Madison Rafah Journal

May 07, 2004, 8 pm
The Killing Zone

May 14 and 21, 2004
Laura Gordon and Cheryl Broderson on the death of Rachel Corrie

The Killing Zone is a 45-minute British documentary about conditions in Rafah and the murders of International Solidarity Movement workers Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall and British TV journalist James Miller. The film was made soon after Corrie's death and during the shootings of Hurndall and Miller.

The following two Fridays, May 14 and May 21, WYOU also plans to air the tape of our April program on the anniversary of Rachel Corrie's death, which featured talks by Laura Gordon, an International Solidarity Movement volunteer who recently returned from Rafah, and Cheryl Broderson, Rachel's aunt from Iowa. Laura went to Israel with the "Birthright Israel" program, but wound up spending nearly a year in Rafah with the ISM trying to protect Palestinian civilians.

Further coverage of Rafah and Palestine may air the following Friday, June 1, before the City Council meeting.

April 27, 2004

In an effort to derail efforts to obtain official city council approval for a Palestinian Sister City, the Executive Board of the Madison Jewish Community Council has launched an attack against the City of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, the Mezan Center for Human Rights based in Gaza City and the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project. Below is a point-by-point refutation of the charges brought against these three entities by the MJCC.

PART I: RAFAH

The Mayor and Municipality

Charges: Mayor Said Zoroub is associated with Hamas and the city of Rafah is Hamas-controlled. Rafah is a refugee camp not a city.

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Dear Members and friends of MRSCP,

Tomorrow at 9 am on WHA 970 AM, Kathleen Dunn's show, there will FINALLY be a guest about Palestine/Israel: "Professor Mahmood Mamdani of Columbia University. HE WILL BE ARGUING THAT AMERICA'S PRO-ISRAEL POLICIES HAVE FUELED PROBLEMS IN THE MIDDLE EAST."

A volunteer has been monitoring WHA for over two months now, keeping track of the guests and topics of relevance to the Middle East, and this is the FIRST talking directly about Palestine/Israel. In this same period WHA turned down our request to put on Laura Gordon or Cheryl Broderson, Rachel Corrie's aunt.

Please listen in and voice your opinions, ESPECIALLY the opinion that we need more coverage of the Palestine/Israel conflict.

Thanks,
Barb O.
Madison-Rafah Sister City Project

The Unresolved Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

8:00 p.m.
The Crossing, 1127 University Avenue
(University and Charter)

Author Cathy Sultan will speak on "A ROOT CAUSE OF INCREASED TERRORISM–THE UNRESOLVED ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT". Her address is sponsored by Beyond Terrorism. She describes her presentation as "a look at who the terrorists are; examining how the conflict is presented in the West; getting beyond accusations and working toward solutions."

Cathy Sultan lived in Lebanon from 1969 to 1983 with her Lebanese husband and two children. During this period, she lived through eight years of Lebanon's civil war.

In March 2002, she traveled to Jerusalem and the West Bank in an attempt to understand the human aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In Ramallah, she met Palestinians in the al-Amari refugee camp. She interviewed teenagers, teachers, a businessman and Huwaida Arraf, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement. She spoke with Israeli soldiers at the Wailing Wall and spent an evening discussing politics with an Israeli Army Major. She walked down Emek Refaim Street, the sight of recurrent suicide bombings, understanding, from her years in Beirut, the terror Israelis deal with on a daily basis.

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Tuesday, April 20, 2004
7:00 pm
The Crossing
1127 University Ave., Madison

Muli Linder, an Israeli refusenik who is touring the United States as part of the Courage to Refuse movement, will speak to the public on the costs of war and peace in Israel. Dr. Linder, a medical doctor, was an officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Medicine Corps when he became the 67th person to refuse service in occupied Palestine.

In January 2002 a group of 50 Israeli reserve officers and soldiers drafted a letter that became known as the Combatant's Letter. This group of active reserve combatants has grown to include nearly 600 signatories (known as Refuseniks) from across the IDF.

They call themselves Courage to Refuse (CTR) for refusing to serve militarily in the West Bank and Gaza strip in the interests of peace, Israel's security and moral character, and the human rights of millions of Palestinians. Almost half of Courage to Refuse have been court-martialed and jailed for their refusal to serve in an unjust occupation.

Dr. Linder is also available during the day on April 20th to speak to the media, schools, and other venues. Please contact Barb or Rae below to schedule an event.

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A program on Israeli village Neve Shalom|Wahat al-Salam

7:00 P.M.
1100 Morgridge Auditorium
Grainger Hall, UW-Madison

Situated midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam is a village established jointly by Jews and Palestinians, all of Israeli citizenship, who are committed to work for peace, equality, and understanding. Aside from the bilingual bicultural primary school of 300 students, the village is home to a School for Peace that conducts dialogues to educate participants from outside the village. Over 50 families reside in the village and 300 more are on a waiting list to join them.

The talk will feature Oasis of Peace residents Adi Frish, 21, and Laila Najjar, 20, who grew up together as neighbors and as classmates in the community¼s integrated primary school. Their parents helped found the community in 1978 as a place for Jews and Palestinians to live, work and raise their children together.

Adi and Laila were among the first children born in the village. Their parents helped found the community in 1978 as a place for Jews and Palestinians to live, work and raise their children together. Laila and Adi still live in Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam and remain close friends. They provide a unique perspective on events in the Middle East.

Adi is a manager for a national health club chain. She studied at the Rubin Music and Dance Academy in Jerusalem. Laila studies jewelry design at Jerusalem's Academy for Art and Design. She studied sociology and social sciences at Greek Orthodox High School in Ramla and has worked as a counselor at the NSWAS Summer Camp.

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