Madison-Rafah Journal

Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2006 19:15:25 +0200
From: "Gila Svirsky"
Subject: Ceasefire and the Gaza Campaign

Friends,

Yes, the ceasefire is a good thing. Let’s hope that it will be maintained and then expanded into full-fledged negotiations for peace.

The ceasefire, however, does nothing to relieve the ongoing, terrible siege of Gaza.

The siege began some six months ago in response to the election of Hamas. In an effort to cut off the financial resources of the Hamas government – to avoid funding terrorism, as it is usually termed - the international community isolated Palestine by placing an embargo on trade and banking and by severely reducing international aid. Israel tightened the noose by further constraining travel within Palestine, curtailing almost all entry to and exit from the Gaza Strip, and withholding the taxes that it collects for the Palestinian authority.

The result has been chaos, violence, and poverty, and these have fueled each other. The Israeli army rained shells down upon the Gazans, while Palestinian militants increased the barrage of Qassam missiles into nearby Israeli towns. In the last four months alone, some 400 Gazans were killed by Israeli firepower, two Israelis were killed by Palestinian firepower, and children on both sides are now traumatized for the rest of their lives.

So while a ceasefire is a blessing, the siege remains in force, withering the Gazan economy: 80% of Gazans now live in poverty on less than $2 a day. In a shocking reversal of “economic growth”, the World Bank predicts a drop of 27% in this year's gross domestic product: "a one year contraction of economic activity equivalent to a deep depression" See www.WHO.int.

International Campaign – 78 cities!

The international campaign to end the siege of Gaza is now in full swing. We know of 78 cities that are holding solidarity events in the coming days – from Amsterdam to Zurich. Let us know if we failed to mention you:

Amsterdam, Netherlands *** Ankara, Turkey *** Armidale, Northern NSW, Australia *** Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand *** Barcelona, Spain *** Berkeley, CA, US *** Bergamo, Italy *** Berlin, Germany *** Bern, Switzerland *** Biel/Bienne, Switzerland *** Bologna, Italy *** Boston, MA, US *** Brighton, UK *** Caen, France *** Cambridge, MA, US *** Canberra, Australia *** Cape Town, South Africa *** Cardiff, Wales *** Chicago, IL, US *** Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand *** Cologne, Germany *** Como, Italy *** Dallas, TX, US *** Des Moines, Iowa, US *** Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand *** Everett, WA, US *** Geneva, Switzerland *** Grenoble, France *** Honolulu, HI, US *** Keswick, UK *** Kingston, NY, US *** Lausanne, Switzerland *** Leuven, Belgium *** Liverpool, UK *** London, UK *** Louisville, KY, US *** Lucerne, Switzerland *** Madison, WI, US *** Marseille, France *** Milano, Italy *** Montreal, Canada *** Muenster, Germany *** Napoli, Italy *** New York, NY, US *** Oakland, CA, US *** Oslo, Norway *** Padua, Italy *** Palma de Mallorca, Spain *** Paris, France *** Parksville/Qualicum, BC, Canada *** Philadelphia, PA, US *** Phoenix, AZ, US *** Portland, OR, US *** Ravenna, Italy *** Rome, Italy *** San Francisco, CA, US *** San Luis Obispo, CA, US *** Santa Cruz, CA, US *** Santandar, Spain *** Saugerties, NY, US *** Savona, Italy *** Schio, Italy *** Seattle, WA, US *** Sevilla, Spain *** Strasbourg, France *** Torino, Italy *** Toronto, Canada *** Treviso, Italy *** Udine, Italy *** Valencia, Spain *** Vancouver, BC, Canada *** Verona, Italy *** Vicenza, Italy *** Vienna, Austria *** Washington, DC, US *** Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand *** Woodstock, NY, US *** Zurich, Switzerland

And look into our special campaign website for further information about the activity nearest you: gazasiege.net.

You will also find materials that may help you in your own activity, including an information leaflet and poster.

In Israel, we will be holding our demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday, December 2. We’ll keep you posted.

The Petition Strategy

As this is being written, over 3,700 people have already signed our petition calling for an end to the siege of Gaza. If you have not signed, now is the time: www.PetitionOnline.com.

Signatures continue to flow; this petition is now third place (!) in the list of the current ‘most popular petitions’. We are trying to remove the few crank signatures from these listings; don’t allow them to put you off from signing this document.

Here’s the petition strategy: In Israel, we will present the signed petition to Israeli officials and to American and European ambassadors here. We want to encourage you to do the same to political leaders in your own cities –- elected leaders and Israeli ambassadors & consuls.

What is amazing is the cumulative effort being made all over the world. We know there are many critical causes vying for your attention, and we appreciate the efforts you are making during this month-long campaign on behalf of Gaza. Our joint campaign has begun to place the Gaza Siege on the agenda of many political leaders who had not previously thought about it.

With your help, we can break the siege, and enter into full-bodied negotiations to begin to bring peace to the region.

Shalom / Salaam,

Gila Svirsky, Jerusalem
Debby Lerman, Tel Aviv