No. 12.13 (165)
North America
Adalah – NY: The Coalition for Justice in the Middle East held on 5 April 2008 an event to commemorate Deir Yassin and a presentation by Muhammad Jaradat of Badil and Eitan Bronstein of Zohcrot, in New York City. The event was co-sponsored by Americans Friends Service Committee, Palestinian American Congress, Arab American Muslim Federation and the National Council of Arab Americans. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.adalah-ny.org
Adalah – NY and Palestinian and Arab communities of New York and New Jersey held a demonstration on 16 May 2008 entitled “1948-2008 – 6.8 Million Palestinian Refugees denied a Homeland”, at the Dag Hammarskjöld Park, in New York City. Speakers included: Cynthia Mckinney, Green Party; Rabab Abdulhadi, San Francisco State University; Abdallah Abdallah, former Palestinian representative to Canada; and Phyllis Bennis, Institute of Policy Studies. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@nakbah1948.org or visit the web site: http://www.nakbah1948.org
Americans Friends Service Committeee (AFSC) issued a press release on 15 May informing that the organization has issued on its web site an account of the history in 1948 entitled “60 Years Since 1948: Resources for Education and Reflection”, to promote discussion of the period and its significance. It also includes a video of the national speaking tour “Acknowledging the Past, Imagine the Future: Israelis and Palestinians in 1948 and the Right to Return”, with Muhammad Jaradat of Badil and Eitan Bronstein of Zohcrot. Both speakers spoke to large gatherings across the US about the importance of examining history and providing a vision for the future for Palestinians and Israelis. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.afsc.org/israel-palestine/60years.htm
Alwan for the Arts will screen on 20 May 2008 the first of a series of a six-part documentary entitled “Chronicles of the Refugees ” by Perla Issa, Aseel Mansour and Adam Shapiro, as part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Nakba, in New York City. The first three episodes are historical and informative and the last three parts tackle many issues facing Palestinian refugees. The documentary has been filmed in 15 countries, with more than 250 interviews of Palestinian refugees who lived in 25 countries. For further information, visit the web site: http://adalahny.org
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition will hold a conference from 16 to 19 May 2008. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.al-awda.org
The Bethlehem Association will hold a convention from 31 July to 3 August 2008, at the Hyatt Regency, Orange County. For further information, contact E-Mail: bethconv2008@gmail.com or visit the web site: http://www.bethlehemassoc.org
Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) held its national convention on 13 to 17 April 2008 in Ottawa, Canada. At the convention, CUPW passed resolution 338/339, in support of the global campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions. The organization represents more than 50,000 postal workers across Canada. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.cupw.ca
The Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine (CJPIP), on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel and of the Palestinian Nakba will hold on 18 May 2008 a march and several activities with the presence of Muslims, Jews and Christians and secularists in a call for peace and justice for both Israelis and Palestinians. Special guests include: Sandy Tolan, a award-wining journalist and author of the book “The Lemmon Tree: an Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East”, a true story of two families – one Israeli and one Palestinian – linked by a single house; Mazin Qumsiyeh, a media activist and author of “Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human Rights and Israeli/Palestinian Struggle”; and Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, a cofounder of the Muslim Jewish Peace Walk and member of the board of Jewish Voice for Peace. For further information, contact E-Mail: JustPeace1@aol.com or visit the web site: http://www.cjpip.org
Churches for Middle East Peace issued the report of its conference entitled “Calming the Storm: Middle East Peacemaking in a Turbulent Time” held from 20 to 22 April 2008 in Washington, D.C. The conference was attended by 150 church advocates and clergy from around the country. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@cmep.org or visit the web site: http://www.cmep.org
Friends of Sabeel – North America will hold a conference on 26 and 27 June 2008 entitled “Telling the Truth: Prospects for a Just Peace in Palestine and Israel”, at the International Center, University of San Diego. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.fosna.org
Foundation for Middle East Peace & American Task Force on Palestine will hold a discussion of “Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape” with Raja Shehadeh, founder of Al Haq and author of several books about international law, human rights and the Middle East. His most recent book with the same title won recently the Orwell Prize, Great Britain’s top honour for political writing. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@fmep.org or visit the web site: http://www.fmep.org
Human Rights Watch, Gisha and Physicians for Human Rights –Israel issued a joint letter to President George W. Bush on 12 May 2008 on the situation in Gaza. The letter urges the President to exercise his influence to reverse Israel’s closure policy towards the Gaza Strip, to disassociate the US from that policy, and states that the restrictions constitute collective punishment against the civilian population. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.hrw.org
Institute for Palestine Studies issued its new issue in April 2008 which includes interviews with a French archaeologist, a Swiss museum curator, a Palestinian businessman and curator, and an official of the PA’s Archeological Department, in a new archaeological project in the Gaza Strip. Photos of discoveries from the sites accompany the article. It also features UN economist Raja Khalidi’s article “Sixty Years after the UN Partition Plan Resolution: What Future for the Arab Economy in Israel”, making a case for charting a new course for the Palestinian economy. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.palestine-studies.org
Middle East Policy Council issued in April 2008 the transcript of the fifty-second Capitol Hill Conference Series on Middle East Policy entitled “Hamas and the Two-State Solution: Villain, Victim or Missing Ingredient” by Sherifa Zuhur, Research Professor of Islamic and Regional Studies, Strategic Studies Institute, US College; Ali Abunimah, Palestine Center; Haim Malka, Deputy Director and Fellow, Middle East Program, CSIS: Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, University of Maryland. The event was moderated by Chas W. Freeman, President, Middle East Policy Council. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.mepc.org
The Palestinian American Organization of Rutgers Newark will hold a “Remember the Nakba” dinner fundraiser for the “Adopt a Family in Gaza” Charity, at Rutgers University. For further information, contact E-Mail: manalramadan2023@yahoo.com or visit the web site: http://www.refugeesupport.org
The Palestine Center held a symposium on 15 May 2008 entitled “Palestinians and the Jewish State: 60 Years of Exile and Dispossession”’ by Salman Abu Sitta, Founder and President of Palestine Land Society; Donald Wagner, Professor of Religion and Middle Eastern Studies, North Park University, Illinois; and Nimer Sultany, a SJD candidate at Harvard Law School. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.thejerusalemfund.org
The Rebuilding Alliance issued an action alert in May 2008 regarding the village of Al Aqabah in the Jordan Valley. The Israeli Civil Administration has ordered the demolition of the whole village: the mosque, the medical center, the roads, all the homes, and a kindergarten serving more than 130 children and the only school in the region. Al Aqaba is located far away from settlements and Israeli borders. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.rebuildingalliance.org
Washington Interfaith Alliance for the Middle East Peace (WIAMEP), American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), Sharing Jerusalem, Vineeta Foundation, American Palestinian Women Association (APWA) will hold on 17 May 2008 the “Al-Nakba Commemoration” in Washington D.C. For further information, contact E-Mail: organizing@adc.org or bhennessy@bluecrab.org
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation held from 13 to 15 May 2008 the “Expressions of Nakba Exhibit”, an international exhibit competition and exhibition to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Nakba. The exhibit strives to present the narrative of Palestinians through a diverse range of expressions that interpret collective identity, historic struggle, and emotional experience. The Campaign also issued a press release with a list of events across the US to commemorate the Nakba 60th anniversary. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.endtheoccupation.org
The Campaign and Interfaith Peace Builders will host a delegation to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory from 27 July to 10 August 2008. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.ifpbdel.org/del28/default.html
Europe
Association France-Palestine issued a press release in April 2008 regarding the situation of Palestinian prisoners. According to the press release, there are currently around 11,700 to 12,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.france-palestine.org
The MBI Al Jaber Foundation, in partnership with the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies will hold on 14 and 15 May 2008 a “Conference on Palestine, Britain & Empire” to mark the 60th anniversary of the British withdrawal from the Palestine mandate, at King’s College, London. The conference aims to bring together a range of Arab, Jewish and British perspectives. For further information, visit the web site: http://mbifoundation.com
The Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) announced that The Medical Committee for Palestine held a meeting on 28 and 29 April 2008 entitled “Health and Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories” and “Abuses of Medical Care under Israeli Occupation” with Dr. Ruchama Marton, Founding and President of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR- Israel); Miri Weingarten, Director, Occupied Territories Department; and Havas Ziv, Executive Director. For further information, contact E-Mail: derek.summerfield@slam.nhs.uk or visit the web site: http://www.physiciansforhumanrights.org
140 Christian leaders have made a unified call for a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The declaration was published in The Independent on 9 May 2008. Signatories include: Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Nobel Prize Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, New York Times’s bestselling author of “God’s Politics” Jim Wallis, Evangelicals for Middle East Understading, biblical scholars Walter Brueggemann and Gary Burge, Oxford Professor Christopher Rowland, the Primate of Anglican Church in Australia Brian McLaren, as well as several bishops, professors, authors, aid agency representatives and ministers across denominations and several countries. Joint Declaration launched by Christian leaders on Israel’s 60th Anniversary (including complete list of signatories) http://justpeace60.blogspot.com/ The Declaration launched in 'The Independent'
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/letters/letters-no-middle-east-peace-without-respect-history-822749.html?service=Print
Asia and Pacific
Australian Friends of Palestine, Women for Palestine and Australians for Palestine have been running a campaign in May 2008 to get endorsements for letters for the Prime Minister of Australia, the opposition leader in the Australian Parliament, and members of the Parliament in both Houses. The campaign seeks an acknowledgement of the 60 years of Palestinian struggle. The organizations also mounted a campaign by taking up advertisements in major newspapers on 15 May. For further information, contact E-Mail: sonjakarkar@womenforpalestine.org or visit the web sites: http://www.1948.com.au or
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem.
Al-Haq, Al-Mezan for Human Rights, Al Dameer Association for Human Rights –Gaza, Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, Hamoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual, Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Yesh Din: Volunteers for Human Rights issued an urgent call on 29 April 2008 on the systematic dismantling of Gaza’s vital systems by preventing the residents of Gaza from obtaining fuel to generate electricity, power hospitals, run hospitals, pump water and sewage, and provide for basic social and economic needs. For further information, contact E-Mail: sari@gisha.org or visit the web site: http://www.gisha.org
Al-Haq issued on 15 May 2008 a position paper on the rights of the Palestinian refugees and displaced persons under international law. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.alhaq.org
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights issued a press release on 14 May 2008 entitled “Sixty Years of Nakba …IOF Crimes Continue in OPT Amid International Silence”. According to the Organization since September 2000, the IOF has destroyed 7,652 homes leaving 25,855 Palestinians homeless, as well as 33,273 dunums of agricultural land, 377 public facilities, 898 privately owned industrial and commercial establishments. In addition, 3,123 Palestinians have been killed, including 615 children, and since the start of 2008, 332 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip alone. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@mezan.org or mezan@palnet.com or visit the web site: http://www.mezan.org
Alternative Tours organizes tours in the Occupied Palestinian Territory within area “C” under Israeli military control for Israelis and internationals. The tours include Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nablus, back roads to Ramallah, Hebron, Central West Bank. All tours are conducted in cooperation with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), the Alternative Tourism Group, Holy Land Trust, Siraj Center and Dikkun. Palestinian and Israeli guides conduct the tours. For further information, contact E-Mail: fred@schlomka.com
Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights and the Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign issued in May 2008 a calendar of events across the Occupied Palestinian Territory entitled “Nakba Commemoration -10 May 2008”. An estimated 1,500 people, from villages and towns across the Hebron district participated in a demonstration. In the Aida camp in Bethlehem over 700 people participated in another demonstration, which featured the unveiling of the world’s largest key. Over 20,000 people gathered in Nazareth and marched to the destroyed and depopulated town of Saffuriyya and held a festival of speeches, poetry, dance and music. For further information, contact E-Mail; mediaenglish@badil.org or global@stopthewall.org or visit the web site: http://www.badil.org
Badil issued a press release in May 2008 informing about the release of its “Info-Packet and Resources for Nakba-60 Campaign” and the relaunching of its Nakba-60 Resource web site, that includes a list of global events commemorating the Nakba. The info-packet includes fact-sheets providing a historical and legal background to the Palestinian refugee issue, and a question and answer titled “What you need to know about the Palestinian Refugees and IDPs”. It also includes a map describing the distribution of the Palestinian refugees across the world.
Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT) issued a press release on 10 May 2008 informing that CPT, Save the Children UK, Defence for Children International, the YMCA, Relief International, UNICEF, UNOCHA and other human rights organizations met in Hebron on 8 May 2008 to help Hebron’s orphans and students. The representatives selected a core group of Palestinian and international organizations to halt the Israeli attack against the Islamic Charitable Society orphanages and schools. According to the organizations, since issuing closure and confiscation orders against the ICS on 26 February 2008, the Israeli army raided its central warehouse, shut the gates of the Al-Huda girls’ school, raided bakeries that provided bread to orphanages and the sewing workshops in the orphanage. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.cpt.org
Defense for Children International –Palestine Section, Al –Haq, Badil, The Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations (PNGO), Addameer, Women’s Studies Centre, Jerusalem Legal Aid, Applied Research Institute (ARIJ), Palestinian Network of Children’s Rights, Heath Work Committees, Palestinian Medical Relief Society, YMCA – Beit Sahour, OPGAI, Union of Social Workers and Psychologists issued on 24 April 2008 a “NGO Statement on Closure of Islamic Charities in Hebron”. The organization expressed concern over the recent Israeli military orders closing and transferring ownership of property owned by the Islamic Charitable Society in the so-called H1 area which is under the full control of the Palestinian Authority. The property target includes residential units, two orphanages, several shops and two clinics. The statement was endorsed by the Network of Christian Organizations – Bethlehem (NCOB). For further information, visit the web site: http://dci-pal.org
Defense for Children International (DCI/PS) and Save the Children issued in May 2008 the quarterly Child Rights Monitor which provides information on the rights of Palestinian Children affected by the armed conflict in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. All information is drawn from UN agencies and NGO sources. For further information, contact E-Mail: isabelle@dci-pal.org or visit the web site: http://www.dci-pal.org or http://www.childrightsmonitor.org
DCI issued a press release in April 2008 announcing a groundbreaking decision to challenge the Israeli Military Court system, and is publishing a report which reveals that over 6,000 Palestinian children have been arrested by Israel since the beginning of the Intifadah in September 2000. Lawyers working for Palestinian Governmental organizations and NGOs, in consultation with prisoners, have adopted a landmark agreement which will change the way they engage with the Israel Military Court system and should result in greater respect for detainees and political rights. The press release states that in 2007, there were between 310 and 416 Palestinian children held in Israeli prisons and detention centers. As of December 2007, there were 311 Palestinian children held in Israeli detention. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.dci-pal.org
DCI issued a press release on 14 May 2008 entitled “Use of Torture on 17-year-boy by Israeli security service”. The press release condemns the arrest of the parents of the boy to coerce a confession.
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel issued in April 2008 a report entitled “Family Matters, Using Family Members to Pressure Detainees Under GSS Interrogation”, describing tailing several cases over the past year of the use of family members of Palestinian detainees in order to apply psychological pressure to elicit confession from suspects. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.stoptorture.org.il
Friends International Center in Ramallah held a lecture on 14 May entitled “The Economics of Occupation and the Business of Development: A Critical Look at Economics, Business and Palestinian Rights”, by Sam Bahour, a Palestinian-American businessman and a Managing Partner of Applied Information Management (AIM); and Shir Hever, economic researcher in the Alternative Information Center (AIC). For further information, contact E-Mail: ficr@aplnet.com
Ir Amim issued a press release in April 2008 with an article by Amos Gil at the Ynet website entitled “Creating Arab entity in East Jerusalem only way to make it a city of peace”. The article demonstrated that since the Annapolis conference, Israeli construction in East Jerusalem has expanded. A total of 9,617 new residential units are in various phases of approval. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.ir-amim.org.il
Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) will hold a presentation on 2 June 2008 entitled “What if the Peace Process Fails”? by Dan Schueftan, Senior Fellow, The National Security Studies Center, Haifa University; and Sufyan Aby Zayda, Former PA Minister of Prisoner Affairs, in Jerusalem. For further information, contact E-Mail: riman@ipcri.org
Nakba Survivors held on 11 May 2008 a “Silent March in the Western Neighborhoods of Jerusalem to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Nakba”, in Jerusalem. For further information, contact E-Mail: nakbasurvivors@gmail.com
Palestine Festival of Literature was held from 7 to 11 May 2008 with the presence of the several international writers including: Mourid Barghouti, Victoria Brittain, William Darymple, Esther Freud, David Hare, Nathalie Handal, Ian Jack, Brigid Keenan, and Andrew O’Hagan, in Ramallah and Jerusalem. The events are supported by several local and international organizations. For further information, contact E-Mail; info@yabous.org
Peace Now issued in May 2008 its “Settlement in Focus” with a question and answer report regarding settlements blocs with maps by Lara Friedman, Americans for Peace Now; and Hagit Ofran of Peace Now – Israel. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.peacenow.org
Right to Enter Campaign representatives met on 17 April 2008 with Quartet Middle East Representative Tony Blair to discuss the obstacles that foreign passport holders encounter when they seek to enter or reside in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and their likely impact on the Quartet’s efforts to revive Palestinian economic life. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@righttoenter.ps or visit the web site: http://www.RightToEnter.org
The Third Annual Conference on Nonviolent Popular Struggle will take place from 4 to 6 June 2008 in Bil’in, Jerusalem and the southern West Bank. At the occasion, there will be a video message from former South African President Nelson Mandela. The opening session will be addressed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Luisa Morgantini of the European Parliament. For further information, contact the Bil’in Friends of Freedom and Justice Society, E-Mail: majdarmajdar@yahoo.com or ffi.bilin@yahoo.com or visit the web site: http://www.bilin-village.org
This Week in Palestine published a series of articles in its May issue on the Nakba. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/index.php
The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will hold the United Nations International Meeting on the Question of Palestine on 3 and 4 June 2008, at the Dolmen Hotel, in Qawra, Malta. The theme of the Meeting is “Advancing the peace process – Challenges facing the parties”. Its objective is to foster greater support by the international community for the creation of a climate conducive to the advancement of the permanent status negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. In three plenary sessions, participants will discuss the impact of the settlement construction on the current political process and the need for the parties to meet Road Map commitments, as well as the effects of the construction of the wall in the Occupied West Bank, and the importance of finding a solution to the question of Jerusalem. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.un.org/dpts/dpa/ngo/index.html
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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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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.