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.
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 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” on 16 and 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. For further information, visit http://www.ffipp.org.
The Foundation for Middle East Peace will organize a discussion event with Sari Nusseibeh, President of Al-Quds University, on 26 April 2007 in Washington, D.C. For further information, visit http://www.fmep.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 Palestine Center organized in Washington, D.C. on 27 March 2007 a presentation by Kathy Bergen, Program Coordinator at the Friends International Center in Ramallah, entitled “Israel’s Exclusion of Palestinian Americans from Palestine: Challenges and Opportunities.” Ms. Bergen summarized the issues of entry/re-entry into the Occupied Palestinian Territory and spoke of ways people in the US could become involved in helping to change the Israeli policy that turns Palestinians and internationals away at the points of entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The Palestine Center will hold a briefing by Hanan Ashrawi, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, entitled “Palestine and Peace: The Challenges Ahead,” in Washington D.C. on 24 April 2007. The Center will also organize on 3 May 2007 a briefing by Sara Roy, Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Middle East Studies of Harvard University, entitled “Failing Peace: Gaza and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.” For further information, visit http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/palestinecenter.
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 Council for Arab-British Understanding, in collaboration with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Association of the Palestinian Community in the UK, will hold in London on 23 April 2007 a public meeting with Farouq Kaddoumi, Head of the PLO Political Department, on the latest situation facing the Palestinians. For further information, visit http://www.caabu.org.
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.
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) will hold an annual fundraising dinner in London on 17 May 2007 in support of MAP’s humanitarian and emergency work in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. For further information, visit http://www.map-uk.org.
Oxfam released a report “Poverty in Palestine: the human cost of the financial boycott.” The report is available on Oxfam’s web site at http://www.oxfam.org.uk.
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 Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information has launched the June 5th Initiative for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, aimed at sending “a loud and clear message to the peoples and leaders of the region and around that world that the silent majorities of Israelis and Palestinians accept a peaceful compromise based on the two states for two peoples formula on the basis of the 1967 borders.” For further information, visit http://www.june5thinitiative.org.
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. Sabeel has also announced its International Witness for Justice and Peace Visit to be held from 11 to 20 October 2007. For further information, visit http://www.sabeel.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, contact the Division for Palestinian Rights of the United Nations Secretariat, e-mail: dprngo@un.org.
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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.