Take the A train to Brooklyn, the message said. Walk one block west. Meet at the basement. Call this number if you’re lost and don’t forward this message. Palestinian Activist Forum of New York (PAFNY), was planning a demonstration in Manhattan, the Big Apple turned Orange. With the Republican National Convention around the corner, the city would amputate a bridge over one suspicious package. So as PAFNY convened last Friday night to prepare banners, placards and leaflets, security precautions were necessary. Any responsible political group takes precautions into their own hands. Read more about Protest March New York, includes Jewish support for refugees' return
Responding to widespread public criticism from a number of Jewish groups, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA), has issued a statement to “clarify the actions of (the recent 216th) General Assembly” on Israel and on the PC(USA)’s commitment to dialogue with people of other faiths. Most of the criticism has concerned the Assembly’s condemnation of the “security wall” being constructed between occupied Palestinian territoriesand Israel; its call for selective divestment of stock in companies doing military and security business with Israel; and its decision not to suspend funding of a controversial “Messianic” Jewish congregation in Philadelphia Presbytery. Read more about Criticism from Jewish groups prompts ‘clarification’ of Presbyterian Church
The 216th General Assembly approved several measures opposing the Israeli occupation of Palestine Friday, including a call for the corporate witness office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to begin gathering data to support a selective divestment of holdings in multinational corporations doing business in Israel/Palestine. Divestment is one of the strategies that U.S. churches used in the 1970s and ’80s in a successful campaign to end apartheid in South Africa. The vote was 431 to 62 to have the church’s Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee (MRTI) study the matter and make recommendations to the General Assembly Council. Read more about Assembly Presbyterian Church endorses Israel divestment
From August 8 to August 22, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions together with Israeli, Palestinian and international volunteers will rebuild the home of Musa Kabu’ah and his family in Anata. Artists will renovate and paint a kindergarten in the town. The Kabu’ah family was given notice of the demolition order on May 2, 2004. The house was destroyed on June 2, when Israeli soldiers and four bulldozers arrived at the site. The family now lives apart from eachother in makeshift homes. These living conditions, coupled with the events of the demolition, have left the entire family in a desperate state. Read more about Rebuilding the house of Musa Kabu'ah
A few weeks ago, Israeli scholars and activists appealed to Jewish-Israeli public opinion through a compelling document. Entitled “For Truth and Reconciliation, For Equality and Partnership” the appeal aimed at changing the political discourse in Israel, particularly “the historical dimension of the conflict and noting the structural political, ideological and cultural changes required to reach, in the future, a true reconciliation.” The Olga document is the result of a series of discussions between Israeli scholars and activists in Givat Olga, one of the largest neighborhoods in Hadera overlooking the Mediterranean coastline. Read more about The Olga Appeal: Israeli scholars and activists recognize the right of return
Peretz Kidron is an Israeli who has been fighting battles all his life, but many of them with the country he emigrated to as an idealistic young man in 1951. Now campaigning to spread the messages of Israeli military personnel who refuse to serve in the Occupied Territories, Kidron was one of the founders of Yesh Gvul (“There is a limit”), the movement of soldiers that sprang up in 1982 to oppose Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. EI’s Ali Abunimah recently spoke to him about the Refusenik movement, Israel’s internal politics and the prospects for peace. Read more about The deterrent power of Israeli refuseniks: interview with Peretz Kidron
FIDH and OMCT, welcome the decision by the Military Parole Committee on July 14, 2004 to reduce the sentences of Haggai Matar, Matan Kaminer, Shimri Zameret, Adam Naor and Noam Bahat, conscientious objectors to the occupation of the Palestinian territories. Initially scheduled to be released in January 2005, they will now be released September 15, 2004. On March 11, 2003 Ben Artzi was the first Israeli conscientious objector to be court martialled since the 1970�s. Matar, Kaminer, Zameret, Naor and Bahat were court martialled in April for refusing to enlist in the army due to their selective conscientious objection to the occupation of the Palestinian territories. Read more about Israeli conscientious objectors receive reduced sentences
The East Jerusalem YMCA and the YWCA of Palestine have initiated a campaign to replant olive trees in areas where they have been uprooted and destroyed, or in areas where the fields are threatened by land confiscation by the Israeli occupation army or settlers. The campaign goal is to replant 50,000 olive trees in the Palestinian Territories with the sponsorship of YMCAs and YWCAs, as well as churches and other groups and individuals around the world. Through replanting olive trees, Palestinians will be encouraged to keep hope alive and to reaffirm their commitment to work constructively toward peace-building. Read more about Olive Trees "Keep the Hope Alive"
The Wall will affect my family as it affects many Palestinians. I live in Budrus, a village of 1,200 people, west of Ramallah. The Wall will completely surround Budrus and eight other villages, separating us from the rest of the West Bank, with just one gate connecting us to Ramallah. On Nov 23rd, 2003, Wall construction started in Budrus, and we immediately began holding peaceful demonstrations opposing it. Though our demonstrations were peaceful, the Israeli soldiers wounded 102 persons. They used sound bombs, teargas, and rubber-coated steel bullets, and beat men and women with clubs. In Biddu and Beitunia, villages near Jerusalem, Israeli soldiers killed six people during protests against the Wall. 15-year-old Iltezam Morrar reports for EI. Read more about Peacefully Confronting the Wall in Budrus
The International Court of Justice has ruled Israel’s “Separation Wall” illegal and has called on Israel to dismantle the wall. Nineteen days ago I came to Israel to protest that wall and to bear witness to its devastating effects on the Palestinian population. Instead I was detained by Israel police upon arrival at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport and have since been held in immigration detention awaiting deportation. I have been labeled a threat to “security,” and the judge has called my camera a weapon. It seems to me the only threat I pose to Israel is a public relations one. Read more about Fighting Israel's Wall
