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TAKE ACTION
Contents:
Latest action alert - Call Madison Market re:
boycott. Sign petition.
Palestine in your
living room
Letter-Writing
Guidelines
Contact
Your Representatives
Free
Gaza Campaign
Ways
of Visiting Palestine/Israel
Archives of Past
Action Alerts
Welcome to the Action section of PSC's
web site. This page explains the work of the outreach committee of PSC-Seattle
and invites you to become involved.
There are two main aspects to our work: action alerts and a speaker
bureau.
To receive action alerts, sign
up to participate in our Response Network by writing us at outreach@palestineinformation.org.
Once you sign on, you will receive periodic alerts that will prompt you to write
to a newspaper or to your Congressional representatives. We also encourage you
to send us copies of your letters. You will find letter-writing guidelines below
[click here].
In addition to posting action
alerts, we also coordinate state-wide appearances of speakers familiar with the
Palestinian struggle for self-determination. Many of our speakers have spent
time in Palestine and Israel, often with the International Solidarity Movement
(ISM). If your church, school, or community group would like to sponsor a
presentation, please get in touch. We are also prepared to provide video/DVD
films with our presentations.
Possible topics we can discuss
include:
» History of the
conflict
» Palestinian resistance to
occupation
» U.S. support for the occupation
» Current
events (Gaza disengagement, construction of the Separation Wall,
etc) » Divestment
» Christian
Zionism
» Israeli and international solidarity
activities
» What you can do
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PALESTINE IN YOUR LIVING ROOM OR ON YOUR SIDEWALK
Palestine Solidarity Committee would love to help you discuss this issue with
your community. Invite friends over for dinner or tea and show a video and/or
host a speaker who’s just back from witnessing the occupation. All is free of
charge.
PSC will also conduct a SIDEWALK EDUCATION about Palestine and human rights if
you or your neighborhood peace group, or other social justice minded community,
would like to educate folks in your area, place of work, religious community,
park, etc.
We have signs, banners, free standing text and picture displays, flyers, DVDs,
books, and more. We can advertise your sidewalk education on this list.
For more information e-mail us at info@palestineinformation.org or call (206)
633-1086.
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PSC
UPDATED ALERT-CALL MADISON MARKET!Central
Coop/Madison Market has decided to suppress discussion of Israel’s human rights
violations. We need your help right away to show Central Coop that people in
our community care about human rights.
PLEASE DO TWO THINGS:
1. SIGN OUR ONLINE PETITION TO CENTRAL COOP/Madison Market
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bdscentralcoop/
2. TELL CENTRAL COOP THAT YOU SUPPORT A BOYCOTT OF ISRAELI PRODUCTS, AND THAT
THE STATUS QUO IS ANTI-HUMAN RIGHTS.
(contact info is below following background information)
As part of the international campaign to bring economic pressure to bear on
Israel to abide by international human rights standards, Palestine Solidarity
Committee - Seattle (PSC) has proposed a boycott of Israeli products to Central
Coop/Madison Market, a local, consumer-owned food coop in Seattle. PSC was
cooperating with a Central Coop subcommittee process to investigate, consider,
and make a recommendation to the Central Coop Board of Trustees. Along the way,
Stand With Us, the local chapter of a national group that demands special
treatment for Israel, heard of the campaign and has used their considerable
financial and personnel resources to oppose the boycott. They mounted an
email/phone campaign, crowded into subcommittee meetings, and have stacked the
Central Coop subcommittee with new members, all demanding silence on this
issue. As a result, the Central Coop Board of Trustees has violated its own
customary procedures and ordered the subcommittee to end the investigation and
discussion. The Coop is characterizing this action as "maintain[ing] a neutral
position".
Central Coop, which considers itself a progressive organization and community,
recently quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Coop Newsletter: “A time comes
when silence is betrayal.” Will they listen to those words, or ignore them when
there is controversy? We need to tell Central Coop that neutrality is false
when it passively supports war crimes and apartheid.
Stand With Us has recognized that this is a major campaign that can reverberate
nationally and beyond. WE NEED YOUR HELP IMMEDIATELY. They were able to
generate 300 calls and emails against this boycott. We had specifically chosen
to avoid this kind of pressure on the limited personnel of Central Coop, but now
WE NEED TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THERE IS AN EVEN LARGER COMMUNITY THAT SUPPORTS
JUSTICE AND EQUAL RIGHTS.
1. TO SIGN OUR ONLINE PETITION go to:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bdscentralcoop/
(You may get a pop-up window to make a donation when you sign--this is a
donation to the IPETITIONS website, not to PSC. You do not have to donate to
sign on).
We need several hundred names on this petition and we are mounting a campaign to
get them, so spread the word: this is an important opportunity to vote locally
for justice and equal rights globally.
2. CALL OR EMAIL (or both!) CENTRAL COOP.
-- TELL THEM YOU SUPPORT A BOYCOTT OF ISRAELI GOODS.
--TELL THE COOP THAT THE STATUS QUO VIOLATES PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS AND IS NOT
"NEUTRAL."
You don’t have to be a member of the Coop; they are open to hearing from
everyone. We suggest you avoid bullying tactics; be courteous but be firm.
Will you shop at a store that considers itself progressive but suppresses debate
when the subject of Israel comes up?
Central Coop phone number: (206) 329-1545
Email: info@centralcoop.coop and board@centralcoop.coop or email from the
webpage: http://madisonmarket.com/index.php?page=contact
For more background on the Central Coop campaign, read our letter of complaint
to the Central Coop Board of Trustees at http://www.palestineinformation.org/CCLett2Board.htm
The website of the Palestine Solidarity Committee is
www.palestineinformation.org . You can contact the response network with
questions or comments, or subscribe to receive other action alerts about
Palestine, by emailing us at outreach@palestineinformation.org.
(Back
to top)
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GUIDE FOR WRITING LETTERS:
Many of our alerts will be in
response to biased reporting that negatively portrays Palestinians as the cause
of the conflict. We will ask you to
write in, pointing out the flaws in those articles. It's also very important to write in to
support positive reporting. In
either case, you can email editors with an opinion or a correction of
content. In just a few lines you
can get your view across.
For example: "On Wednesday, December 8th,
you published (“title of piece”). In this article you stated that a
relative period of calm had just ended in Israel. Are you aware that
according to the Israeli human rights organization, B'Tselem, there have been 30
Palestinians killed by Israeli forces during this period of 'relative
calm?' Eleven of those killed were under the age of 16, and 22 were
noncombatants. There is never a 'relative calm' for Palestinians living
under Israeli military occupation."
Please keep the following in
mind:
(1) Write
whatever you have time and energy for. If you can
dash out a sentence or two, please do.
If you want to craft something longer and more detailed, please do. Most
newspapers have a word limit for letters to be published: Seattle Times and
Seattle PI both have limits of 200 words, for example. If
you want to write more than that and don't want to edit down, send it anyway.
(2) In your opening
sentence refer to the news story, column, or previously published letter you are
responding to by its headline (or author if it's a letter) and the date it was
published, for example: "Thank you
for covering the event at Westlake ‘Remembering the Dead’, Dec.1."
(3)
Keep the tone of your letter respectful. Passion is fine,
especially when backed up with solid facts, but avoid needlessly harsh language. Be
positive whenever possible.
(4) Resist the temptation
to respond to every point in the article, and pick one or two points to focus
on.
(5) If the article was generally positive towards Palestinians, but
you are responding to misrepresentation or bias, e.g., the paper using
“disputed territories” instead of
“occupied territories,” or stating there’s been a “period of
relative calm” because no Israelis have died in a period of time when
Palestinians have been killed, thank the paper for publishing the
article to encourage more coverage, and then make your critical points.
(6)
Send your letter to the address that we will provide in our alert. Be
timely. Responding within 24 hours is best, though within 2 or 3 days is
still okay, and letters are still noticed even after that. Include your
full first and last name, street address, and day/night telephone numbers.
Only your name and city of residence will be included if your letter is
published.
(7) Newspapers will not always publish sources or links in the
body of your letter. If you want to include references to support specific
facts, do so but be aware that they might not be included.
(8) Use
whatever relevant authority you have, for example, if you’ve had personal
experience living or traveling to the Occupied Territories, if you are
knowledgeable about the Middle East, etc. However, authority can also be
established by using correct facts and by writing a polite, logical,
well-written letter.
(9) Proofread your letter for errors. If
possible, have someone else read it for objective input.
(10) BCC or forward your
letter to us separately at alerts@palestineinformation.org.
It's important to us to know what response is generated by our efforts.
Don't
be discouraged if your letter is not printed. Every time you submit a letter you are
educating the editorial board of the paper, and you are weighing in on the side
of justice when it comes to tallying how the public received a published
piece.
If you do get published, the same paper will probably not publish you
again for a month or two. However,
please continue to write letters to the editor as numbers always count and you
will be helping another person with a similar viewpoint get
published.
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HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES:
Phone numbers and e-mail
addresses for your U.S. Senators:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Phone numbers and e-mail addresses for your Congress
members:
http://clerk.house.gov/members/index.html
E-mails
to most Congress members must be sent via their web sites. To access these
sites, enter the URL supplied below into the address bar of your browser.
Senator
Murray’s Foreign Affairs aide:
Ben McMakin in Washington: (202) 224-2621
To
fax or e-mail Senator Murray: Fax: (206) 553-0891;
E-mail: murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm
Senator
Cantwell’s Foreign Affairs aide:
Sebastian Budoh in Washington: (202)
224-3441
To fax or email Senator Cantwell: Fax: 206-220-6404;
Email:
cantwell.senate.gov/contact/index.html
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===========================================================================================
BREAK
THE SIEGE: FREE GAZA CAMPAIGN
The
Free Gaza project, which aims to send ships of exiled Palestinians, banned (by
Israel) internationals
and
Israeli activists working against the occupation to the Port of Gaza in May of
2008 to
deliver
much-needed medical supplies and show support and solidarity to the people of
Gaza. http://freegaza.org/
For
more information, visit the Free Gaza site at http://freegaza.org/
(Back
to top)
===========================================================================================
SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO VISIT ISRAEL AND
PALESTINE
There are many different ways to visit Israel and the Occupied Territories: with
tour groups, on professional visits, and with activist organizations. Besides
the brief list below, see our ISM section. Also, go to the U.S. Campaign to End
the Occupation's page:
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=95
to see an updated list of tours.
NOTE:
Although an entry below may occasionally appear out of date, it's always
worthwhile to check out each organization's web site, as a most accurate way of
finding out what is being planned.
For another up-to-date listing of ways to visit
Palestine and Israel, see also the relevant section in the web site of the US
Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation: http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=95
American Jews for a Just Peace Health and Human Rights
Delegation http://www.hahrp.blogspot.com/
The Health and Human Rights Project (HaHRP), a project of American Jews for a
Just Peace (AJJP), takes delegations to Israel/Palestine, and we
encourage all who are interested. In addition to meetings,
the delegation has the opportunity to work with health
care providers in different settings for a few days at a time.
The human rights and activism track consists of meetings together as
a large group and customized to participants’ individual interests and
expertise. Please write to healthandhumanrights@gmail.com for more information
or to request an application.
BIKE
PALESTINE
www.bikepalestine.com
Palestine Cycle Tours
The chance to experience the cultural and religious diversity of this
fascinating country
Secure and easy cycling in an enchanted landscape rich in history.
BIRTHRIGHT UNPLUGGED http://www.birthrightunplugged.org/
Are you thinking of going to Palestine/Israel? Are you interested in meeting Palestinian families, activists, community
leaders, and political figures, and learning about life under occupation? Are
you committed to turning education into action and working for justice? Then
BIRTHRIGHT UNPLUGGED is for you!
Attention organizers, activists, students, faculty, artists,
cultural workers, and more!!!
Since 2005, Birthright Unplugged has facilitated travel in Palestine for
numerous groups. We do this because Palestinian people we work with welcome
delegations and because we have found that when people have firsthand
experiences of Palestine and relationships with Palestinians, it strengthens
their resolve, credibility, and accountability to do sustained justice movement
work.
Our 2011 program included seven days of travel and optional, post-travel,
short-term volunteer placements. Our work is designed to support work related to
the 2005 call from Palestinian civil society for Boycott, Divestment, and
Sanctions against Israel (BDS). This call seeks to bring about the end of
apartheid in Israel, the occupations of Gaza and the West Bank, and to implement
the right of return for Palestinian refugees. It is a non-violent strategy that
has been crucial to bringing about the end of other systems of oppression, most
notably apartheid in South Africa. To date, we have worked with student and
faculty groups, activists and organizers, and faith-based groups among many
others to help develop and strengthen their respective understanding of the
situation on the ground in Palestine and to support their BDS and campaign work
in their home countries.
How To Apply:
Please download the application at http://www.birthrightunplugged.org/unplugged/application
and email it toinfo@birthrightunplugged.org.
Dates:
See Birthright Unplugged web site for current information.
CHRISTIAN PEACEMAKER TEAMS DELEGATIONS TO PALESTINE/ISRAEL:
http://www.cpt.org/
Delegates meet with representatives of
Israeli and Palestinian peace and human rights groups in Jerusalem and Bethlehem
to gain perspective on the conflict. They will tour the "security
wall" separating Israel from the West Bank. They travel to the
tensely divided city of Hebron, where CPT has been based since June 1995, and to
the village of At-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills, where CPT has had a team
since 2004. They will visit Palestinian families whose homes and livelihoods are
threatened by expanding Israeli settlements. They experience firsthand
CPT's work of violence deterrence and human rights documentation and challenge
the structural violence of the Occupation through nonviolent witness.
Upcoming
Delegations: March 13 to March 26, 2012 - Apply today!
For more information or to apply,
contact CPT, (PO Box 6508,
Chicago, IL 60680; phone
773-277-0253; fax 773-277-0291; e-mail
delegations@cpt.org <mailto:delegations@cpt.org>
) or see CPT's
website at: http://www.cpt.org/.
CODEPINK: Women Say No to War http://www.codepink.org/calendar.php
Join CODEPINK on delegations to the Palestinian
Occupied Territories.
Palestine/Israel: Environment and Occupation
Friday,
February 24th 2012
This important delegation will examine the affects that Israeli occupation has
on the Environment of the Palestinian Territories and thus the livelihood of
Palestinians
Palestine/Israel: Prospects for Peace Friday, July 6th 2012
As U.S. taxpayers, we play a big role in perpetuating the
Palestinian/Israeli conflict. The United States gives over $3 billion annually
to Israel in military aid, which is primarily used to continue its 40 year old
Occupation of Palestinian Territories.
Palestine/Israel: Fair Olive Harvest Friday, October 26th 2012
We invite you to join Global Exchange for a very special "Fair Olive
Harvest" Reality Tour.
GLOBAL
EXCHANGE'S DELEGATIONS TO PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Global
Exchange's delegations to Palestine & Israel provide first-hand exposure to
the daily struggles and realities of Palestinians living under Occupation. The
delegations strive to further the US public's understanding of the conflict by
listening to the aspirations and frustrations of Palestinians, by examining the
dimensions of the human rights crisis under Israeli rule, as well as learning
from Palestinians and Israelis who are working for a just peace and an end to
the Occupation.
Upcoming
Tours:
http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/by-country
Palestine/Israel: Environment and Occupation Dates: February 24,
2012 – March 5, 2012
This important delegation will examine the affects that Israeli
occupation has on the Environment of the Palestinian Territories and thus
the livelihood of Palestinians. The group will explore the issues of
Freedom of Access to water and Sanitation in the West Bank, the impact of
the on going occupation on the Eco System in the Jordan valley and the
issues of deforestation in relation to Israeli practices and the on going
drought that has plagued the Middle East for five years now.
Palestine/Israel: Prospects for Peace with Justice Dates: July 6, 2012
– July 16, 2012
As U.S. taxpayers, we play a big role in perpetuating the
Palestinian/Israeli conflict. The United States gives over $3 billion
annually to Israel in military aid, which is primarily used to continue its
40 year old Occupation of Palestinian Territories. The Bush
Administration's alliance with the administration of Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert has resulted in unprecedented violence.
Palestine Fair Olive Harvest Dates: October 26, 2012 – November 4, 2012
We invite you to join Global Exchange for a very special "Fair Olive
Harvest" Reality Tour. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has ensued for
sixty years, while Israel's forty plus year occupation of the West Bank and
Gaza Strip is the longest in modern history.
For more information you can contact Global Exchange
See
also
http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/by-country
and
http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/957.html
(800-497-1994 x. 251) or email
palestine@globalexchange.org
GLOBAL MARCH TO JERUSALEM - NORTH AMERICA
http://www.gmj-na.org/home.html
The
Global March to Jerusalem – North America (GMJ-NA) is an autonomous
association of North American organizations and individuals planning to
participate in a global march to
Jerusalem
on March 30, 2012. It will inform itself of the efforts of other groups
around the world that are also planning to participate in the march, and
will offer information to interested persons and organizations about its
plans.
GREEN OLIVE TOURS http://www.toursinenglish.com/
Daily tours to all parts of Jerusalem and
the West Bank. A mix of cultural and political tourism that will bring you to
the heart of Palestinian society. Many of the tours visit refugee camps,
settlements, and see sections of the Separation Barrier. Participants have the
opportunity to meet with Palestinians, spend time in villages, volunteer, or
visit the Bedouin.
Pick from scheduled day-trips:
http://www.toursinenglish.com/2008/01/israel-west-bank-palestine-alternative.html
or book a private tour:
http://www.toursinenglish.com/2007/11/private-tours.html
- one day or a multi-day experience.
Serving Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah, Jenin and more.
Contact director Fred Schlomka
http://www.toursinenglish.com/2007/11/contact-tours-in-english.html
with your questions. Tel +972-54-693-4433
www.greenolivetours.com
www.toursinenglish.com
A social enterprise in Palestine • Israel • West Bank
INTERFAITH
PEACE-BUILDERS DELEGATIONS TO ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
Fellowship of Reconciliation Interfaith Peace-Builders Delegation Fellowship of
Reconciliation's Interfaith Peace-Builders sends delegations to Israel and
Palestine so that U.S. citizens can see the conflict with their own eyes.
Participants have the opportunity to learn directly from Israeli and Palestinian
nonviolent peace/human-rights activists, to spend time in Palestinian and
Israeli homes, and to experience the situation of Palestinians living under
military occupation. Visit the Fellowship of Reconciliation for more
information.
UPCOMING DELEGATIONS:
May 19 - June 1, 2012
July 14 - July 27, 2012
2012 African Heritage
Oct. 21 - Nov. 3, 2012
For more
information,
see:
http://www.ifpb.org/del44/default.html
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT
The International Solidarity Movement
(ISM) is a Palestinian-led movement
committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using
nonviolent, direct-action methods and principles. Founded by a small group of
activists in August, 2001, ISM aims to support and strengthen the Palestinian
popular resistance by providing the Palestinian people with two resources,
international protection and a voice with which to nonviolently resist an
overwhelming military occupation force.
International Volunteers stand side by side with villagers in places like Bil'in
as they continue their struggle to save village land from Israel's apartheid
wall.
For further information on the ISM, go to the ISM website www.palsolidarity.org
and http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/about-ism/
E-mail: contact info@palsolidarity.org
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S PEACE SERVICE: NONVIOLENCE
IN ACTION http://iwps.info/
Human
Rights Volunteers Needed In Palestine
Since
2002, the International Women’s Peace Service in Palestine (IWPS-Palestine) has
been documenting and non-violently intervening in human rights abuses carried
out by the Israeli military and Israeli settlers in the Occupied West Bank
against the Palestinian civilian population. We are the only all women team of
internationals working in the Occupied West Bank and we are currently looking
for new volunteers to join us on the ground in Palestine.
ISRAELI
COMMITTEE AGAINST HOUSE DEMOLITIONS DELEGATIONS TO
ISRAEL/PALESTINE
http://www.icahd.org/
Every year hundreds of Palestinians are forced from their homes, homes built on
land they own. They watch helplessly as Israeli bulldozers and pneumatic drills
destroy in minutes both the physical structure called home and all that a home
provides to a family. The Israeli government claims that these houses are
illegal because they have been constructed without building permits; however,
the Israeli authorities refuse to grant building permits to Palestinians. In
reality the destruction of these homes facilitates Israeli territorial expansion
and construction of the Wall, both illegal under international law.
Annually since 2003, ICAHD has made it possible for internationals and Israelis
to join together with Palestinians in Anata, East Jerusalem, to resist the
Occupation and rebuild the demolished home of a Palestinian family.
ICAHD organizes numerous projects designed to engage the Israeli and
international public with the issues of occupation and the path to peace.
Through a combination of grassroots political activity, people-to-people
programs and informational campaigns, we are able to influence public policy.
Projects include House Rebuilding, Public Information, Alternative Tours,
Exhibits, and Organizing a Civil Society Presence.
JOINT
ADVOCACY INITIATIVE
JOURNEY FOR JUSTICE: Youth Program
http://www.jai-pal.org/content.php?page=668
The
Joint Advocacy Initiative has initiated campaigns to highlight the daily
oppression and injustice suffered under Israeli occupation. These campaigns
target local and international partners to help raise awareness and solidify our
partnership in the struggle for peace and justice. By sponsoring an olive tree,
participating in the Boycott - Divestment - Sanctions call or purchasing local
Palestinian products, you can help the Palestinians Keep Hope Alive. www.jai-pal.org
Among other activities, the Joint Advocacy Initiative of the East Jerusalem
YMCA and YWCA of Palestine (JAI) and the Alternative
Tourism Group (ATG) organizes an Olive Picking Program in Palestine.
JAI-ATG Olive Planting Program 2012 - Invitation
A program for Civil International Solidarity with Palestinians
February 4th - 13th, 2012
See
http://www.jai-pal.org/content.php?page=1119
MECA
DELEGATION
Middle East Children's Alliance Delegation to Palestine/Israel
On MECA's delegations take you on a geographic, political, historical and
cultural tour of Palestine/Israel by MECA staff people. We travel by van to
witness the impact of the Israeli occupation and visit organizations working for
justice and equality. You learn about refugees, land confiscation, political
prisoners, women's initiatives, mental and physical health issues, civil rights
in Israel, and the lives of children. Group generally stays at the guesthouse of
MECA's long-time partner Ibdaa Cultural Center in Dheisheh Refugee Camp, near
Bethlehem. Ibdaa is a lively place in the heart of the community with great food
and comfortable accommodations.
For more up-to-date information on upcoming
activities, see
http://www.mecaforpeace.org/about
Contact: Deborah Agre at 510-548-0542 or Deborah@mecaforpeace.org
Palestine Justice
Network
http://www.palestinejn.org/
Palestine Justice Network (PJN) cosponsored by many popular resistance
and civil society groups invites internationals to come visit occupied
Palestine. Previously, we hosted internationals to do exploratory and
support missions to Palestine for example during Christmas 2010 and the
attempt to arrive by the hundreds in July 2011. For the next few months and
as we Palestinians struggle for freedom inside, we ask you as
Internationals and Palestinians living abroad to join us on these dates and
for these reasons:
December 24-January 1: Celebrate Christmas where it all started in
Bethlehem. Our program includes visitation of religious sites,
opportunities to meet and visit with native Palestinian Christians and
Muslims, alternative tours of the areas and more. Focus is on the plight
of the Palestinian cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
March 30: Global march to Jerusalem. Palestinians and supports are
encouraged to come and challenge restrictions and occupations. By sea,
air, land people of good conscience will come to us to recognize Land Day
and help us emphasize the centrality of Jerusalem and its plight under
colonial occupation. Land day was commemorated since 1976 by Palestinians
within and outside "the Green Line" who reject the Israeli efforts to
separate us from our land. Visitors will be asked to help reclaim and
rehabilitate fields and cisterns (to solve an acute water crisis caused by
Israel's theft of Palestinian natural resources).
Mid April: Welcome to Palestine (WTP) Campaign invites you to come visit
us through Lydda (aka Ben Gurion) airport because that is the only airport
for Internationals to use to arrive to Palestine. Tour Palestine at the
height of the wild flower season and join us ina specific humanitarian
project (detaiols forthcoming).
May 15: Nakba Day last year was phenomenal with hundreds of Palestinians
trying to return to their homes and lands were turned back at artificial
apartheid borders and many were killed, injured, or jailed. This year we
will be by the thousands and next year by the tens of thousands. Join us
under the theme of "Refugee Rights are not Negotiable."
July 9: July 9 is the anniversary of the International Court of Justice
Ruling on the illegality of the colonial settlements and the apartheid wall
built on Palestinian land and also the anniversary of the Palestinian Civil
Society Call to Action 2005. Join us under the banner of "End Apartheid".
Collectively these actions help affirm solidarity with the inalienable
rights of the Palestinian people. Please email info@palestinejn.org to let
us know if you can come on any of these dates and so taht we can update you
of details about each trip
About us: The PJN mission is to build a global network of activists and
organizations that work together in advocacy in order to support the goals
set forth by the Palestinian Civil Society Call to Action 2005. Please
visit http://palestinejn.org to see previous activities and list of
previous endorsers/sponsors.
PALESTINE
SOLIDARITY PROJECT
PSP is envisioned as a project dedicated to supporting
Palestinian communities resisting the Israeli Occupation. We also believe firmly
in the concept of sumoud—steadfastness—as a form of resistance. For
many of the communities we work with, simply remaining on their land in the face
of intimidation, violence, economic strangulation, and a history of forced
displacement, is an act of resistance.
Join the Palestine Solidarity Project in Beit Ommar, Palestine, and become part
of the growing international movement to support Palestinian popular resistance.
We are in need of volunteers to join us this winter and spring as we struggle to
end the Israeli occupation in all its forms and to promote justice and
self-determination for the Palestinian people. We have a wide range of programs
lined up for the next few months, and are in need of dedicated, enthusiastic
volunteers to help make our goals a reality.
This winter we will be planting 3,000 trees in the Saffa region of Beit Ommar.
The land in Saffa has been destroyed by settler attacks, and is now under threat
of annexation by the neighboring Bat Ayn settlement. By planting on Palestinian
land marked for annexation we hope to deter settlement expansion and support
farmers as they remain steadfast on their land.
What We Do
1) Demonstrations against the continuing construction of the Apartheid
Wall, Israeli-only roads and Israeli settlements in villages in southern
Palestine.
2) Removing illegal roadblocks and other structures designed to isolate one
Palestinian community from another, and preventing Palestinian freedom of
movement.
3) Joining farmers as they work their land which is in constant danger of being
“confiscated” by Israel.
4) Replanting Palestinian crops that have been destroyed by Israeli settlers,
with the aim of enabling those Palestinian communities directly affected by
settler violence to remain on their land.
5) Working closely with families affected by frequent violence from nearby
settlements by documenting the violence and providing an international presence
to deter settler assaults
For information on how you can participate, see http://www.palestinesolidarityproject.org/,
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/about/,
and http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/join/
or write to:
palestinesolidarityproject+owners@googlegroups.com
El
Beit- The Arab Women Union Guesthouse www.
http://www.elbeit.org/
a) At the
Arab Women's Union we have created the only guesthouse in Palestine that will
transport you to a traditional Palestinian home including delicious homemade
Palestinian food all made by members of the Arab Women's Union. These women are
housewives and have no regular income so the money they earn from the Guesthouse
will help support their families.
The Arab Women Union Guesthouse in Beit Sahour has room for about 33 people and
hosts both individuals and groups. The Guesthouse has rooms with two, three and
four beds. All rooms with private toilet and shower. There is a living room and
dining room and a terrace to sit outside.
The guesthouse is simple and clean and located in a quiet area. There are two
supermarkets nearby and Beit Sahour has several nice restaurants on walking
distance. There are shared taxis and a bus to Bethlehem from Suq al Shaab, the
main square in Beit Sahour, 10 minutes walk from the guesthouse. A private taxi
can pick you up and take you to Bethlehem for 10 shekels.
b) The money you give in exchange for residing at the guesthouse will not only
support the local Beit Sahour community but will also help keep The Arab Women's
Union running. The Arab Women's Union provides careers for local Palestinian
women and also boasts various programs serving the local community:
- Childcare program which provides affordable or free care to Beit Sahour's
children six days a week, serving 70 children ranging in age from 1 month to 3
years.
- Al-Basma Special Needs Center provides special care, teaches
self-sufficiency and gives a space for Beit Sahour's special needs population to
feel more accepted. Al-Basma also offers a myriad of programs and activities
like making notebooks out of recycled paper, weaving, making renewable heat
sources, and creating olive wood carvings. For more information:
http://elbeit.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16&Itemid=20
George S. Rishmawi
Coordinator,
Siraj, Center For Holy Land Studies
Beit Sahour, Schoold Street
P.O.Box 48
Palestine
Email:
george@sirajcenter.org
abusaliba@yahoo.com
abusaliba@gmail.com
abusalib@p-ol.com
Website: http://www.sirajcenter.org
http://www.bikepalestine.com
http://www.walkpalestine.com
Tel: +972 2 274 8590
Fax: +972 2 274 8774
Mobile: 0599 180 872 or 0522 50 20 79
USA number: 1 989 607 9480
Skype: georgerish
SABEEL/FRIENDS OF SABEEL
FAITH-BASED TRIPS AND CONFERENCES:
ABOUT SABEEL: Sabeel is an ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement
among Palestinian Christians. Inspired by the life and teaching of Jesus Christ,
this liberation theology seeks to deepen the faith of Palestinian Christians,
promote unity, justice and love. Sabeel also works to promote a more accurate
international awareness regarding the identity, presence, and witness of
Palestinian Christians as well as their contemporary concerns. It encourages
individuals and groups worldwide to work for a just, comprehensive, and enduring
peace informed by truth and empowered by prayer and action.
For
a listing of faith-based travel and conference opportunities see Sabeel's site:
http://www.fosna.org/conferences_and_trips/AlternativeTravelOpportunities.html
Contact: Sabeel-Jerusalem
youth@sabeel.org
P.O.B. 49084 Jerusalem 91491
www.sabeel.org
THE SIRAJ CENTER FOR HOLY LAND STUDIES
http://www.sirajcenter.org/
Come
to Palestine
Palestine is the place to visit, learn, share, and be a witness
The Siraj Center, in cooperation with partners, provides unique opportunities
for travel to Palestine and the Holy Land. Our tours and visit varies between
busing tours into pure hiking and walking along the Nativity Trail and the
Abraham Path, in the mountains and wilderness. Biking is a new way of touring
Palestine and the Holy Land by visiting
http://www.bikepalestine.com. Also our annual program the Palestinian Summer
Celebration is open for all ages.
Come to Palestine, Hike, Bike along the steps of history and the Prophets meet
the people and enjoy their Culture, have a first hand experience of the
Political situation,
visit all Holy Sites through all of the Holy Land, Travel Ethically and
Responsibly
Please find below dates, tours, and prices, simply click into the link and it
will take you to our website where you can find all needed information:
Come and celebrate Palestine! The Palestinian Summer Celebration is a unique
annual program that gives people from all over the world the chance to encounter
the life, culture, and politics of Palestine. Learn Arabic and study Palestinian
history at Bethlehem University, spend time with local families and volunteer
with a community organization.
The Nativity Trail
http://www.sirajcenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=142&Itemid=1
(I am from Bethlehem) You will have place in our Homes and Inn
Inter-religious and Inter-cultural Explorations of the Holy Land
http://www.sirajcenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=153&Itemid=1
Participants in this tour will explore the religious diversity and cultural
richness of Israel and Palestine. We will investigate holy sites, listen to
devotees, observe religious practices, delve into group beliefs and values, and
ponder the religious experiences of the peoples of Israel and Palestine. Special
attention will be given to the diversity of Jewish life, the vibrancy of Islam,
and a selection of the indigenous Christian communities of Israel and Palestine.
How have such lusciously flowered religions survived, adapted, and blossomed in
the ‘desert’?
The Abraham Path
http://www.abrahampath.org/downloads/Walking_in_Palestine_detailed_info_110610.pdf
Come and Walk along the steps of Abraham, learn about the culture, traditions
and values of Abraham.
www.walkpalestine.com
In order to follow up with our walking tours in Palestine, please visit :
http://www.walkpalestine.com
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