Madison-Rafah Journal

Friday, October 3 from 12 noon - 2 pm
Saturday, October 4 at 7:30 pm
Anderson Auditorium, Predolin Humanities Center
Edgewood College

We are pleased to announce that Edgewood College will host two performances of the play My Name is Rachel Corrie in October.

My Name is Rachel Corrie was created from the writings of Rachel Corrie, an American peace activist who was killed in Gaza in 2003. Brittany Jordt, who performed before standing-room only audiences in Madison last spring, will again play the role of Rachel.

These are expected to be the production's final Madison performances. Both performances will be free and open to the public.

(Read on …)

Sunday, August 17, 2 pm
Escape Java Joint
916 Williamson Street

The film Occupation 101 will be shown as part of the People's Networking Convention, a counter-convention for "anyone who wishes to do something about democracy in our country".

Occupation 101 is a thought-provoking and powerful documentary film on the current and historical root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unlike any other film ever produced on the conflict, Occupation 101 presents a comprehensive analysis of the facts and hidden truths surrounding the never-ending controversy and dispels many of its long-perceived myths and misconceptions.

A Palestinian journalist's life and work shed light on the violence in Israel's "dual" society

Mohammed Omer, The Nation, July 31, 2008

I am a Palestinian journalist from Gaza. At the age of 17, I armed myself with a camera and a pen, committed to report accurately on events in Gaza. I have filed reports as Israeli fighter jets bombed Gaza City. I have interviewed mothers as they watched their children die in hospitals unequipped to serve them because of Israel's embargo. I have been recognized for my reporting, even in the United States and United Kingdom, where I have won two international awards. I have also been beaten and tortured by Israeli soldiers.

This summer, at age 24, I was honored to learn that I had become the youngest journalist to receive the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, named for the famed American war reporter and awarded to journalists who counter propaganda with the truth. Although Israel has sealed Gaza's 1.5 million Palestinians in what many now call the world's largest open-air prison, Dutch MP Hans Van Baalen lobbied the Israeli government to let me leave Gaza to receive my award in person. Upon my return from London, I was surrounded by Israeli security officers. I was stripped naked at gunpoint, interrogated, kicked and beaten for more than four hours. At one point I fainted and then awakened to fingernails gouging at the flesh beneath my eyes. An officer crushed my neck beneath his boot and pressed my chest into the floor. Others took turns kicking and pinching me, laughing all the while. They dragged me by my feet, sweeping my head through my own vomit. I lost consciousness. I was told later that they transferred me to a hospital only when they thought I might die.

Today, I have difficulty breathing. I have abrasions and scratches on my chest and neck. My hands don't function well; typing is difficult. My doctor informed me that due to nerve damage from one kick, I may be unable to father children and will need to have an operation.

Israeli attacks on journalists are not new; nor are they rare. In April, Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana was killed by fire from an Israeli tank. He was in a car, clearly marked as press. According to Amnesty International, "Fadel Shana appears to have been killed deliberately although he was a civilian taking no part in attacks on Israel's forces."

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AFP, Aug 6, 2008

An Israeli army officer has been demoted but will not face a jail term for ordering that a bound and blindfolded Palestinian be shot with a rubber-coated bullet, military sources said on Wednesday.

They said Lieutenant Colonel Omri Borberg would face the relatively minor charge of "conduct not in conformity with army norms," under an accord struck between his lawyers and the military justice system.

The accord, which has to be approved by the army chief of staff, means the officer will no longer be given a command but will not be formally expelled from the military, the sources said.

(Read on …)

ACTION ALERT
July 2, 2008

Washington Report Correspondent Mohammed Omer Hospitalized Following Detention by Israeli Soldiers at Allenby Bridge Crossing

Palestinian journalist Mohammed Omer, Gaza correspondent for the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and co-recipient of the 2008 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, was hospitalized with cracked ribs and other injuries inflicted by Israeli soldiers at the Allenby Bridge crossing from Jordan into the occupied West Bank.

Omer was returning home to Gaza after a European speaking tour and the June 16 London ceremony at which he accepted the prestigious Gellhorn Prize.

Journalist John Pilger (c), a member of the Martha Gellhorn Prize judges panel, congratulates co-recipients Dahr Jamail (l) and Mohammed Omer. Photo Paul de Rooij.

(Read on …)

Reference: 63/2008
Date: 01 Jul 2008

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continues to violate freedom of expression and freedom of the press in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). This includes restricting journalists and media institutions from working freely, as well as killing, miming and torturing journalists. On Thursday, 26 June 2008, the IOF severely beat and humiliated Mohammed Omar Al Mghayar, a young prize-winning journalist who lives in and reports from the Gaza Strip.

According to the 24-year-old journalist's sworn testimony, officers from the Israeli security services (Shin Bet) assaulted him when he was returning from a trip to Europe. Al Mghayar began his visit in London, where he was awarded the 2008 Martha Gelhorn Prize for Journalistic Excellence. He continued his trip to Sweden, Greece, Italy and the Netherlands where he spoke before parliaments. It is noteworthy that a delegation from the Dutch embassy facilitated his travel from Gaza and accompanied Al Mghayar on his outbound journey from the Gaza Strip to Jordan.

On Thursday, 26 June 2008, at approximately 9:40am, the journalist arrived at the Allenby Bridge that joins Jordan and the OPT, but is controlled by Israel. The IOF arrested him, forced him to take off his clothes, beat him severely, and insulted him in front of other travelers. During the two-hour interrogation, he was threatened at gunpoint to his face. A Dutch delegation was waiting for him at the Bridge; however, while he was under interrogation, the IOF told the delegation that he had not arrived at the crossing yet.

The beating, accompanied by mental and physical exhaustion, caused Al Mghayar to lose consciousness and he was transferred to a hospital in Jericho, West Bank. After medical treatment, he was moved to the Erez Crossing that connects Israel with the Gaza Strip. There, the IOF confiscated his camera charger.

(Read on …)