NGO ACTION NEWS April - May 2006 No. 6 http://domino.un.org/ngoactionnews.nsf/1C0B3AB87DC4F2F8852568F8007759FD/344C44E91C9F79B78525714F00537719?OpenDocument North America Al –Awda, The Palestinian Right to Return Coalition - San Diego Chapter held the presentation on 29 March 2006 entitled “Health Care Under Occupation” by Wisam Hasanat, Areej Ja’afari and Tala Shihadeh, health workers from the Ibdaa Heath Committee of Deheisheh refugee camp in the West Bank, who came for a national tour in the US. The speakers addressed the health needs of the Palestinians in the camp. For further information, contact E-Mail: zahi@al-awda.org of visit the web site: http://www.al-awdasandiego.org Artists Against the Occupation ((AAO) initiated the “Olive Project Keep Hope Alive”, a travelling exhibition containing artworks featuring olives, olives trees, or olive products made by AAO members from Canada, France, USA, Japan and Palestinian artists. The exhibit will start on 8 May 2006 in Tokyo. It has been organized to raise awareness and funds for the Olive Tree Campaign which aims to sponsor the resuscitation of the olive groves in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The goal is to replant 50,000 olive trees. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.pai-pal.org Brit Tzedek v’ Shalom– The Jewish Alliance for Peace will hold its National Advocacy Days from 18 to 20 June 2006, in Washington, D.C. Pre-Conference Media Training Sessions speakers include: Steve Rabinowitz, Former Clinton advisor; Matthew Dorf, Journalist; and Jessica Rosenblum, former Director of Communications and Media for Brit Tzevek v’Shalom. The keynote address will be delivered by: Rob Malley, former Clinton special assistant for Arab-Israeli Affairs, member of the American negotiating team at Camp David, and current Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at the International Crisis Group; and Amjad Atallah, former advisor to the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department and PA President Mahmoud Abbas, and current President of the Strategic Assessment Initiative. Speakers include: M.J.Rosenberg, Director of Policy Analysis of the Israel Policy Forum; Lara Friedman, Legislative Director of Americans for Peace Now; Jeremy Rabinowitz, Chief of Staff, Office of Lois Capps (D-CA). On 20 June there will be meetings with Senators, Representatives and their staff. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@btvshalom.org or visit Brit Tzedek v’ Shalom’s web site: http://www.btvshalom.org Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) launched in March 2006 a “Christian Clergy Letter for Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking: A Negotiated Two-State Solution with a Shared Jerusalem” addressed to President Bush and to be sent to Senators and Congressmen. The letter supports an active, sustained and constructive engagement by the US Government, a negotiated resolution to the conflict, and the sharing of an undivided Jerusalem by the two peoples - Israelis and Palestinians – and by the three religious communities. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@cmep.org or visit CMEP’s web site: http://www.cmep.org Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (FFIPP) is organizing the US campus tour from 12 to 25 April 2006 of Samah Atout, a graduate student from Al-Najah University, a volunteer with the emergency medical team in Nablus and the Balata refugee camp, and co-founder of “Project Hope”, a programme that provides educational and recreational activities, medical and humanitarian relief for Palestinian youth and practical training that can empower them with skills for the future. FFIPP is also organizing the next delegation to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory from 15 to 27 July 2006. FFIPP is distributing the film “Arna’s Children”. For further information, contact E-Mail: ye@shrj.org or visit Project Hope’s web site: http://www.projecthope.ps or visit FFIPP’s web site: http://www.ffipp.org Oseh Shalom – Sanea al-Salm will organize the Fourth Palestinian-Jewish Family Peacemakers Camp from 1 to 4 September 2006, at Camp Tawonga in the northern California mountains on the Tuolumme River near Yosemite Park. The participants between 8 and 80 eighty-years old came from Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, as well as Canada and the US. The initiative promotes a new kind of listening and dialogue. For further information, visit the organization‘s web site: htpp://traubman.igc.org Made in Palestine has released the calendar of activities and events organized by community groups and organizations to be held together with a show on Palestinian contemporary art. The show is open from 14 March to 27 May 2006, at the gallery “The Bridge”, 521 26 St, New York City. For further information, contact E-Mail: events@aljisser.org or visit the web sites: http://www.aljisser.org/calendar.html or http://www.thenewjersysolidarity.org Meretz USA, Ameinu, and the Wolfson Center for National Affairs held a presentation on 10 April 2006 entitled “Divining the Tea Leaves: A Post-Election Analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, by Ruti Ben-Artzi, Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Browne Center for International Politics at the University of Pennsylvania; Amjad Atallah, founder and President of Strategic Assessments Initiative (SAI) and former advisor to the Palestinian Negotiating Team; Steven Cohen, founder of the Institute for Middle East Peace and Development and National Scholar of the Israeli Policy Forum; and Daniel Bar-Tal, Professor of Education at Tel Aviv University. The presentation was moderated by Samuel Norich, Publisher of the “Forward” and Executive Director of the Forward Association. The event took place at the New School, New York City. For further information, contact E-Mail: WolfsonCenter@newsschool.edu or visit the web site: http://MeretzUSA.org Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) organized the presentation on 27 March 2006 by the Ibadaa Health Committee (IHC) from Dheisheh refugee camp in the West Bank, by three health workers: Wisam Hasanat, Arref Ja’afari and Talal Shihadedh, who gave an overview of their work on mental health and health education in the camp and the Bethlehem district, as well as the diabetes project they have undertaken with MECA supporter Thomas Moran. One of the aims is to invite people to Dheisheh for educational exchanges and provide trainings in specialized areas. The Ibdaa Health Committee is MECA’s partner of the Ibdaa Cultural Center. The IHC began in 2003 when several health professionals from Dheisheh came together to provide free and low-cost health services to address the needs of their communities. In the last three years, they have secured donations of eye glasses and hearing aids for children, running mental health camps, and providing support for children with cancer. For further information, contact E-Mail: meca@mecaforpeace.org or visit MECA’s web site: http://www.mecaforpeace.org MECA is still collecting donations to distribute food packages to families in Gaza. For further information, contact E-Mail: meca@mecaforpeace.org or visit MECA’s web site: http://www.mecaforpeace.org The Palestine Center issued in April 2006 a new publication entitled “Palestine, Israel and the United States: The Politics of Occupation, Democracy and Reform”. The publication is a compendium of the Palestine Center information and policy briefs as well as summaries and transcripts of briefings by various experts, political leaders and scholars held at the Palestine Center during 2004 and 2005. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@palestinecenter.org or visit the Center’s web site: htpp://www.thejerusalemfund.org US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation issued a press release on 11 April 2006 informing that over 300 US-based organizations have endorsed an open letter to Members of Congress against the H.R.4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 to ban assistance to the Palestinian Authority, introduced after the recent Palestinian legislative elections. The initiative has generated over 12,000 letters. For further information, contact E-Mail: us_campaign@endtheoccupation.org or visit the Campaign’s web site: http://www.endtheoccupation.org Europe Amnesty International issued a press release on 23 March 2006 entitled “Immediate Action needed to avert humanitarian crisis in Gaza”. The organization expressed concern over to the prolonged closure of the Karni Crossing and its consequences. For further information, visit Amnesty’s web site: http://www.amnesty.org Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) will hold the presentation and launching of the new book on 3 May 2006 entitled “The West Bank Wall: Unmaking of Palestine” by Ray Dolphin, currently working in the West Bank reporting on humanitarian conditions in refugee camps, towns and villages and compiling an initial report on the impact of the wall on refugees. The event will take place at the House of Commons, London. For further information, contact E-Mail: doylec@caabu.org or visit CAABU’s web site: http://www.caabu.org The Refugee Studies Centre (RSC) will hold a workshop on 3 and 4 June 2006 entitled “Palestinian Refugees and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. RSC is a multidisciplinary center for research and teaching on the causes and consequences of forced migration. For further information, contact E-Mail: rscmst@qeh.ox.ac.uk or visit RSC’s web site on the “Teaching” section: http://www.rsc.of.ac.uk Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem Al-Mezan Center and the Center for the Legal Protection of Freedom and Movement (Gisha) submitted an urgent petition on 5 April 2006 to Israel’s High Court of Justice requesting the opening of the Karni crossing for regular, sufficient, and predictable hours, to permit the Gaza residents to live a normal life, including receiving humanitarian goods and to participate in a functioning economy. For further information, contact E-Mail: mezan@palnet.com or visit Al-Mezan’s web site: http://www.www.almezan.org B’Tselem issued a press release on 5 April 2006 urging the IDF to publicize immediately the open-fire regulations given to soldiers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which are provided to soldiers orally, and not in writing. B’Tselem has released the video “Lethal Ambiguity”. For further information, contact B’Tselem’s web site: http://www.betselem.org Combatants for Peace held an Israeli-Palestinian Liberation Meeting on 10 April 2006, on the occasion of Passover and Palestinian Prisoner Day. Israelis and Palestinians “who were warriors in the past, have put their weapons aside and replaced them with a non violent struggle against the occupation and for peace between the two peoples”. The Liberation Gathering marks the hope and independence for both peoples. For further information, contact E-Mail: soilimana@yahoo.com or ramrahat@gmail.com Defense for Children International (DCI) and the Palestinian Network for Children’s Rights organized children’s marches from 5 to 9 April 2004 under the slogan “Life without violence is possible” in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho, Nablus, Jenin and Birzeit. More than 100 activities took place in these places and in Jerusalem throughout the week, including workshops, festivals, exhibitions, theatre shows and many other educational and recreational activities for children and adults alike. The Palestinian Network for Children’s Life has issued a statement on 5 April, Palestinian Child Day. The Network is a coalition of 55 organizations working with children and led by DCI. For further information, contact E-Mail: Nasser@dci-pal.org or visit DCI’s web site: http://www.dci-pal.org Israel/Palestine Center for Research & Information (IPCRI) held a presentation on 11 April 2006 entitled “The Israeli-Palestinian Political Process – What’s Next? by Jihad Abu Zneid, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council of Fatah; Collette Avital, Member of the Knesset, Labour Party; Yasser Abed Rabbo, Member of the PLO Executive Committee; and Avigdor Yitzhaki, Member of the Knesset, Kadima. The event took take place in Jerusalem. For further information, contact E-Mail: gershon@ipcri.org or visit IPCRI’s web site: http://www.www.ipcri.org IPCRI is sponsoring a meeting on 8 and 9 April 2006, in Istanbul, of Israelis and Palestinians to address agro-business concerns and to strengthen cooperation. The meeting has been initiated by the agricultural cooperative of Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza. The meeting was attended by 26 participants. Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) issued a press release on 6 April 2006 expressing concern about the re-closing of the Karni commercial crossing which could lead to a food and health crisis. For further information, contact E-Mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org or visit PCHR’s web site: http://www.pchrgaza.org Search for Common Ground and the Middle East Consortium on Infectious Disease Surveillance (MEDICS) issued a report in April 2006 to respond to avian influenza in the Middle East. The reports describes a regional meeting among Palestinians, Israelis and Jordanian ministries of health, as well as international organizations and donor countries, which highlights the need for regional planning for pandemic influenza and for meeting the needs of the Palestinian ministries of health and agriculture in order to halt the spread of the virus. For further information, contact E-Mail: shusseini@sfcg.org or visit the web site: http://www.medics.net Stop the Wall Campaign has issued a report entitled “The Jordan Valley and Jerusalem – Palestinians confront Land Annexation”. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.stopthewall.org United Nations The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will hold the United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People on 26 and 27 April, at the Conrad Hotel in Cairo, Egypt. The theme of the event is “International efforts to alleviating the Palestinian economic and humanitarian crisis”. The Seminar will provide participants with an opportunity to assess the scope of the socio-economic and humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinian people; discuss the United Nations response to the immediate and longer-terms needs of the Palestinian people; and review the role of international donors in alleviating the crisis. For further information, visit the web site maintained by the Division for Palestinian Rights: http:// www.un.org/depts/dpa.ngo/calendar.htm