Madison Rafah Journal

Saturday, January 24, 4-7 pm
Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center
953 Jenifer Street, Madison

MRSCP will mark its sixth anniversary with a fundraising event for Gaza emergency relief.

The program includes a “Gaza Banquet” with pita bread, water, herbs and oil and lentil soup — what would be a feast in Gaza today. There will also free trade coffee, donated by Equal Exchange, and we’ll be selling home-made baklava to raise additional funds.

There will be an update on the situation in Gaza, a slideshow of pictures from Gaza, and a discussion of our plans for the coming year. These include continuing crafts and oil sales, support for an injured Gaza boy who will be coming to Madison for treatment very soon, our pen-pals program, and expanding our public policy advocacy and media work. Kids will be able to make cards and drawings to send to our pen-pals at the Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children.

After the formal end of the program, interested people will be able to sign up for these projects and to meet briefly with others about them.

This event is free and open to the public. Donations will be requested and we ask you to come prepared to give whatever you can. Funds raised will be sent to the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) for emergency medical relief to Gaza. For more information visit www.madisonrafah.org, call 238-1227, or e-mail rafahsistercity (at) yahoo.com.

Hope to see you there. If you can’t make it but would like to donate, you can send a check to MRSCP, P.O. Box 55371, Madison WI 53705 marked “Gaza Relief”.

Madison-Rafah Sister City Project report from Gaza

Barbara Olson, Isthmus, January 18, 2009

Professor Said Abdelwahad is a middle-aged English Professor at Al Azhar University in Gaza City.

Or he was, until Israel began its bloody offensive against Gaza. (Read on …)

Why is she so willing to give Israel a blank check in regard to its treatment of the Palestinians?

Tony Gibart, The Capital Times, January 19, 2009

I am gravely concerned with Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin’s vote for the recent House Resolution 34, which expressed unconditional support for Israel in its war against Gaza.

Over 1,100 Gazans were killed and over 4,000 injured by this illegal invasion. Human rights groups on the ground estimated that 85 percent of these were civilians. In contrast, 13 Israelis, including 10 soldiers, were killed.

In explaining her vote Baldwin, D-Madison, said that her “heart goes out to the many innocent victims of this conflict.” However, her voting record on Israel/Palestine issues demonstrates an alarming pattern of one-sidedness in favor of Israel.

For instance, she voted for the draconian Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, which designated Palestinian territory as a “terrorist sanctuary” and thus gave the green light to Israel’s campaign of assassinations and its illegal blockade of Gaza. The drastic reduction of humanitarian aid and Israel’s strangulation of Palestinian economic life directly led to the recent bloodshed. (Read on …)

Media Education Foundation | Challenging Media

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FILM ON MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT OFFERED FREE ONLINE

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As a result of the horrific events unfolding in Gaza, the Media Education Foundation is making its 2003 film Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land: U.S. Media and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict available online FOR FREE.

We are taking this unprecedented step to offer critical perspective on how the U.S. news media are covering this crisis.

Go to www.pppl.org to either watch or download the film for free.

While the film was made in 2003, its analysis of U.S. news coverage of the Middle East has never been more relevant or more urgent. The film traces a longstanding pattern of media bias in the U.S., providing much needed context for understanding American news coverage of events in Gaza now.

The film has elicited widespread praise for its clear-eyed analysis of both the conflict and the often one-sided way it has been presented to Americans over the years.

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“The best, least biased presentation we have of all the issues involved. A must-see documentary.”
– Chalmers Johnson, author of the “Blowback trilogy” (Read on …)

Saturday, January 24
Forum: “The Left and Obama – A Public Forum”, 7 pm at the Orpheum Stage Door Theater, 216 State Street, Madison.
Admission is $5-10 (no one turned away for lack of funds)

After Barack Obama’s historic election victory, will the new administration deliver change we can believe in or business as usual? How do we organize for a progressive agenda with a Democrat in the White House? Featuring these distinguished speakers:

JENNIFER LOEWENSTEIN Associate Director of UW Middle East Studies Program & founding member of the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project

JOHN NICHOLS Washington correspondent for The Nation

MATT ROTHSCHILD Editor of The Progressive Magazine

LANCE SELFA Author of The Democrats: A Critical History & editor of The Struggle for Palestine (Read on …)

Gaza awareness event at the official Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration

Join MRSCP and American Jews for a Just Peace-Madison (formerly Jewish Voice for Peace) for informational leafleting and Gaza visibility. Meet in front of the Madison Public Library at 5:15 pm.

We will be passing out an informational leaflet on Gaza at the doors of the Overture Center and handing out “Save Gaza” badges to interested people to wear inside the building. Wear kuffiyehs and other items symbolic of Palestine.

We encourage everyone to go inside at 6 pm and respectfully join the celebration of Dr. King’s life and message. This is not a picket or protest so please do not bring signs or large flags.