On the morning of Friday, February 25, 2005 a group of approximately 300 Israelis, Palestinian refugees and international activists gathered near the highway leading out of Jerusalem towards Tel Aviv. In the valley below lay the ruins of the ancient Palestinian village of Lifta. The event was part tour, part protest, and part homecoming. It had different meanings for each of the groups involved. The organization responsible for planning the event, Zochrot (Hebrew for “Remembering”) takes Israelis on tours of depopulated and partially destroyed Palestinian villages. They bring Palestinian refugees to tell the stories of their village and plant signs in Arabic and Hebrew that explain what happened there. This event, however, was also a protest aimed at stopping the impending demolition of what remains of Lifta. Read more about Ethnic Cleansing 101: The Case of Lifta Village
On 8 February 2005, Jewish Voice for Peace Co-director Liat Weingart and Israeli human rights attorney Shamai Leibovitz spoke to an audience of members of the Presbyterian Church in Chicago. JVP was the first Jewish group to publicly support the Presbyterian Church’s decision to investigate selective divestment. “There is a silent majority of Jews in the US,” said Weingart, “who feel completely alienated from mainline Jewish groups because those groups are no longer in line with their central beliefs of justice and equality.” Read the transcript. Read more about Speaking to the Presbyterians About Selective Divestment
Montreal, Monday, February 27th, 2005 — After taking sanctuary at the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce church in Montreal more than one-year ago, the Ayoub family - Khalil Ayoub, 67, Nabih Ayoub, 69 and Thérèse Boulos Haddad, 62 - have won their battle to remain in Canada. In the context of this concrete victory, the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees stresses the importance of continuing to build public support and solidarity with ongoing struggle of more-than 100 Palestinian refugees, who continue to face deportation from Canada. The Ayoub family’s victory brings a sense of hope and inspiration to the ongoing struggle. Read more about Ayoub family's appeal against deportation from Canada accepted
On 5 April 2003, in the West Bank city of Jenin, Israeli troops fired at Brian and another ISM volunteer from an armored personnel carrier (APC). They were standing still, wearing bright red medic vests with their hands over their heads, when soldiers opened fire without any warning shots. Brian suffered serious damage to the entire left side of his face, jaw, mouth, teeth, nose, and eyes. He has undergone more than six reconstructive surgeries totaling over $1,000,000 in medical expenses. Two years later, Brian has returned to Israel to demand a criminal investigation be opened into the shooting, after an internal military inquiry found that the incident in which Brian was shot, never occurred. Read more about Brian Avery's day in Israel's Supreme Court
Following the recent meetings between the Palestinian and Israeli authorities, the struggle for an independent Palestinian state will probably move to the political and diplomatic front. In this new phase, the role of the international community will be of utmost importance for a successful outcome. Therefore, there exists an urgent task for Palestinian NGOs and leaders to capture world support for the Palestinian cause. Sietse Bosgra considers international opinion of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the importance of international solidarity movements and the need for more mobilised activism through the Western media. Read more about Lessons from the struggle against Apartheid
On February 23 at 2:45 PM, Brian Avery will arrive in Tel Aviv from the U.S. in order to be present on February 28th when the Israeli Supreme Court hears his petition demanding a criminal investigation of his shooting. Brian, an American human rights activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), was shot in the face and critically wounded on April 5, 2003 by Israeli soldiers while standing in street with his hands in the air in the West Bank town of Jenin. A bullet entered his face, shattering his jaw and his nose. Since the incident he has been in rehabilitation and undergone a series of facial reconstruction surgeries. Read more about Brian Avery challenges Israeli military impunity
14 February 2005 — According to Israeli authorities, one reason for my arrest two weeks ago in Biddu and my denial of entry into Israel in 2003 is that I “organized and participated in illegal demonstrations.” Israeli authorities frequently use the term “illegal demonstrations” to describe peaceful protests against Israeli government violations of international law. This twisted reasoning needs to be exposed and rejected. What is legal often does not completely correspond to what is moral. However, when what is moral is described as illegal, there is a major problem. Read more about Israel's Criminalization of Nonviolent Protest
Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT!) premiered “Eternally Mine,” “a stench beyond occupation,” from Estee Slaughter at its Valentine’s Day Extravaganza at Macy’s Union Square in San Francisco. Eternally Mine joins Estee’s signature scent Occupation and Apartheid For Men in the group’s killer product line. QUIT! is targeting cosmetics giant Estee Lauder with its boycott Israel message, because heir Ron Lauder is president of the Jewish National Fund, which maintains and implements Israel’s discriminatory land policies. Read more about QUIT! premieres latest line of "Estee Slaughter" products on Valentine's Day
Jewish Voice for Peace, one of the country’s largest and oldest grassroots Jewish peace organizations, applauds the announcement of a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians. At the same time, the group says that such quiet can not be sustained without substantial moves toward ending Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Mitchell Plitnick, JVP’s Director of Education and Policy, said, “It’s wonderful that both sides have pledged to stop bombings and shootings. But as long as other forms of violence continue, the cease-fire will be short-lived.” Read more about Jewish Voice for Peace welcomes cease fire, calls for more action to end all forms of violence
Jeff Handmaker, Bangani Ngeleza and Adri Nieuwhof8 February 2005
Sometimes the relevance of making comparisons between the liberation movements in South Africa and Palestine is questioned. Jeff Handmaker, Adri Nieuwhof and Bangani Ngeleza argue that, while the situations are by no means identical, sufficient similarities exist for Palestinians and their solidarity counterparts to draw relevant experiences and strategies that helped form the conditions for peace negotiations in South Africa. It is the massive land dispossession and disproportionate situation that has existed both for black South Africans and for Palestinians, reinforced by policies and actions designed to destroy their dignity, which have formed the primary motivators in both liberation struggles. Read more about Amandla Ngawethu! South Africa and Palestine compared
