Madison Rafah Journal

A Forum for the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project

December 6, 2011
Dalia Eshkenazi Landau in Madison

Categories: Event,Madison,Occupied Palestine. Posted by: Administrator on December 3, 2011 at 3:41 pm.

November 20 – 21, 2011
Jeff Pickert Talk: Palestinian Youth, Israeli Repression, and International Solidarity

Categories: Event,Gaza,Madison,Occupied Palestine,Violence,West Bank. Posted by: Administrator on November 19, 2011 at 1:52 pm.

Supporting the Next Generation of Unarmed Resisters: Palestinian Youth, Israeli Repression, and International Solidarity

    Sunday, Nov. 20 at 5 pm in Anderson Auditorium, Predolin Hall, Edgewood College

The past year has seen a tremendous resurgence of unarmed revolt throughout North Africa and the Middle East as millions of people have risen up against authoritarian regimes in what has been called the Arab Spring. In the occupied Palestinian Territories, these revolutions have given momentum to the regrouping of popular resistance efforts against the Israeli occupation. Jeff Pickert will speak about the strategy and effectiveness of Palestinian popular resistance, in light of these global events. His presentation will focus on the repression of Palestinian youth, as Israeli Forces seem intent to try to stop the next generation of Palestinian leadership from engaging in nonviolent organizing. Jeff will also be drawing upon his experiences working on the ground with Palestinian villagers and activists in the southern West Bank, as well as his efforts to each Gaza as part of the most recent International Freedom Flotilla which was prevented from sailing from Greece.

Jeff Pickert is a 22-year-old American solidarity activist who has lived and worked in the occupied West Bank for a collective period of over a year and a half. In addition to studying Arabic and Palestinian politics at Birzeit University, Jeff also spent significant time engaging in direct action efforts against the occupation. (Read on …)

Demand the Release of Palestinian Crafts from Gaza

Categories: Gaza,Occupied Palestine. Posted by: Administrator on November 19, 2011 at 1:20 pm.

Please do this today. Atfaluna Society for the Deaf is one of our crafts suppliers as well.

Middle East Children’s Alliance, 19 November 2011

Every holiday season, the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) and Joining Hands sponsors a bazaar of Palestinian crafts and goods. Throughout each year, we spend time building relationships with creative and talented artisans, farmers and craftspeople–especially women–living in the West Bank and Gaza, who make beautiful hand-woven rugs, tapestries, wooden sculptures, pottery, and embroidery.

However, due to the ongoing illegal Israeli siege on Gaza, our most recent shipment of crafts from the Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children was prohibited from leaving Gaza by the Israeli government. That’s why today, we urgently ask you to sign the petition below by Monday, November 21st, calling on the State Department to demand that Israel releases the crafts from Gaza, and end the inhumane siege and suffering: (Read on …)

November 15-17, 2011
Ilan Pappé Program in Madison

Categories: Apartheid,Event,Madison,Occupied Palestine. Posted by: Administrator on November 9, 2011 at 7:30 pm.

Palestine: Past, Present and Future

Pappe2.jpg

"The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, 1948-1967"
Tuesday, November 15, 7pm, 2650 Humanities

"Squaring the Circle: the Failure of the Middle East Peace Process"
Wednesday, November 16, 7pm, 2650 Humanities

Open Seminar for Students, Faculty and Public
Thursday, November 17, 12:20pm, 8108 Social Science
(Read on …)

Freedom Waves prisoners abused and imprisoned; ‘Anonymous’ hackers strike back

Categories: Gaza,Occupied Palestine,USA. Posted by: Administrator on November 8, 2011 at 7:29 pm.

Ben Lorber, Mondoweiss, November 7, 2011

In the immediate aftermath of the illegal capture of the Freedom Waves flotillas, Israel’s public image has been tarnished, as reports of violence at sea surface to counteract its claims of a peaceful takeover, and as human rights cyber-resistance group Anonymous retaliates by shutting down Israeli government web sites. 

As Israeli naval soldiers boarded the Tahrir and Saoirse Friday afternoon, the IDF released a statement saying that the ships were intercepted peacefully, and that no activists were harmed in the takeover. In addition, in an attempt to portray its own reasonable benevolence, the IDF released a video of soldiers contacting the ship and offering to reroute its humanitarian aid by land or through Ashdod, shortly before releasing another video which seemed to show Israeli soldiers peacefully and non-threateningly boarding one of the flotillas. 

When Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah, an activist aboard the Tahrir, wrote an account of Israel’s seizure of the boats after her release on Saturday, however, the world began to see a different picture.  “Towards the early afternoon,” she said, “we saw three Israeli warships in the horizon… Soon after, the Israeli presence in the waters around us intensified. We counted at least 15 ships, four of which were warships, and the rest a mix of smaller boats and water cannons. From inside the smaller boats, dozens of Israeli soldiers pointed their machines guns at us. This is when our communications system was jammed and we lost contact with the world…the Israelis sent radio messages to our boat, asking us to stop sailing because they would board the boat and take us to the Israeli port of Ashdod. When our boat refused to surrender, they aimed their canons at us, showering us with salty water. The boat had become highly unstable and panic was in the air… Israeli ships hit our boat and soldiers started boarding. Dozens of masked soldiers screamed “on your knees,” and “hands up.””  (Read on …)

Two Boats Set Sail to Gaza to Break Blockade

Categories: Gaza,Occupied Palestine,USA. Posted by: Administrator on November 2, 2011 at 7:34 pm.

Passengers include CODEPINK Rep

Contact: Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK Cofounder- in Turkey for flotilla support team
+90575443677 or medea@globalexchange.org

Alli McCracken, CODEPINK DC Coordinator
(860) 575-5692 or Alli@codepink.org
November 2nd, 2011

The Canadian ship Tahrir and the Irish ship Saoirse have successfully reached international waters, initiating the "Freedom Wave to Gaza." The boats have embarked from Turkey and are on the Mediterranean Sea.  In all, the 2 boats carry 27 passengers from Canada, Ireland, U.S., Palestine, and Australia, including Kit Kittredge, an American representative of the peace group CODEPINK on board the Tahrir.

Kittredge was previously a passenger on the American ship, The Audacity of Hope, which attempted passage to Gaza last July. "The only obstacles in our way are Israel’s military and the complicity of the Obama administration,” Kittredge stated, “But in our sails is the wind of worldwide public opinion which has turned against the illegal blockade." (Read on …)

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