Dear Sendamessage customer, Three years on and 1,489 messages covering a distance of 9.5 kilometres, the Sendamessage project is coming to an end. We are closing the shop on 1st October 2010. However, all orders received before this date will be sprayed and delivered. So if you know anyone that might find this a cool idea, or anyone who'd be grateful for the tip, tell them to visit www.sendamessage.nl before 1st October 2010. We would like to thank you as a customer for your support, trust and for the inspiration you gave us. You made a miracle happen. The Wall project was listed by Time Magazine as ‘most influential graffiti art'. Through the media, the project and the Palestinians trapped behind the Wall, reached an audience of over 550 million. We will always remember this story: Caspar from Holland is celebrating his honeymoon in Indonesia. Sitting next to him is his wife, to whom he proposed with a message on the Wall, and they are watching a clip about the Wall project on an international news channel. Then, as the camera zooms in, it points directly at Caspar's marriage proposal on the Wall in Palestine. Finally, thanks again for giving Palestinians new hope by showing them they have not been forgotten. That message certainly came through. Justus van Oel, Ben Melis, Pete Mulder, Anna Bartak (Sendamessage Holland) Faris Arouri, Yusef Njim, and supporting members of PFF (Bir Zeit, Palestine) PS. If you want to send us a message, other then ordering, before 1st October 2010, send a mail to info@sendamessage.nl. After that we'll be very busy with our new project.
Palestine Justice Network – PJN
1) Educate yourself via reliable books. For example books by Ilan Pappe (Ethnic Ceansing of Palestine), Edward Said (The Question of Palestine).
2) Educate yourself and track current information and key historical data via websites (and disseminate it). For example look into http://www.imemc.org/, http://electronicintifada.net/, http://english.aljazeera.net/, Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem, Palestine Remembered, and similar websites.
3) Educate yourself by visiting Palestine and writing about it. There are many organizations doing tours that inspire. Examples Siraj Center, Alternative Tourism Group, Holy Land Trust, Global Exchange, Birthright Unplugged, ISM etc
4) Practice using clear and unambiguous vocabulary including language to protest apartheid and colonization. See for example developing anti-partheid framework for the struggle (PDF File): http://www.endtheoccupation.org/downloads/AAF%20curriculum%20training%20.pdf
5) Challenge media bias by first educating yourself and others about its existence and the extent of the bias. See for example http://ifamericansknew.org/
6) Write to the mainstream media. You can do letters to the editor (usually 200 words) and/or opinion pieces (700-900 words).
7) Start your own group or join an existing organization that works for justice. Simply search/google your city with the word Palestine to identify candidates.
8) Join the International Solidarity Movement
9) Develop close working relationship with progressive parties and groups in your country.
10) Network and enhance groups working on sanctions and suspension of US aid to Israel. e.g. Suspend US Aid to Israel Now
11) Lobby. This is done individually or by supporting/joining one or more od the many groups doing it, e.g. Council for the National Interest, Citizens For Fair Legislation, American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine, and American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights (http://www.aaper.org/).
12) Hold a teach-in, seminar, or public dialogue. This is straightforward: you need to decide venue, speakers, and do publicity. This can be facilitated through such groups as Palestine Media Watch which have speakers bureaus.
13) Send direct aid and support for people on the ground through transparent and trustworthy groups.
14) Use youtube and googlevideo to disseminate information
15) Challenge Israel in local and International courts.If you are a lawyer, donate your time and start some networking and initiate cases (e.g. US congress is violating US laws by sending money to Israel, US Citizens can bring cases against foreign governments that harmed them). Groups with great interest and activism on behalf of Palestinians includes Lawyers Without Border, National Lawyers Guild, Al-Haq, Yesh Din, and Adalah – Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.
16) Help coalitions work for Palestine and insist they do not leave this issue; example is http://CTUnitedforPeace.org.
17) If you work in a group, suggest formation of local or national coalitions to increase the power by association.
18) Join the campaigns for economic boycotts. For example see successful examples here: http://www.qumsiyeh.org/boycottsanddivestment/
19) Join or initiate a campaign for cultural and academic boycott; see also http://pacbi.org/.
20) Host an art exhibit or other art performance (music, dabka etc) that highlight the rich Palestinian culture.
21) Engage in civil disobedience actions to draw attention and change policies.
22) Develop campaigns to support the right to enter: see http://www.righttoenter.ps
Israel Takes Aim At Palestinian Families By Ida Audeh
http://www.countercurrents.org/audeh110907.htm
23) Facilitate a visit by the Wheels of Justice bus tour to your area (in the US) or create a bus like that (e.g. in Europe). See justicewheels.org
24) Donate to aid Palestinian Children. For example, Palestine Children Relief Fund, and Playgrounds for Palestine
25) Develop campaigns to ban Political Junkets to Israel.
Here is an example “In a challenge to one of the most powerful lobbying tactics used by the Jewish community, a county in Maryland decided last week that local legislators could no longer go on sponsored trips to Israel. http://www.forward.com/articles/11553/
26) Support the campaigns to end the siege on Gaza. See http://www.freegaza.org/
27) Work in your country against discrimination
Arabs Against Discrimination: http://www.aad-online.org/
American Arabs Anti-Discrimination Committee http://
28) Support Human Rights:
Human Rights Watch: http://hrw.org/doc/?t=mideast&c=isrlpa
B’Tselem:The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories http://www.btselem.org
29) Support the Right to Education Campaign:
http://right2edu.birzeit.edu/
30) Donate to United Nations Relief and Works Agency: http://www.un.org/unrwa/
31) Work against home demolistions:
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions: http://www.icahd.org/eng
32) Support empowering Youth from Palestine e.g. see http://www.yfppal.com/ and http://www.alrowwad-acts.ps
33) Write to and work with alternative mass media (like DemocracyNow, Public Access TV).
34) Create your own content and post it to the web
35) Utilize social networking sites to reach a mass audience (e.g. facebook,
36) Go into chat rooms, email discussions etc and spread the word.
37) Buy Palestinian Products, for example from www.palestineonlinestore.com, www.canaanfairtrade.com, www.palestinefairtrade.org.
38) Pray for Peace and Justice or if you are not religious, take time out to think and meditate on what can be done to achieve Peace with Justice
39) Make a podcast or public service announcement and spread it
40) Drop a banner from a traffic bridge or any other publicly visible location
41) Put out an information table in a university student center, public gathering, festivals, or other places where people congregate.
42) Host a fundraising party or dinner at your home.
43) Show a documentary in a public setting and then have a discussion about it.
44) Organize a public debate between those who support Zionism and those who support equality and justice
45) Learn Arabic or if you are an Arab learn another language (including Hebrew) so that you can communicate better
46) Make a street theater
45) Engage in Civil disobedience acts (this may entail getting arrested).
46) Reach out to Christian religious leaders and ask them to act based on the Kairos Palestine document http://www.kairospalestine.ps
47) Challenge the Zionist attempts to doctor Wikipedia (ie. imposing a Zionist distorted version on this free web encyclopedia).
48) Start a genuine interfaith dialogue based on acting for justice rather than chatting to hide injustice.
49) Find a way not to pay taxes to governments that violate human rights and use your taxes for war and oppression.
50) Host a dinner with Arabic food and show people the rich cultural traditions like embroidered dresses that go back to Canaanitic times.
Write to us to remind us of other ways to act.
(list initiated by Mazin Qumsiyeh, George Rishmawi and others at the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People).
Copyright © 2010 Palestine Justice Network – PJN.
Lets Set Sail to GAZA on “The Audacity of Hope”
Saturday August 28, 2010 7:00 – 9:30 PM
Speakers, Food, Music
The Potter’s House 1658 Columbia Road NW Washington, DC 20009
202-232-5483
Contact: Alice Azzouzi – 703-862-3622
Dear Friends,
This is an important moment in history. In the aftermath of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla massacre and increased world-wide scrutiny of Israel’s blockade of Gaza, the Israeli government has mounted a huge public relations campaign spreading the lie that by letting a few more items into Gaza the blockade has been lifted.
This is not the reality. Gaza is still under siege, vital building materials and other supplies are banned, exports of goods from Gaza are denied and neither ships nor people can travel without permission from Israel, permission which Israel will not give. Gaza is essentially an open-air prison under a U.S.-backed Israeli blockade.
We are planning to launch a U.S. boat to Gaza, joining a flotilla of ships from Europe, Canada, India, South Africa and parts of the Middle East due to set sail in September/ October of this year. In order to succeed in this essential but costly human rights project, we need significant financial support. Citizens around the world have responded to the plight of the Palestinian people and are taking action to help break the blockade which is suffocating the lives of the people of Gaza and denying them their liberty.
The U.S. government is complicit through established policies that uncritically support Israel in its brutal attack on the Palestinian people and on those who attempt to intervene on their behalf. We in the United States must continue to step up and do our part. We must join with others from across the world to support an end to the collective punishment of 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza. We turn to you to help make the U.S. boat, The Audacity of Hope, a reality.
The cost is $ 370,000, of which we have raised $ 150,000 so far. We must raise at least $ 200,000 in the next month. These funds will be used to purchase a boat large enough for 40-60 people, secure a crew, and cover the licensing and registering of the boat. In addition, the funds will subsidize some other costs of sending a U.S. delegation. We can make this happen together. For example, with 370 people giving $1,000, or with 3,700 people giving $100, we will have raised our full amount. We have already received donations ranging from $10 to $10,000. So, give what you can and give generously.
From the deck of The Audacity of Hope, we will be in a powerful and unique position to challenge U.S. foreign policy and affirm the universal obligation to uphold human rights and international law. Let us act now because every moment counts and every dollar counts. Together we will contribute to the great effort to end the blockade of Gaza and the illegal occupation of Palestine.
To learn more and to donate on-line, go to: http://ustogaza.org
Please spread this appeal letter far and wide, so that others will contribute as well.
Thank you for your generosity.
On behalf of the U.S. BOAT TO GAZA,
Checks payable to: Way to Jerusalem PHC, write: U.S. BOAT TO GAZA in the memo.
Mail to: The Way to Jerusalem Mission Group
The Potter’s House 1658 Columbia Rd NW Washington, DC 20009
Alice Azzouzi – 703-862-3622
The ongoing suppression of the Palestinian grassroots resistance has
included targeting international solidarity activists. Numerous
volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement have been
arrested or deported in past months.
A tactic of challenging the occupation and the Israeli authorities is
via legal measures.
As Israel’s crackdown on popular resistance escalates, International
Solidarity Movement activists are working on the ground to fight the
authorities’ attempts to arrest, imprison and deport us – all
strategies employed by Israel in their attempts at disconnecting us
from our role in the struggle against apartheid. Legal challenges are
an important battle field in non-violent resistance because often the
occupation is forced to change their policies when these are held up
to scrutiny.
The past six months have seen a surge in Israel’s crackdown on
Palestinian and international activists involved in the popular
resistance, marked by a wave of arrests targeting grassroots
organizers from the popular committees of Bil’in, Ni’lin, Al Masara
and Nablus and international activists involved in these regions’
struggles. Several ISM activists have been illegally abducted by
Israeli forces and continue to fight lengthy legal battles against the
Israeli state for these cases, in addition to the frequent arrests of
activists at the growing number of West Bank demonstrations that the
military has struggled in vain to crush.
American ISM activist Ryan Olander was arrested on December 18 in
Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem. He was then illegally re-arrested by
“Oz” immigration unit the following day, just moments after his
release. He spent 29 days in Ramle Givon detention center resisting
deportation before he was released. On June 3 the Israeli District
Court ruled in Olander’s favor, the precedent-setting ruling
articulating that the police and “Oz” immigration unit practices were
illegal. This victory paves the way for a legal grounding for future
activists (see: http://palsolidarity.org/2010/02/11278/).
Czech activist and ISM media co-ordinator Eva Novakova was kidnapped
by Oz forces in a night raid operation on her Ramallah apartment on
January 11. Australian activist and ISM international co-ordinator
Bridget Chappell and Spanish activist Araidna Jove Marti were abducted
by Israeli military forces in a similar night raid on the ISM media
office in Ramallah on February 7 (see: http://palsolidarity.org/2010/02/11224/).
All three activists pursued the issue in the Israeli Supreme Court,
bringing Israel’s repreated violation of the Oslo accords in to focus.
In the case of Chappell and Marti, the State Prosecutor was forced to
admit the their arrests had been outside the legal framework, with the
judge declaring their detention illegal.
These legal battles, taking the Israeli power structures on at their
own game, constitutes a form of “resistance” that has the potential to
set decisive precedents and alter Israeli policy, while at the same
time exposing the level of corroboration between various Israeli
departments in the occupation’s implementation.
This kind of legal work comes at a high price tag, we currently owe
around 18,000 NIS to our lawyers. The ISM is asking its supporters to
donate now to support the work of the ISM’s solidarity with the
Palestinian movement against apartheid. Activist groups may consider
throwing fund-raising events to raise money, and continue raising
awareness for the cause. You can donate online via Paypal (not through
AJ Muste), please see http://palsolidarity.org/donate for details.
ISM , July 15, 2010
In a press conference at the port of Gaza city yesterday government officials, fishing associations, non-governmental organisations and civil society groups reiterated their support for the attempts by international activists to break the Israeli siege of Gaza by sea.
Yesterday (July 14th 2010) many people amassed at the Gazan port to urge on the latest attempt by activists to enter the strip, this time by a Libyan chartered aid ship. It was the first serious attempt to enter Gaza by sea since the horrifying attack by the Israeli navy on the Free Gaza Flotilla and the Mavi Marmara which saw 9 Turkish activists killed.
Mahfouz Kabariti, President of Palestine Sailing Federation and Palestinian Association for Fishing and Maritime Sports, was communicating with the Amalthea as it neared Gazan waters: “The last contact we had with them was at midnight and since then communication was cut by the Israeli navy. They told us the boat was surrounded by Israeli gunships, but that they were determined to attempt to dock in Gaza and not take the option offered by the Egyptian government to dock in El Arish.”
According to Mahfouz the roll of the Freedom Flotilla missions are two-fold: “First is the arrival with aid, and materials such as construction supplies still banned by the blockade. The second is to put a spotlight on the suffering of the people here. Even if they are attacked, the second message highlights even more the extent to which Israel will go to keep us in Gaza isolated from the rest of the world with this illegal blockade of our people.”
Amjad Shawa, Gaza Coordinator for Palestinian NGOs: “It is not enough to demand some kind of minor reduction of this illegal siege.”
As well as government representatives and the Popular Committee to Break the Siege, Amjad Shawa, Gaza Coordinator for Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations (PNGO) was present. He emphasised the importance of international civil society persisting in trying to break the siege.
The need is especially acute because so far Israel’s response has only been to reduce the blockade on Gaza by a tiny fraction. The European Union, the United Nations, countless human rights groups and the International Committee for the Red Cross have all expressed the need for a return to the free flow of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip. This must include construction materials which are sorely needed to help rebuild the 17,000 houses severely damaged in the 3 week attack over the New Year period of 2009 that left over 1500 dead including over 400 children.
“Nothing has changed here,” says Amjad. “Just some more consumer products…but 80% of the people here still depend on humanitarian aid. It is not enough to demand some kind of minor reduction of this illegal siege. But we are thankful that the siege on Gaza has not been forgotten, and that our people are still in the minds of the world. These kinds of solidarity actions are very important for Gazans, we see that others share with us the values of justice and the principals of human rights.”
A Gaza resident holding pictures of Saif al-Islam Gadhafi – whose charity sponsored the aid ship – and his father, Libyan leader Muammar Gadhaf
When asked about the role of the international community to pressure Israel, Amjad is more critical: “We are so sorry that the international community until now has made no real intervention, put no real pressure on Israel to lift the siege totally or exerted pressure on Israel to have a transparent and accountable international inquiry into the Israeli crimes on the freedom flotillas.
“Still today we’re waiting for real international pressure from the international community. We hope that Israel will not use this silence as a chance to commit more crimes against the Palestinian people and international solidarity workers.”
The Libyan chartered boat was eventually forced to dock in El Arish, Egypt, after a wall of Israeli gunboats blocked its passage through to Gaza. But the Palestinians remain heartened by these attempts and the further missions planned this September. Says Mahfouz: “People here feel grateful to those internationals who try to arrive at the Gaza beach, it’s so important to us that other people worry and support us.”
Updated on July 15, 2010
:: Article nr. 67973 sent on 16-jul-2010 13:27 ECT
http://www.uruknet.info?p=67973
:: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website.
By: William A. Cook
Ten days ago I left California to join other U.S. citizens on the Lebanese Boat Brigade—the first such effort to penetrate Israel’s blockade of Gaza since the deadly attack on the Freedom Flotilla May 31. I joined other Americans—Jeff K and Noel I from Boston, Ron D from Maui, Bill S from South Carolina, and Sister Pat C from Wisconsin—enticed by an announcement from the Council for the National Interest and the Palestine Civil Rights Campaign to bring women, journalists and writers to this latest effort to break the siege of Gaza now in its 3rd year.
We congregated at the Royal Garden Hotel in Beirut while others gathered in other places, two large groups intentionally brought to weaken Israel’s resolve to assert force—the first a large contingent of women from many lands including nuns to board a ship renamed Mariam for the Mother of God, carrying as well medical supplies and toys, the second a group of journalists without borders to accompany a cargo ship, the Julia, loaded with construction materials.
Each came determined to express solidarity with the people of Gaza who have suffered more than 62 years of occupation, oppression, siege and destruction by the Israeli state and the Congress of the U.S—a battalion of abuses fittingly described as “crimes against humanity.”
I will not speak for the others, American or foreign, but I will mark in passing the sense of futility they feel as Americans for their government’s complicity in Israel’s blatant and calculated destruction of the people of Palestine.
For years, certainly since the Presidency of George W. Bush, these Americans have attempted to condemn and to distance themselves from the crimes committed by their representatives, including their belief that the election of Barak Obama would offer change—yet change does not happen. Consequently, varying organizations, agencies and individuals have joined forces to confront the illegality of these two nations by using international waters to break the blockade of Gaza.
Needless to say, Israel and its Congressional Knesset in Washington have determined to stop the freedom flotillas from reaching Gaza or impacting their illegal siege of this strip of land where they have imposed collective punishment against the people. The interception of Turkey’s boat, Mamara, and the killing of 9 citizens of that NATO nation by Israeli naval commandoes breaks the governing principles of NATO’s obligations to its members, a virtual act of war, even as it breaks international law governing attacks at sea.
But Israel and the U.S. act with impunity in our name. Hence the need to take active measures to stop such unilateral betrayal of the agreements we have formed as a people with member states of the United Nations. The disaster resulting from the attack on the Mamara follows six decades of Israeli atrocities against the indigenous people of Palestine including a terrorist war against the authorized British government during the Mandate Period, the massacre at Deir Yassin and 27 subsequent massacres that caused the obliteration of 418 towns and villages, the ethnic cleansing of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their homes to refugee camps where they continue to live in poverty without rights of citizenship abandoned by the governments of the world, the subsequent invasion of Lebanon by Israel in 1982 and the slaughter at the Sabra Chatila refugee camp, one of the most brutal and savage massacres orchestrated by Israel through its mercenaries, and more recently the 2006 invasion of Lebanon capped by a return to the massacre of the Qana orphanage, the Christmas destruction of Gaza in 2008/9 and now its wanton attacks against international citizens on international waters.
How can anyone with a conscience allow such behavior to continue? I began this series on the Boat Brigade referring to Wagner’s Das Rheingold and its major theme—acquisition of power and wealth by repudiation of human love, the denial of sympathy or compassion for one’s fellow man, the creation of a people willing to forego all morals and principles to achieve ultimate power, the soulless human without conscience or remorse, the walking dead. There is an unfortunate consequence to such acceptance of a life lived for self and the acquisition of gold—a life lived in isolation from all others because success necessitates lies, deceit and manipulation if one is to defeat all others, an alienation from warmth and true concern that gives substance to spirit as opposed to pocketbook.
It is a life of self-imposed fear that another, especially fear of associates that are accomplices in this quest for the coins of greed and the trappings of power, will deceive and destroy their comrades to further their ends. It is a vicious cycle of psychotic siege mentality that grows as the coldness of the heart grows until every waking moment heightens the realization that all find repugnance in the acts that give purpose to those who repudiate natural love. Such is the present state of Israel.
Faced as they are with the world against them, Israel and the United States turn to devices of control to prevent the confrontations the freedom flotilla represent. Having lost once again acceptance of their brutal attack on the Mamara, they have found it necessary to link any who join such a flotilla to terrorist groups, enemies of the state of Israel and, therefore, enemy combatants which legitimizes in their distorted minds their right to engage and kill such people as if they were militarily threatening the state of Israel.
Since this Lebanon flotilla was announced shortly after the attack on the Marmara, with openness of intent and revelation of the groups, the women’s and the journalists’, Israel has alleged over and over that this flotilla is not manned by humanists but rather by terrorists, unsubstantiated charges of guilt by association, hearsay, omission of truth and outright lies, made in order to torpedo the boats even before they sail.
The Jerusalem Post reports that the government of Israel has “linked the boat to Hizbullah,” that Yasser Kashlak, Director of the Free Palestine Movement, is “a fervent Hizbullah supporter,” that the true intentions of the organizers “remain dubious,” that the possibility exists that “terrorists or arms will be smuggled on board,” that Lebanon is an enemy country and must be treated “as if they were hostile,” that these boats “which are carrying representatives of Hizbullah and Iran” mean that Israel “reserves its rights under international law to use all necessary means to prevent these ships from violating the existing naval blockade” and that the presence of Samar Haji, the wife of a former Lebanese General “jailed for his part in the assassination of PM Rafiq Harari, “means a real connection with Hizbullah. None of the above is substantiated, none of it belies the true intention of the people who left their homes to participate in a direct act of civil disobedience against the state of Israel which is supported by their representatives in the Congress, and none of it provides either the U.S. or Israel with legal justification for preemptive strikes against a flotilla in international waters.
Yet as a result, the flotilla has not and cannot sail as planned, not on the 25th of June, not on the 39th, not on the 3rd or 4th of July, and perhaps never. The accusations have forced the government of Lebanon to confront Israel’s contention that it will hold Lebanon responsible for any attack Israel must take against the ships; the organizers have had to confront the allegations of complicity with terror groups even though only the U.S., Israel and Canada have alleged that Hizbullah is a terrorist organization and not a legitimate political and humanitarian organization in Lebanon or that Hamas is labeled a terrorist organization although it too is an elected party in Palestine and only prevented from acting as such by Israel and the U.S.. And, finally, the individuals who have come to Lebanon have to contend with the consequences of the delays that result from such allegations and the threats that their own representatives contend will be imposed on them if they confront Israel, the ally they have justified in its criminal behavior. That these people are professors, lawyers, doctors, journalists, students, and human rights activists who arrived with their own views regarding Israel’s illegitimate actions is irrelevant and unsought.
Clearly, the power and control that Israel imposes on Palestine, its calculated willingness to steal as much land as it can from the rightful owners, its conscienceless drive to eradicate the people, its willing use of American soldiers for its own purposes, its control of our representatives through fear and intimidation, demonstrates that it will not tolerate demonstrations against its tyranny. Yet should they succeed, they will have once again perverted the very ideals on which America was founded and the voice of the people will be buried beneath the overwhelming power that gold represents—and the human need for love and compassion for all will be made irrelevant to and subjected to those who live without human sympathy.
These are my thoughts as I leave Lebanon this Saturday, a victim of those who have no conscience, no remorse, and no soul.NWCNEWS
*Dr. William A. Cook is an activist and a writer for numerous Internet publications including Counterpunch, Pacific Free Press in British Columbia, Dissident Voice and Information Clearing House, serving as senior editor for MWC News out of Canada, and contributing editor at the Palestine Chronicle, the Atlantic Free Press in the Netherlands, and the World Prout Assembly. He also serves on the Board of the People’s Media Project, interviews on radio and TV in South Africa, Canada, Iran and the United States.
AuthorGilad Atzmon
(Starting Saturday 16th October 2010 for 9 nights)
http://visitpalestine.webs.com/oliveharvestoct2010.htm
2010 will be the 7th year the annual Olive Picking Program in Palestine from October 16th to 25th 2010. This event is of special significance to the Palestinian economy when all energies and efforts are mobilized.
Since the beginning of the second Intifada in 2000, the olive harvest has been overshadowed by the Israeli policies of repression, closure, blockage of streets, confiscation of agricultural lands, as well as repeated attacks against Palestinian farmers by Israeli settlers*. Now with the construction the Apartheid Wall and the continuous expansion of Israeli settlements at the expense of agricultural land in the occupied Palestine , many farmers are separated from their trees, and help is most needed.
The objective of this program is to mobilize as many people as possible for olive picking, especially in areas that are situated in proximity to Israeli settlements and bypass roads, in order to help Palestinian farmers harvest their olive trees which they might be unable to do without international support. Also, the event has brought up awareness to hundreds of people from many countries around the world about real life under the Israeli Military Occupation, and the experience itself was referred to by several participants as a life changing one. You too are invited to join us for this event.
Besides picking olives, the program will feature introductory presentations about the organizing institutions, the current situation in Palestine and the effect of the Apartheid Wall, tours in the old city of Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem , a tour of Hebron , cultural evenings and social gatherings.
Olive Picking 2010 – Proposed schedule
Day One – Saturday 16/10/2010: Arrival. Meeting representatives from the organizing institutions for an overview and discu ssi on of the program.
Dinner and overnight in Beit Sahour (near Bethlehem )
Day Two – Sunday 17/10/2010: Half day picking olives at a selected field.
After lunch, political tour and sightseeing in Bethlehem , including the visit of a refugee camp. Dinner, followed by screening of a documentary at Jadal / Alternative Information Center (AIC)
Dinner and overnight in Beit Sahour
Day Three – Monday 18/10/2010: Half day picking olives at a selected field, followed by lunch.
Meeting at The Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ) for a presentation on the Apartheid Wall and land confiscation. Visiting an olive press
Dinner and overnight in Beit Sahour
Day Four – Tuesday 19/10/2010: Tour in the Old City of Jerusalem .
Lunch, followed by a settlement tour around Jerusalem with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD).
Dinner and overnight in Beit Sahour
Day Five – Wednesday 20/10/2010: free day
Day Six – Thursday: 21/10/2010: A tour in the old city of Hebron . Visiting the Ibrahimi Mosque. Meeting with the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC) for a presentation about the situation in Hebron .
Lunch. Visiting a glass factory. Free time
Dinner and overnight in Beit Sahour
Day Seven Friday 22/10/2010: a full day of picking olives at a selected field, lunch included. –
Dinner and overnight in Beit Sahour
Day Eight – Saturday 23/10/2010: Half day picking olives at a selected field.
Dinner followed by a presentation on the refugee questions with BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugees’ Rights
Overnight in Beit Sahour
– Day Nine – Sunday 24/10/2010: Half day picking olives at a field. Lunch –
Evaluation meeting with institutions’ representatives, followed by a musical evening.
Overnight in Beit Sahour
– Day Ten – Monday 25/10/2010: departure. –
To learn more about previous seasons please go to the video and watch a 10 minutes film about the event here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UYxAIxY2xA
More Information:
• The cost of the program including accommodation in a double room, meals, guides, local transportation and other relevant expenses is $620.
• Accommodation can be arranged at a hotel or with a local family.
• A tour guide will be present with the group at all times for facilitation purposes.
• Travel from and to the airport is not included in the cost but can be arranged for groups.
For any other information, questions, concerns, or to request a registration form, please contact:
justicewheels — 20 juin 2010 — Israeli occupation forces today in Beit Jala engaged in beatings, burning of fields, and attacking peaceful demonstrators, bystanders, and reporters. Two young Palestinains: Mohammed Masalma and Thaer Mahmoud were injured after severe beatings with hands and clubs (they were both near their homes and not participating in the demonstration). Several demonstrators were also roughed-up. Occupation enforcers also attacked six reporters and prevented them from doing their job of covering the event: Yousef Shahin (Palmedia), AbdelHafith Hashlamon (European News Aghency), Nasser AlShayukhi (associated Press), Mamon Wazwaz (APA), Musa AlShaer (France Press), and Najeh Hashlamon (ABA). The Israeli occupation forces (thugs) also aimed their gas canisters at dry fields managing to set a fire that engulfed an olive grove (fortunately, the Palestinian fire department quick response saved most of the field and the nearby homes). The apartheid forces also aimed tear gas at far away homes in Beit Jala to send a message of fear to the local population. And Israeli Occupation ‘intelligence’ Officer Fadi came at the end to mock us and call out my name with his loud speaker.
http://www.bloggersunite.org/event/bloggers-unite-for-gaza
July 09, 2010
Objective:
On 9 July, we are urging bloggers to make a simple promise: “Gaza, We Will Not Forget You”.
Humanitarian aid cannot address the hardship faced by Gaza’s 1.5 million people. The only sustainable solution is to lift the closure. The blockade imposed on Gaza is about to enter its fourth year, thwarting any real chance of economic development. As Gazans endure unemployment, poverty and warfare, the quality of their health care has reached an all-time low.
Israel’s raid on the Gaza aid flotilla brought the issue to international attention. We must act now to put an end to the humanitarian crisis once and for all.
On 9 July 2004, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion condemning Israel’s infringement of the Palestinian right to self-determination and violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The ICJ explicitly affirmed the international community that the burden also falls on them not to recognise or assist the illegal situation.
This year, on 9 July 2010, remind your own government of its own obligations not to recognise or assist Israel’s violations of international law. Urge that there must be an independent and international inquiry into the attacks on the Gaza aid flotilla. And make a simple promise: “Gaza, We Will Not Forget You.”
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