Madison-Rafah Journal

"No amount of reading, attending lectures or watching films can convey an accurate understanding of the 'facts on the ground', which are crucial to any program of advocacy." — ICAHD

Dear Members and Friends of MRSCP,

Have you been thinking about visiting Palestine? If so, check out these upcoming opportunities to do just that…in particular I call your attention to the upcoming March delegation of Interfaith Peace Builders, which is being co-led by Wisconsin's own Cathy Sultan of Eau Claire.

To get more information or to apply to any of these, please use the links to contact them directly. (For spring tours, deadlines may be approaching so act now.)

If you are in southern Wisconsin and are seriously considering participating in any of these visits, feel free to contact MRSCP because we may be interested in working with you on pre- and post-tour briefings and report-backs, as well as efforts to subsidize the cost of the trip. In the case of Interfaith Peace Builders, we are currently in posession of a large quantity of their tour promotion materials which would be available for your use.

Below you will first find a chronological list of 2008 tours followed by a listing by group. ALL of these are very worthwhile.

Barb O.
MRSCP

Chronological Order of Visits:
March (Easter) 2008: Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) tour
March 29 - April 12, 2008: Interfaith Peace Builders: "Voices of the Peace Makers: Palestinians and Israelis Chart a Shared Future" with the National Peace Foundation
April 5 - 15, 2008: Global Exchange RealityTour
July 1-12, 2008: Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) (Tour based out of Ibdaa Center in Dheisheh Camp near Bethlehem)
July 14-29: ICAHD Home rebuilding camp
July 26-August 9: Interfaith Peace Builders: "Investing in Peace: Models for Addressing an Ongoing Occupation"
November 8-22, 2008 Interfaith Peace Builders (Olive Harvest delegation with American Friends Service Committee)
December 6 - 16, 2008: Global Exchange Reality Tour

* Israeli Committtee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) tours:
For information on their 10 day March 2008 tour, listed as "over the Easter Holiday" click here. For information on their summer rebuilding camp July 14-29, where participants will rebuild a Palestinian home in Anata, West Bank, click here.

* Spring - Fall 2007 Schedule: October 27^th – November 10^th:
Interfaith Peace-Builders Delegations to Israel/Palestine

Interfaith Peace-Builders (IFPB) sends delegations to Israel and Palestine so that US citizens can see the conflict with their own eyes. Participants have the opportunity to learn directly from Israeli and Palestinian nonviolent peace/human-rights activists, to spend time in Palestinian and Israeli homes, and to experience the situation of Palestinians living under military occupation. For more information, contact the IFPB office directly by phone (202-244-0821) or email office@ifpbdel.org.

* Summer – Fall 2007 Schedule: August 12^th – 22^nd, December 2^nd – 12^th:
Global Exchange’s Delegations to Palestine & Israel

Global Exchange’s delegations to Palestine & Israel provide first-hand exposure to the daily struggles and realities of Palestinians living under Occupation.  The delegations strive to further the US public's understanding of the conflict by listening to the aspirations and frustrations of Palestinians, by examining the dimensions of the human rights crisis under Israeli rule, as well as learning from Palestinians and Israelis who are working for a just peace and an end to the Occupation.

For more information you can contact Global Exchange (800-497-1994 x. 251) or email palestine@globalexchange.org.

August 12 – 22, 2007
December 2 – 12, 2007

* MECA Delegation August 2007:
Come with MECA to Palestine/Israel!

For seventeen years, MECA has taken small groups to the West Bank, Gaza and Israel.MECA staff and local guides introduce you to activists, journalists, aid workers, teachers, social workers and others living under occupation. We’ll stay with our “Ibdaa family” in Dheisheh refugee camp, and visit other MECA partners and friends throughout Palestine/
Israel.

For information, please contact:

Deborah Agre or Josie Shields-Stromsness
deborah@mecaforpeace.org, josie@mecaforpeace.org
510-548-0542

Occupation End Notes is the US Campaign bi-monthly newsletter, designed as a tool for activists. For this newsletter to be successful, we need your participation. Use us to promote events, give feedback on recent actions, recommend resources, or just learn from other activists in the movement. If you or your organization are planning an event aimed at ending the occupation, or you have information for the Newsletter, please contact the US Campaign at office@endtheoccupation.org.

The US Campaign aims to change U.S. policies that sustain Israel's 40-year occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, and that deny equal rights for all.

US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
PO Box 21539 Washington, DC 20009 202-332-0994
http://www.endtheoccupation.org

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