NGO Actions News
March 2008 No. 7,8,9 (163)
North America
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is organizing from 25 March to 7 April 2008 the US “Nakba – 60” speaking tour of Muhammad Jaradat of Badil; and Eitan Bronstein of Zochrot. For further information, contact E-Mail: AHorowitz@afsc.org or visit the web site: http://www.afsc.org/israel-palestine/badilzochrottourorganizers.html or http://afsc.org/israel-palestine/acknowledging_the_past.htm.
International Crisis Group issued a new report on 19 March 2008 entitled “Ruling Palestine I: Gaza Under Hamas”. The report analyses the situation in the Gaza Strip today and explores the options facing Israel, the Palestinians and the international community. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.crisisgroup.org
Rabbis for Human Rights North America issued a press release on 13 March 2008 informing about the arrest of Rabbi Arik Aschermann, who is involved in protecting the Palestinian residents of Silwan. The organization says in the press release that the State of Israel has given full responsibility and control over the archaeological sites in Silwan to Elad, an association dedicated to the Judaization of Silwan. For further information, contact E-Mail: brainwalt@rhr-na.org
United States Institute of Peace announced in March 2008 the publication of ‘Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace: American Leadership in the Middle East”, an evaluation of the past three presidencies. The book is the product of the Institute’s Group on Arab-Israeli Peacemaking, which brings together: William Quandt, University of Virginia; Steven Spiegel, UCLA; and Shibley Telhami, University of Maryland and Brookings Institute. The Institute organized a presentation of the book by Ambassador Daniel C.Kuertzer, former US Ambassador to Israel and Egypt and currently the S. Daniel Abraham Chair in the Middle East Policy Studies at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University; and Scott Lasensky, Acting Vice-President and Senior Research Associate, Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.usop.org
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is soliciting entries for a commemoration of the Nakba through personal expressions in the form of visual arts, essays, poetry, music, video and digital media. “Expressions of Al-Nakba” is an international competition which seeks to present the narrative of dispossessed people through a diverse range of expressions that interpret the collective identity and emotional experience of the Nakba for Palestinians. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.endtheoccupation.org
The Campaign started a campaign of sending postcards to Motorola, asking its CEO to live up to its own claims of corporate responsibility and stop profiting from Israel’s occupation and human rights violations. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.endtheoccupation.org
Europe
Association Belgo-Palestinienne held a demonstration on 4 March 2008 against the siege in Gaza. For further information, contact E-Mail: abp.eccp@skynet.be
Association Iceland-Palestina held a demonstration on 5 March 2008 to protest against the siege of Gaza. For further information, contact E-Mail: srh@heima.is or visit the web site: http://www.palestina.is
Care International, Christian Aid, Trocaire, CAFOD, Save the Children, Oxfam, Médecins du Monde issued in March 2008 a report entitled “The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion”. The report illustrates the gravity of the current situation in Gaza across key sectors. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.scrib.com or http://www.oxfam.uk.org
Christian Aid issued two press releases in March 2008: one condemning the recent escalation of violence in Gaza; and the other entitled “Gaza’s failing health”, describing how the deteriorating access to health care is deepening the humanitarian crisis. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.christianaid.org.uk
French Platform is launching a national mobilization campaign entitled “Paix comme Palestine”. On 17 May 2008, it will be a day of conferences, debates and concerts with the presence of artists, personalities, politicians, Israelis, Palestinians and Europeans. For further information, contact E-Mail: pfpalest@club-internet.fr or visit the web site: http://www.plateformepalestine.org
Oxfam International issued a press release on 3 March entitled “Oxfam International warnes of dire humanitarian situation consequences of a full scale military incursion into Gaza”. “The organization is concerned about the high number of civilians killed in the current Israeli military incursion. A large military attack on the densely populated Gaza Strip will worsen already unacceptable levels of civilian casualties”. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.oxfam.org
World Council of Churches (WCC) issued in March 2008 a statement condemning the indiscriminate attack on civilians in the Gaza Strip and in Israel, killing more than 110 Palestinians and three Israelis. The WCC Central Council invited church members to join in a week of International Church Action for Peace from 4 to 10 June 2008. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.oikouemene.org
Latin America
Movimento Palestina para Todos (MoPat) held a demonstration on 14 March in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in support of the population in Gaza. For further information, contact E-Mail: aeclem@hotmail.com or visit the web site: http://www.palestinalivre.org
Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem
Al-Haq released on its web site a 47-minute documentary entitled “In the Spider’s web” directed by Hannah Musleh. The film highlights the implications of the continuing construction of the wall, the further expropriation of Palestinian land, the impact that collective punishment has on the whole civilian population, and takes the audience to a girl’s school in Hebron, where it shows a typical day in the lives of the students. For further information, visit the web site:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMlRn-L4xa4
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi-2yUQv5fs
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVHyAVL44CQ
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMlRn-L4xa4
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKwwJb9lSLk
Al-Haq issued a press release in March 2008 informing that the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), of which Al-Haq is an affiliate, concluded a second high level mission to the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. The organization held a press conference in Ramallah to present the preliminary findings of the ICJ visit to the West Bank. For further information, contact E-Mail: media@alhaq.org or visit the web site: http://www.alhaq.org or http://www.icj.org
Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights issued the report on IOF’s Operation Warm Winter in the Gaza Strip 27 February – 3 March 2008. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.mezan.org
B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories issued in March two press releases: one entitled “Contrary of Israel’s Chief of Staff, at least half of those killed in Gaza did not take part in the fighting”; and the other entitled “High Court to discuss prohibition on Palestinian use of Route 443”. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.btselem.org
Campaign for the Right to Enter the Occupied Palestinian Territory wrote an open letter to the Special Representative of the Quartet Tony Blair regarding the Israeli policy of turning back visitors to the Occupied Palestinian Territory and prohibiting tens of thousands of Palestinians holding foreign citizenship, as well as internationals, from residing and working in the Territory. The letter points out to the Special Representative how can his office promote “the building of Palestinian capacity and institutions of governance” while Israel continues to obstruct Palestinian efforts to tap their human resources abroad, and how can a new reality be built by donor money alone. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@righttoenter.ps or visit the web site: http://www.RighToEnter.ps
Coalition for Jerusalem, Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO), General Union of Palestinian Women, Prisoners Families Committee in Jerusalem, Palestinian Professional Associations, National and Religions Institutions in Jerusalem issued a letter in March 2008 to the International Red Cross in Jerusalem demanding an immediate action to halt Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip. For further information, contact E-Mail: pcc@palnet.com
The General Union of Palestinian Women, Women’s Associations and Centers and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs sent on 8 March 2008 an open letter to the UN Secretary-General on the occasion of Women’s Day. The letter calls upon the UN to honor Palestinian women by ending an immediate end to their suffering inflicted by the Israeli occupation. For further information, contact E-Mail: rima_tarazi@hotmail.com
Israeli Palestinian Research and Information Center (IPCRI) will hold presentations in April 2008: one entitled “After Bali, Global Warming in Israel & Palestine”, with Dani Rabinowits, Chairman of the Board, Life & Environment (Chaim v’Sviva) Environmental Umbrella Organization; and Nader Al-Khatib, General Director, Water and Environmental Development Organization. The second one entitled “Culture of Peace in the Negotiating Process: Challenges and Opportunities, by Danny Bar-Tal, Professor of Psychology at the School of Education, Tel-Aviv University, and Ibrahim Bisharat, Chair of ADEL, The Arab Institute of Democracy and Conflict Resolution. For further information, contact E-Mail: david.kellen@ipcri.org
Transparency Palestine - The Coalition for Integrity and Accountability (AMAN) has initiated a campaign to mobilize the 70 branches of Transparency International across the world to organize a world wide campaign against the siege of Gaza. The organization published a report entitled “Besieged and in Darkness Gaza, Calls for Help, Save Gaza … Save Peace”. For further information, contact E-Mail: Ghada@aman-palestine.org or visit the web site: http://www.aman-palestine.org
The Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) issued a press release in March 2008 entitled “Rehabilitation of Destroyed Agricultural Lands of Farmers”, describing the current situation and damages in the farmers’ cultivable lands, assets and properties in the Gaza Strip, where there is no supplies for the agricultural sector. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.pal-arc.org
Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) sent in February 2008 a letter to the Director-General of UNESCO Koichiro Matsuura, by Gabi Baramky and Carmela Armanios Omary, founding members of PACBI. The letter tells the Secretary-General of Israel’s continuous abuses against Palestinian history and heritage, describing the several religious sites destroyed by Israel; and the unethical and illegal use of architecture and archaeology to reinvent the place’s history, as documented in several ground-breaking studies by Israeli scientists. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.pacbi.org
The Palestinian Investment Conference (PIC) will take place from 21 to 23 May 2008 in Bethlehem. The conference serves as an introduction to investment opportunities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory for the Palestinian Diaspora, the Arab business community and other regional and international investors. It was inspired by the international donor community’s December 2007 commitment to a comprehensive three-year development and rehabilitation plan. Building on this foundation, the Palestinian private and public sectors have joined together to showcase the diverse investment opportunities available. The following organizations have already committed as partners of the event: The Palestine Development and Investment Company (PADICO), The Palestine Contractors Company (CCC), The Palestinian Telecommunications Group (PALTEL), Arab Bank, The Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC), The Arab Islamic Bank, UK Department for International Development (DFID). For further information, contact E-Mail: info@pic-palestine.ps or visit the web site: http://www.pic-palestine.ps
Peace Now issued an article published on the Baltimore Sun on 28 February 2008 entitled “Still Building – despite Israel’s claims of a freeze on settlements new homes – and tensions continue to rise” by Hagit Ofran, Settlement Watch Director. The article describes the different meanings of freezing. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.peacenow.org
Physicians for Human Rights – Israel issued a press release in February 2008 entitled “Awaiting Death – The Story of K, Denied Redress by the Israeli High Court; and other two press releases in March: “Four Deaths: Whose Security”; and Palestinian Health Care in Gaza on Brink of Collapse; patients and injured denied access to medical care”. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.phr.org.il
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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:
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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.