext, especially since the targeted organizations provide humanitarian assistance to needy Palestinian families during times of increased poverty.
Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) issued in June a report entitled “Family Matters, Using Family Members to Pressure Detainees”. The report details a sampling of six cases involving exploitation of family members, and reveals that torture, both psychological and physical, continues even after the Israeli High Court of Justice ruling of 1999. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.stoptorture.org
Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) issued a press release in June 2008 expressing concern over the archaeological digs carried out at the East Jerusalem Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan. A petition has been circulated addressed to the Israel Antiquities Authority asking whether the excavations are being conducted according to professional ethics and standards, and why Elad, a non-professional organization, has effective control over the excavations. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@rhr.israel.net visit the web site of Israeli archaeologists: http://www.alt-arch.org or http://www.rhr.israel.net
Rabbis for Human Rights issued a press release on 15 July 2008 entitled “Urgent: Prevent Expulsion Tonight/Tomorrow”. The press release states that the Al-Kurd family is to be expelled within 24 hours from the home they have lived in since 1956. The court’s decision will threaten all of the 27 families living the Sheikh Jarrakh area of East Jerusalem, and sets a precedence to justify further settler incursions in the neighbourhood. In 1999 a Jewish group took over part of the home. In 2007, the court determined that the Jewish residents in the Al-Kurd home had to leave the house.
Women’s Organization for Political Prisoners (WOFPP) issued in July 2008 its newsletter informing that there are at present 90 women political prisoners, and describing their conditions in Israel jails. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@wofpp.org or visit the web site: http://www.wofpp.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NGO Action News is a bi-weekly newsletter issued by the Division for Palestinian Rights of the United Nations Secretariat and intended to provide information on worldwide NGO activities relevant to the question of Palestine. Organizations interested in sharing information about their activities through this newsletter may contact the Division for Palestinian Rights at:
United Nations Headquarters Phone: (212) 963-1550
Room S-3350 Fax: (212) 963-4199
New York, NY 10017 E-mail: dprngo@un.org
Please be advised that the final decision with regard to selecting material for inclusion in the newsletter rests with the Division for Palestinian Rights. The Division cannot take responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided to it by contributing organizations.