Al-Awda - The Palestine Right to Return Coalition will hold its Fifth Annual International Convention entitled “Uniting for Return” at the University of California from 25 to 27 May 2007. For further information, visit http://www.al-awda.org.
Americans for Peace Now sent on 29 March an action alert “American Engagement with Palestinians is a Must.” For further information, visit http://www.peacenow.org.
Brit Tzedek v’Shalom - The Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace is conducting the “Let’s Talk” campaign aimed at urging the US Administration to urgently promote and facilitate talks between Israel and Palestinians.
Brit Tzedek v’Shalom will organize its “Second National Grassroots Leadership Training Institute, Building our Political Movement for Israeli-Palestinian Peace” from 16 to 17 June 2007 in Washington, D.C. Brit Tzedek will also organize the “Third Annual National Advocacy Days” on 18 and 19 June 2007, which will begin with a day of political briefings and trainings on the Capitol Hill from policy experts and government officials, followed by an evening reception with Members of Congress. For further information, visit http://www.btvshalom.org.
Churches for Middle East Peace will organize a Middle East Peace Advocacy Conference entitled “For the Peace of Jerusalem” in Washington, D.C. from 6 to 8 May 2007. The conference will focus on US policy and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with speakers, workshops, advocacy preparation and a day of lobbying elected officials. For further information, visit http://www.cmep.org.
Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (FFIPP) will send its next international delegation of faculty and students to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory from 6 to 17 July 2007. FFIPP is also organizing the “2007 Summer Student Internship for Peace and Justice in Palestine/Israel.” For further information, visit http://www.ffipp.org.
Friends of Sabeel - North America is organizing a two-week fact-finding trip to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory from 12 to 26 May 2007. For further information, visit http://www.fosna.org.
Jewish Voice for Peace will hold a national conference entitled “Pursuing Justice in Israel/Palestine, Changing Minds, Challenging US Policy” in Oakland, California, from 26 to 29 April 2007. For further information, visit http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org.
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and United for Peace and Justice are sponsoring a two-day mobilization in Washington, D.C. on 10 and 11 June 2007 to protest the 40th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory. The event will include a rally, teach-ins and grassroots lobbying. For further information, visit http://www.endtheoccupation.org.
Europe
The Enough! coalition is organising a major national demonstration and rally to take place in London on 9 June 2007 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Israeli occupation, under the slogan “The World Says No to Israeli Occupation.” For further information, visit http://www.enoughoccupation.org.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is launching an international, inter-church advocacy initiative for peace in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the “Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum,” at a conference to be held in Jordan from 17 to 21 June 2007. For further information, visit http://www.oikoumene.org.
Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem
The Bil’in Popular Committee will hold the Second Annual Conference from 18 to 20 April 2007 in the village of Bil’in, west of Ramallah, to extend the popular non-violent struggle across the Occupied Palestinian Territory and offer Israelis and internationals an opportunity to join their Palestinian partners in spreading non-violent resistance to injustice suffered by Palestinians: land confiscation, home demolitions, checkpoints, and imprisonment behind the wall. The speakers will include: Dr. Azmi Bishara, Knesset member; Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Irish Nobel Peace Prize recipient; Dr. Ilan Pappe, author; Luisa Morgantini, Italian member of the European Parliament; Stéphane Hessel, former French Ambassador; Jean-Claude Lefort, French parliament member; Amira Haas, author and journalist, Ha’aretz; Sam Bahour, Palestinian activist and entrepreneur; and the representatives of the Bil’in Popular Committee. For further information, visit http://www.bilin-village.org.
The Palestinian Network for Children’s Rights will organize the Palestinian Child Week from 5 to 13 April, on the occasion of the Palestinian Child Day - 5 April. For further information, visit http://www.dci-pal.org.
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) - Israel conducted a tour and a medical day in the Old City of Hebron on 10 March 2007, in solidarity with the Palestinian inhabitants of the city and its medical community. PHR - Israel also organized a mobile clinic in the Palestinian town of Tamoun in the Jordan Valley on 17 March. For further information, visit http://www.phr.org.il.
The Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center will hold its second International Young Adult Conference, entitled “40 Years in the Wilderness: 40 Years of Occupation,” from 19 to 29 July 2007. For further information, visit http://www.sabeel.org.
Palestinian human rights organizations submitted a joint letter on 24 March to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the occasion of his visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, calling on him to clearly condemn “ever increasing breaches of international law” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. For further information, visit http://www.alhaq.org.
United Nations
The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will hold the United Nations African Meeting on the Question of Palestine in Pretoria, South Africa, on 9 and 10 May 2007, under the theme “Achieving the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people - the key to Israeli-Palestinian peace.” The Meeting will be followed on 11 May by a Public Forum in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace. Invitations to civil society organizations will be sent in due course. For further information, visit the web site of the Division for Palestinian Rights of the United Nations Secretariat at http://www.un.org/depts/dpa/ngo.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.