At this time of escalating colonial repression, coupled with a particularly inhumane and illegal siege, Palestinians will be eagerly following the deliberations of the Council when it convenes on May 27, and are heartened by the growing movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions. We believe that this is a courageous initiative; it comes at a time when it is becoming increasingly clear that the international community, as represented by the centers and institutions of global power, is incapable of delivering justice to the Palestinian people. Read more about Open Letter to NATFHE from Palestinian Academics Under Israeli Occupation
As individuals and groups working for the liberation of all oppressed peoples, we join in the call to boycott travel to World Pride Jerusalem in 2006 as part of the international boycott of Israel. Although the event is named, “Love Without Borders,” Israel has illegally occupied Jerusalem for decades, and has functionally annexed the city. Jerusalem is a city with borders that are constantly enforced by the Israeli army. These borders — including militarized checkpoints and towering concrete walls — are often impenetrable to Palestinians and other Arab people. Read more about Call to Boycott World Pride in Jerusalem 2006
The Jerusalem Municipality is preparing to forcibly evict Muhammad Is’hac and Yousra Herbawi from the house where they live with their six children, one of whom is severely disabled, and then to demolish the building. The family have almost no income, and would be left destitute. The impact on the family’s health, in particular that of the disabled son, is likely to be very severe. The Municipality can still decide to take into account the family’s circumstances and cancel the forced eviction and the demolition. Read more about Jerusalem family facing forced eviction and home demolition
The Balata Film Collective was initiated to enable young Palestinians from Balata Refugee camp to use film as a method to break their isolation, challenge their oppression, and represent their lives to the world. This May 2006, 3 members of the collective will be touring the U.S. sharing their films and their stories, and hoping to build connections with other film collectives and film makers involved in the global struggle for justice and liberation. The tour will bring them to Bard College, Boston, New York City, New Jersey, New Orleans, Chicago and Minneapolis. Read more about Balata Film Collective Tour in U.S. to visit New York, New Jersey, New Orleans, Chicago and Minneapolis
8 May 2006, Jerusalem - WorldPride, a week-long international lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) event, will be held in the Holy City August 6-12, 2006. Jerusalem Open House, lead organizer of Jerusalem WorldPride, will collaborate with thousands of activists and organizers from around the globe for a week of discussion, camaraderie and community. Major events include an Multifaith LGBT Clergy Conference, a Pride March and outdoor festival, Human Rights Day, LGBT Health Day, an International LGBT Youth conference, an LGBT Film Festival, and the Keshet Gaava annual conference. Read more about All Eyes on Jerusalem as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Allied Groups Prepare for WorldPride 2006
On Tuesday, April 11, at 5:00 pm, 20 young Jewish people gathered for a seder (traditional celebration of Passover) outside 126 High Street in Boston, the building that houses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Boston’s Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC). The group expressed their support for Palestinian human rights and opposition to AIPAC’s and JCRC’s unquestioning support for Israel and its governmental policies. With a banner that read “Passover means liberation for all. Justice for Palestine,” they conveyed the message to the organizations inside and to the media that AIPAC and JCRC do not speak for all Jews. Read more about Young Boston Jews hold Passover seder outside AIPAC, JCRC offices
In observation of the third anniversary of her death, Palestine Solidarity Committee/ISM-Seattle and the Theatersquad presented sidewalk readings of passages from Rachel Corrie’s writings in downtown Seattle at rush hour. Many members of the community read passages, while others wore tears-of-blood masks and held up door and window frames from demolished homes, along with enlarged photos of Rachel Corrie facing Israeli bulldozers. The event was part of the national Rachel’s Words campaign in protest of the cancellation of “My Name Is Rachel Corrie” at New York Theater Workshop. Read more about Photostory: Rachel Corrie remembered in Seattle
The killing of American activist Rachel Corrie on March 16, 2003, brought home the horrific realities of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. Last March, Rachel’s parents filed civil suit against the Caterpillar corporation in a Washington federal district court, claiming that the corporation knowingly aided and abetted Israeli war crimes and human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Because this is a relatively new legal frontier, the plaintiffs may be facing an uphill battle. However, as the public’s demand for corporate accountability increases, there is hope that multinational corporations will take steps to ensure that their products do not fuel human rights abuses. Read more about Corrie v. Caterpillar: The Struggle for Justice Continues
Awareness of the Palestinian Nakba of 1948 and the need to restore the rights of millions of Palestinian refugees, and a principled and rights-based global campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law, have come to represent the global social movements’ answer to the failure of international diplomacy in the Middle East. At the 6th World Social Forum (WSF) convened in January in Caracas, Venezuela, the Social Movements Assembly adopted the Palestinian Civil Society Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). The Caracas meeting, one of three World Social Forums taking place in 2006 and bringing together civil society organizations and movements from all across the globe, was attended by well over 100,000 participants. Read more about 2006 World Social Forum, European Social Forum, and beyond: New energy for the quest for justice and freedom in Palestine
Israeli occupation forces are arresting scores of Palestinian children each week, bringing the number of juveniles currently held in appalling conditions in Israeli detention centres and prisons to new record levels. Information gathered by the Defence for Children International shows that since the start of 2006 over 230 Palestinian children have been arrested, with the Israeli army appearing to target in particular youths from the Bethlehem Nablus and Jenin areas of the West Bank. The scale of arrests over the past two months brings the number of Palestinian children in Israeli custody to almost 400. This represents a significant increase on the already-inexcusably high numbers of recent years and marks a further indication of the scant regard Israeli pays to Palestinian children’s rights. Read more about Over 200 Palestinian children arrested in two months
