NGO ACTION NEWS 
No. 11-12/2007 (145-146) 
http://unispal.un.org/ngoactionnews.nsf/1c0b3ab87dc4f2f8852568f8007759fd/1543a62fe07543528525730100639fde?OpenDocument

North America 

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) held its 2007 Annual Convention from 8 to 10 June. One of the workshops was entitled “Palestine: Realities of Occupation”. Speakers included: Afif Safieh, Permanent Observer of Palestine to Washington; Sara Roy, Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Middle East Studies, Harvard University; and Robert Malley of the International Crisis Group. Nadia Hijab, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies was the facilitator. For further information, contact E-Mail: media@adc.org or visit ADC’s web site: http://www.adc.org 

Americans for Peace Now (APN) held a conference call on 5 June 2007 entitled “40 Years of Military Rule” by General Shlomo Gazit. For further information, contact E-Mail: apndc@peacenow.org or visit APN’s web site: http://www.peacenow.org 

APN and the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) ran an op-ed at The Boston Globe entitled “A Two-State solution could work” by Ori Nir, Spokesman for APN, and Rafi Dajani, Executive Director of ATPF. 

Brit Tzedek v’Shalom – Jewish Alliance for Justice & Peace held a town hall conference call on 31 May 2007 entitled “Behind the Headlines: An Insider’s Guide to the Crisis in Gaza” by Amjad Atallah, President of Strategic Assessments Initiative (SAI). For further information, contact E-Mail: info@btvshalom.org or visit Brit Tzedek’s web site: http://www.btvshalom.org 

Brit Tzevek held a presentation on 7 June 2007 by Tom Segev, who discussed his new book “1967: Israel, The War and The Year that Transformed the Middle East”, in New York City. 

Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) & The Middle East Institute will hold on 19 June 2007 a briefing entitled “The Humanitarian Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories” by David Shearer, Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jerusalem. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@fmep.org or visit the web site: http://www.fmep.org 

Foundation for Middle East Peace and the American Task Force on Palestine held a presentation on 17 May 2007 at The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace entitled “New Beginnings from Old Realities: The Arab Peace Initiative as the Basis for Peace” by three members of the PLO Negotiating Affairs Department Support Unit (NSU): Khaled Elgindy, Policy Advisor for Settlements; Zeinah Salahi, Legal Advisor for Borders; and Issa Kassissieh, Senior Policy Advisor on Foreign Relations. 

Foundation for Middle East Peace held a presentation on 5 June 2007, at the American University in Washington, D.C., entitled “40 Years After the War of June 1967: Is Israeli- Palestinian Peace Possible?” by Yuval Rabin, affiliated with the Rabin Center in Tel Aviv and involved in mobilizing the Israeli public for peace; Amjad Atallah, President of Strategic Assessments Initiative (SAI), and former legal advisor to the Palestinian Negotiating Team; Aaron David Miller, Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a former advisor on Arab-Israeli negotiations to six Secretaries of State; and Ziad Asali, President of the American Task Force on Palestine. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@fmep.org or visit FMEP’s web site: http://www.fmep.org 

Free Gaza is organizing a project of sailing a boat to the Gaza Strip. The trip will start in Cyprus towards the end of summer, with some 70 participants. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.freegaza.org 

The Jerusalem Fund and the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University are presenting from 20 June to 1August 2007 “Voices of Palestine: Summer 2007 Film Series”, a film exhibit that explores the social, cultural and complexities of Palestinian life and identity. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@thejerusalemfund.org or visit the web site: http://www.thejerusalemfund.org 

The Jerusalem Fund will hold a briefing on 14 June 2007 entitled “Palestinian Water Crisis: Bilateral and Regional Perspectives” by Fuad Bateh, Legal Advisor; Shaddad Attili, Policy Advisor with the Palestinian Negotiations Affairs Department; and John Murray, water negotiations and conflict management consultant. 

Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) is sponsoring the US tour in June and July 2007 of Mona El Farrah, a physician and human rights activist who lives in the Gaza Strip and works in refugee camps. For further information, contact E-Mail: meca@mecaforpeace.org or visit the web site: http://www.meca4peace.org 

The NGO Working Group on Israel/Palestine, in commemoration of 40 years of occupation, held a screening on the 7 June 2007 of the film “Searching for Peace in the Middle East” by Landrum Bolling, at the UN Church Center, New York City. For further information, contact E-Mail: unoffice@presbyun.org 

The Palestinians for Peace and Democracy will host the screening on 2 June, at the Community United Church of Christ in North Carolina, of a documentary featuring prominent Israeli and Palestinian voices and produced by the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC), an organization that provides technical support and extension services to Palestinian farmers, including empowerment programs for rural women. For further information, contact E-Mail: mthompson015@nc.rr.com or visit the web site: http://www.peace-with-justice. 


Africa 

End the Occupation Campaign, a newly formed coalition comprising almost 20 civil society organizations, social movements, solidarity organizations, political parties and faith-based organizations, has been coordinating activities in South Africa to mark the 40th anniversary of the occupation. The coalition held a media conference on 29 May addressed by Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils and COSATU President Willie Madisha. During the first week of June, there were lunch-time pickets in various centers around the country, including a picket by members of the Parliament and a candle-vigil outside the US Consulate in Johannesburg. The African National Congress has also called for a parliamentary debate on the occupation of the Palestinian territory. The week’s events culminated in mass marches and rallies on 9 June. For further information, contact E-Mail: maxo@anc.org.za 


Europe 

Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) issued a press release informing about the publication of a letter on 6 June 2007 in the Guardian from several MPs to mark the 40th anniversary of the Palestinian occupation. The letter states that “the Gaza Strip is today the world’s largest prison, with 1.4 million Palestinians trapped inside, deprived of freedom to travel or trade, and with little hope for the future. The West Bank is covered in hundreds of illegal settlements containing almost 500,000 settlers, and carved up by settler roads, 549 roadblocks and a wall that serves not just to protect Israelis, but to imprison the Palestinians within it and to annex around 10% of the West Bank”. For further information, contact E-Mail: doylec@caabu.org or visit the web site: http://www.caabu.org. 

CAABU and Palestine Society of the London School of Economics (LSE) launched on 6 June 2007 the book “The Return Journey: A Guide to the Depopulated and Present Palestinian Towns and Villages and Holy Sites” by Salman H. Abu Sitta, founder and President of the Palestine Land Society, a member of the Palestinian National Council, and author of four books and two atlases on Palestine. The 250-page colour guide provides users with a tool to locate and learn about cities, towns and villages – and merging these pre-1948 sites with maps of Israel, West Bank and Gaza Strip. 

CAABU will launch on 20 June 2007 the book “Married to Another Man: Israel’s Dilemma in Palestine” by Ghada Karmi, a research fellow and lecturer at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter. 

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) issued a press release on 28 May 2007 expressing its great concern about the situation in the Occupied Territory and in the Gaza Strip in particular. The press release referred to a report published in 2006 entitled “The Impact of the Economic Strangulation on Human Rights within the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, where FIDH noted that “the effect of Israel and the international community’s attitude towards the Palestinian Authority was leading to further radicalization of the Palestinian people, it was exacerbating competition between Hamas and Fatah on the one hand, and between the government and presidency on the other hand, leading towards possible open conflict between rival factions”. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.fidh.org 

Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), Amnesty International, Trocaire and other organizations have organized a several events through the week before the national demonstration on 9 June in Dublin. On 5 June, a press conference was held outside the Israeli Embassy; on 7 June, IPSC held a public debate entitled “40 years of occupation – was it justified, is it legal?” by Michel Warschawski of the Alternative Information Center. For further information, contact E-Mail: supportpalestine@ireland.com or visit IPSC’s web site: http://www.pisc.ie 

Trocaire and Christian Aid held on 5 June 2007 a Service of Peace and Reconciliation in the Pro Cathedral in Dublin to mark the 40th anniversary of the occupation. The principal speaker was Msgr. Michel Sabbah, Patriarch of Jerusalem. 

Trocaire held a series of commemorative events around the 40th anniversary of the occupation. The organization also launched an online campaign about the wall entitled “Walls don’t build peace - People do”, including a petition calling for the implementation of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion. For further information, contact E-Mail: EMurray@trocaire.ie or visit Trocaire’s web site: http://www.trocaire.org 

The Sir Joseph Hotung Programme of Law, Human Rights and Peace Building at the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS) held a presentation on 16 May 2007 entitled “Negotiations in the West Bank and Gaza: A View from the World Bank”, by Nigel Roberts, former World Bank’s Country Director for the West Bank and Gaza. For further information, contact E-Mail; sh84@soas.ac.uk or visit SOAS’ website: http://www.soas.ac.uk/lawpeacemideast 

The Sir Joseph Hotung Programme of Law, Human Rights and Peace Building held another presentation on 4 June 2007 entitled “ Administrative and Judicial Infrastructure of Israel’s Occupation” by Usama Halabi, a lawyer and legal researcher, and author of several books that dealt with the legal jurisdictional status of Jerusalem, Israeli practice in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. His research and legal work focused on constitutional and administrative law and planning law and land expropriation. For further information, contact E-Mail: palsoc@soas.ac.uk or visit the web site: http://www.palestinesociety.org. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) held from 17 to 21 June 2007 in Amman, Jordan, an international conference entitled “Churches Together for Peace with Justice in the Middle East”. Some 130 participants from WCC member churches and related organizations from six continents took part in the event. The conference addressed prospects for peace in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and launched a New Church Initiative Forum – The Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum. The forum will enable churches around the world to cooperate more closely in advocacy for peace and justice in the Middle East, coordinating existing church advocacy work and promoting new efforts for peace. Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Msgr. Michel Sabbath, speaking on behalf of churches in Jerusalem, said that “Doing justice to the Palestinian people would bring about security for Israel, while delaying the end of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territory feeds extremism and terrorism”. For further information, visit WCC’s web site: http://www.oikoumene.org 


Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem 

Amnesty International Israel-OPT Working Group launched on 8 June 2007 the “Denied – 40 Years of Human Rights Abuses” campaign. The campaign’s focus is to call to an end to human rights abuses in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, with a particular focus on the restrictions of movement imposed by the wall, the use of checkpoints and roadblocks and the construction of settlements on Palestinian land throughout the West Bank. The organization also built a replica of the wall in Dublin. For further information, visit Amnesty’s web site: http://www.amnesty.org 

Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights issued a press release informing about the demonstration on 15 May 2007 in Ramallah to commemorate the 59th anniversary of the Nakba. The 2007 commemorations were coordinated by the National Committee, which includes the global Palestine Right-of-Return Coalition, the Council for National and Islamic Forces, the Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO), the Union of Arab-based Organizations (Ittijah), the Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, the National Coalition for the Defense of Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem, and the PLO Department of Refugee Affairs (DORA). The National Committee issued a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, reminding of the fact that western states and the United Nations shared responsibility for the creation of the Palestinian Nakba and the refugee question. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@badil.org or visit Badil’s web site: http://www.badil.org 

Badil issued a press release on 19 June 2007 about a digital book entitled “Voices: Palestinian Women Narrate Displacement” by Rosemary Sayigh, an anthropologist and oral historian. About 70 Palestinian women and a few men tell their stories. The book is available at: http://www.almashriq.hiof.no/voices/ 

B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories and The Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) issued a report in May 2007 entitled “Where Silence Reigns – Israel’s Separation Policy and Forced Eviction of Palestinians from the Center of Hebron”. B’Tselem and ACRI presented Knesset members with the report containing figures on the dispossessions of Palestinians residents of the center of Hebron. The findings are based on the first comprehensive survey on occupancy of Palestinian dwellings and businesses near the settlement points in the city. Both organizations produced a video entitled “Error: A Main street closed by mistake”. For six years, Palestinians residents of Hebron have been forbidden from walking down Shuhada Street, one of the main streets in the city. After ACRI’s intervention, the army admitted that the street was closed to Palestinian in error. Today, approximately 5 months after the army’s admission, the Palestinians are still barred from Shuhada Street. For further information, visit B’Tselem’s web site: http://www.btselem.org 

The Carter Center opened a new Carter Center Field Office in Ramallah to support Palestinian democracy and human rights. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.cartercenter.org 

Israel/Palestine Center for Research & Information (IPCRI) will hold a presentation on 20 June 2007 entitled “From Conflict to Cooperation: Israel-Palestinian Water Issues” by Hillel Shuval, Hebrew University; Hassan Dweik, Al Quds University; and Alfred Abed Rabo, Bethlehem University. At the event, IPCRC will launch a new book entitled “Water Resources in the Middle East: Israeli-Palestine Water Resources – From Conflict to Cooperation”. For further information, contact E-Mail: gershon@ipcri.org or visit IPCRI’s web site: http://www.ipcri.org 

The Civic Coalition for Defending the Palestinian’s Rights and Jerusalem (CCDPRJ), The Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO) and Itijah – Union of Arab Community-Based Associations held a conference from 5 to 8 June 2007 entitled ‘Forty Years of Occupation of Jerusalem”. The conference took place the first day in Jerusalem; the second day in Ramallah; and the third day in Um Al-Fahm. For further information, contact E-Mail: arouria@welfare.org or visit the web site: http://www.ccdprj.ps 

The Israeli Committee Against House Demolition (ICAHD) is launching a campaign, in partnership with ICAHD-USA and ICAHD-UK, to rebuild each and every Palestinian home demolished during the 40th year of the Occupation. ICAHD will also circulate a petition calling on the UN to implement Security Council resolution 252, which “urgently calls upon Israel to rescind all such measures already taken and to desist forthwith from taking any further action which tends to change the status of Jerusalem”. Since 1967 18,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished. For further information, contact E-Mail: info@icahd.org or visit ICAHD’S web site: http://www.icahd.org 

International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel, a joint advocacy initiative convened by the World Council of Churches, issued a statement on 28 May 2007 to mark the 40 years of occupation, from the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, “who call on people across the world to join in their efforts for peace. The Churches reiterate their position on the future of Jerusalem recognizing the rights of three faiths – Jewish, Christian and Muslim – and the needs of two people. While calling to end the occupation based on UN resolutions 242 and 338, they demand the restoration of land to lawful indigenous owners and the demolishing of the so called “Security Wall”. For further information, contact E-Mail: yusef66jrs@yahoo.com 

International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel held an “ecumenical service of the commemorating 40 years of illegal occupation” at St. Stephen’s Basilica in Jerusalem. 

Jerusalem Center for Women (JCW) issued a press release in May 2007 informing about the escalation of house demolitions in Jerusalem. The number of houses demolished have reached up to 50 houses since the beginning of this year – double of the number of houses demolished last year during the same period of time. For further information, contact E-Mail: Zahra@j-c-w.prg 

Joint Advocacy Initiative – JAI through YMCA and the YWCA Olive Tree Campaign – Keep the Hope Alive has increased the target number of olives trees to be sponsored and planted to 14 609. According to the organizations, in the past six year alone Israel has uprooted over than a million olive trees in the West Bank and Gaza. For further information, contact E-Mail: olivetree@jai-pal.org or visit the web site: http://www.jai-pal.org 

The Other Israel informed that on 5 June 2007, Israeli and Palestinian artists who oppose the occupation opened a joint exhibition at the Artists House in Jerusalem, and then in Tel Aviv. The exhibit was entitled “Desert Generation”, referring to the generation in the Bible that had to spend forty years wandering the desert and did not live to see the Promised Land. For further information, contact E-Mail: otheris@actcom.co.il 

Palestine Remembered contains a comprehensive online database of about 450 destroyed Palestinian towns and villages. At the web site, there are rare photos and accounts; detailed maps prior to the 1948 war; British Mandate statistics prior to the 1948 war; and detailed history about the evolution and core issues of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.PalestineRemembered.com 

Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) and partner organizations issued a report in June 2007 entitled “Agriculture Sector through 40 Years of Occupation’. The report sheds light on the repercussions of the Israeli occupation’s various policies and measures on agriculture and all walks of the rural life during the past 40 years, in order to pressure all parties concerned to prevent further devastation in this sector; and to mobilize political and financial support for the sector. According to the report, Israel controls and besieges more than 50 % of the West Bank, and controls 89% of the water resources (both ground and surface) available for the use of Israel and Palestinians. PARC also issued an open letter to G8 Summit in Germany. For further information, contact E-Mail: ghada@pal-parc.org or visit PARC’s web site: http://www.pal-arc.org 

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel issued a press release on 30 May 2007 informing about the decision by the University and College Union (UCU) Congress to support motions that endorse the logic of academic boycott against Israel. Palestinian calls for boycott have included the British National Union of Journalists (NUJ); Aosdana, the Irish state-sponsored academy of artists; Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU); and British and international architects led by Architects for Peace and Justice in Palestine (APJP). For further information, contact E-Mail: info@boycottisrael.ps or visit the web site: http://www.PACBI.org 

The Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO), Stop the Wall Campaign; The Civic Coalition for Defending the Palestinian’s Rights in Jerusalem (CCDPRJ), and the National Committee for Commemorating Al-Nakba organized a demonstration on 9 June in Jerusalem. For further information, contact E-Mail: pngonet@pngo.net 

PNGO, CCDPRJ and Ittijah – Union of Arab Community-based Associations held a conference on 5, 6 and 13 June 2007 entitled “Forty Years of the Occupation of Jerusalem”, in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Um Al-Fahm. For further information, contact E-Mail: arouria@jwelfare.org or visit the Civil Coalition’s web site: http://www.ccdprj.ps 

The Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) issued a press release on 28 May 2007 calling on the United Nations and the international community to intervene to stop the war crimes committed by the Israel occupation forces on Palestinian civilians and their properties in the Gaza Strip. For further information, contact E-Mail: pngo@palnet.com . 

Panorama Center and the Peres Center for Peace held from 10 to 13 June 2003 the Palestinian-Israeli Peace NGOs Forum, in Florence. The Forum included three working platforms – The Peace NGO Forum, The Israeli Peace NGO Forum, and the Palestinian-Israeli Forum. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.peacengo.org/about.asp 

Peace Now organized in June 2007 a demonstration in Hebron to protest continued settlement activity. For further information, visit Peace Now’s web site: http://www.peacenow.org 

The Stop Bleeding of Bethlehem Campaign has a new web site with information regarding non-violent actions in the Bethlehem area: http://www.stopbethlehembleeding.wordpress.com 

A coalition of Israeli organizations and activists held a press conference on 15 May 2007 entitled “Taking Stock: 40 Years of Occupation in Jerusalem - A Comprehensive Report”. Speakers included: Hagit Ofran, Peace Now Settlement Watch, on policies and developments in Jerusalem; Meir Margalit, Field Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitons, on discrimination towards Palestinian neibourhoods in Jerusalem; and Ali Jada, a Palestinian from the Old City of Jerusalem. For further information, contact E-Mail: angela@ichad.org 

Palestinian civil society and religious organizations in Jerusalem held a press conference on 21 July 2007 entitled “A Call from Jerusalem – National Unity is our Only Option”, in Ramallah. Speakers included: Archbishop Attalag Hanna, Archbishop of Sevastia; Sheik Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Palestine; Rana Nashashibi, Director of the Palestinian Counselling Center; and Muhammad Jaddalah, physician. The organizations also issued a press release condemning the “support of international community led by Israel and the US to one party over the other, thus furthering fragmentation of the conflict”. For further information, contact E-Mail: pcc@palnet.com 

A convergence of peace groups, including Gush Shalom, Anarchists Against the Wall, Women’s Peace Coalition, The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Yesh Gvul, Indymedia, Ta’ayush, Zochrot, and Hadash jointly organized protest actions marking forty years of occupation. From 5 to 10 June 2007 a wide spectrum of events took place. The main march took place on 9 June in Tel Aviv. Also on 9 June, an Israeli-Palestinian demonstration took place in Jerusalem. For further information, visit the web site: http://www.kibush40.org 


Asia and the Pacific 

Women for Palestine and Australians for Palestine held on 16 and 17 June the 1967 Occupation Exhibit, which included art and photographic exhibitions, slide shows, installations, readings, demonstrations and other activities. The organizations also held a film festival entitled “Palestine Uncut”. For further information, contact E-Mail: sonja.karkar@womenforpalestine.com or visit the web site: http://www.67.com.au