Eyewitness Palestine October Delegation Arrived in Jerusalem!

Eyewitness Palestine, October 2022

We are excited to announce that our 73rd Delegation is underway! This delegation was three years in the making, and it has finally arrived. Focusing on the Olive Harvest and Environmental Justice, 28 participants will learn from our Palestinian and Israeli partners over the next several days.

Delegates Arrive in Palestine

Unfortunately, one delegate, a Cypriot national with Arab roots, was denied entry upon arrival and two rounds of intense questioning. Israel’s racist targeting of Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims for questioning and denial of entry at the airport is not new. As Israel tries to join the Visa Waiver Program in the US, we are appalled at how this racist and undemocratic practice is allowed to continue. 

The annual Environmental Justice and the Olive Harvest delegation offers a unique cultural and environmental angle on Palestine. Delegates are in Palestine during the olive harvest season — a culturally rich and important time. They hear from farmers and learn of the importance of agriculture to the economy and culture, learn about threats to the environment, the exploitation of natural resources, and the struggle of Palestinian communities to maintain access to land and water.

Follow the delegation to read their Eyewitness Accounts from their time in Palestine/Israel, reports from meetings, and experiences with our Palestinian partners and Israelis partners working in solidarity. This and more exclusive content is available on our websiteFacebookInstagram, and Twitter under the hashtag #eyewitness73.

FOLLOW THE DELEGATION!

Fall Olive Harvest Delegation to Palestine

EyeWitness Palestine still has some openings available for their fall delegation. Scholarships are available.

The Environmental Justice and Olive Harvest delegation is your opportunity to visit Palestine during the olive harvest season — a culturally rich and important time. Hear from farmers and learn of the importance of agriculture to the economy and culture. Learn about threats to the environment, the exploitation of natural resources, and the struggle of Palestinian communities to maintain access to land and water.

There are folks from Wisconsin going who would love to have your company!

Congressmen are trying to stop Rep. Rashida Tlaib from leading a delegation to the West Bank


Rashida Tlaib, elected to 13th Congressional District of Michigan, stands in front of US Capitol Building

Daily Kos, January 31, 2019

Every year, the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC sponsors an all-expense paid trip for Congressional members, seeking to bolster support for Israel. In most recent years, the Democratic trip has been led by Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (MD-5). Incoming Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (CA-32) is expected to lead the Republican delegation.

These junkets gloss over the daily, decades-long pervasive violation of Palestinian’s rights by the Israeli government. They serve as a platform for the Israeli government to present its views unchallenged. AIPAC and the Israeli government prioritize new legislators, hoping to influence their formative views.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), who is the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress announced last month that she will not participate in this one-sided propaganda trip. Instead, she plans to lead a competing delegation on a tour of the West Bank.

Well, it seems this is not sitting well with several of her colleagues, who consider it dangerously presumptuous of a Palestinian-American woman to lead a delegation to her family’s home.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., told Al-Monitor this week that he’s against a West Bank delegation.

Instead of her talking about things, she’s new here, she ought to listen and learn and open her mind and then come to some conclusions,” Engel told Al-Monitor. “If you’re going to be close-minded and have your views, no one’s going to change her views. But I would hope that once you’re elected to Congress, you would at least care to see the other side of the coin.” — www.al-monitor.com/…

Official Congressional delegations must be approved by the House speaker or the chair of a committee the Representative sits on. Though Rep. Tlaib isn’t on Rep. Engel’s committee, since he sits on Foreign Affairs, his views carry weight with others. Rep. Tlaib knows this.

Rep. Tlaib is showing an enormous amount of maturity here.

TAKE ACTION: If you’re a constituent, write Rep. Tlaib’s office here to let her know you support her delegation. If you’re not, write your Representative and ask that they accompany Rep. Tlaib.

There is no value in powerful US lawmakers receiving one-sided views. Yet, that is exactly what many others in Congress want.

Tlaib’s opponents are already appealing to Democratic leadership. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, has sent letters to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and all committee leaders asking them not to approve Tlaib’s request, Politico reported earlier this month.

“This is not partisan,” Babin told Al-Monitor. “My concern is the relationship between the United States and Israel. And when you have a [congressional delegation] specifically to one of the bigger threats to Israel, then I think that could pose some threat and risk as far as the American-Israeli relationship.” — www.al-monitor.com/…

Not unsurprisingly, the rights of millions of Palestinians do not figure in Babin’s statement. They simply don’t exist, except as a bogey-man “threat”. The fact that the Israeli state visits violence on Palestinians in vast amounts is ignored as well. That ignorance is exactly what Rep. Tlaib’s planned delegation seeks to remedy.

Babin went on to say that because Rep. Tlaib referred to President Trump with an expletive a few weeks ago, that makes her unsuitable to lead a diplomatic delegation. If that’s a disqualification, then I’m pretty comfortable saying 98% of American politicians are unsuitable to lead a diplomatic delegation.

Even more outrageously, Rep. Lee Zeldin (NY-1) has proposed a resolution to condemn Rep. Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar, accusing them of anti-semitism. The resolution (H. Res. 72) has 22 co-sponsors, all Republican. They claim this is similar to the resolution condemning Steve King’s white supremacy comments.

In reality, these Congressmen are fighting a losing battle. Ordinary Americans’ views on Israel/Palestine are changing. A solid majority of Democrats now believe sanctions should be imposed on Israel if settlements in the West Bank continue to expand.

while most Americans have probably never heard of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement that Hill backs, our poll shows that a large number of Americans support imposing sanctions or more serious measures if Israeli settlements in the West Bank continue to expand: 40 percent of Americans support such measures, including a majority of Democrats (56 percent). This comes as senators, including Democrats, are proposing, despite continued ACLU opposition, to delegitimize and criminalize voluntary boycotts of Israel or settlements through the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, while not differentiating between Israeli settlements in the West Bank from those in Israel proper. — foreignpolicy.com/…

— @subirgrewal

The NYT has an article up about the attacks on Rep. Tlaib and Rep. Omar that is worth a read: From Celebrated to Vilified, House’s Muslim Women Absorb Blows Over Israel

And while Democratic leaders publicly defend them, some Democratic colleagues are clearly uneasy. Representative Ted Deutch, Democrat of Florida and a founder of a bipartisan task force to combat anti-Semitism, said some of the lawmakers’ comments “fall into longstanding anti-Semitic tropes.” When Ms. Omar was named to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, its chairman, Representative Eliot Engel of New York, told her privately that he would not allow some of her “particularly hurtful” remarks to be “swept under the rug,” Mr. Engel said.

The Sumud Freedom Tour

This is our moment of unity, of coalition building

Holy Land Trust

Mission

Holy Land Trust and Nonviolence International have partnered to develop a multilayered tour of peace and justice work in Israel and Palestine.

This tour unpacks the broad range of nonviolent resistance methods employed by Palestinians and their co-resisters throughout the region and internationally. From December 21, 2017 to January 3, 2018, you will meet with leaders of grassroots organizations, NGO’s, and agents of change in the community who are actively engaged in challenging the systems underpinning Israel’s prolonged military occupation.

This tour is designed for social activists who are committed to deepening their analysis of global oppression. Whether you are engaged in the movement for black liberation, entrenched in the battle for immigrant rights, or fighting for women’s equality, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can serve as an important theoretical and practical framework for nonviolent resistance.

This program is designed to promote an exchange of ideas between movements. Those who have little or no background in the history of the Palestinian struggle are encouraged to join, as the intersections between our movements will allow us to relate to and better understand one another. And as a result, this tour will help us lay the foundation for necessary relationships that lead to broad, diverse coalitions of change.

Who we are

Holy Land Trust is a Palestinian Non-Profit Organization (NGO), located in the heart of Bethlehem on Star Street. Our work is centered on strengthening communities to empower them to find nonlinear solutions to problems; solutions which are rooted in social justice, compassion, and love.

Nonviolence International (NI) is a decentralized network of resource centers that promote the use of nonviolent action. Founded by Palestinian activist Mubarak Awad in 1989, NI is a 501(c)(3) organization registered in Washington, DC, USA. NI is also a non-governmental organization in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

More Information on the Sumud Freedom Tour
Register here
Contact us!

Delegation on Incarceration, Detention, and Political Prisoners




LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MAY 2017 DELEGATION!

May 13 – 26, 2017

Incarceration, Detention, and Political Prisoners
Interfaith Peace-Builders
Co-Sponsored by Defense for Children International – Palestine

This delegation is your chance to explore Palestinian and Israeli efforts to achieve peace with justice and delve deeper into the issues of detention and incarceration, the Israeli military court system, and political prisoners.

Connect with leaders of the No Way To Treat A Child Campaign and gain knowledge and resources to organize against child detention and related issues. As with all IFPB delegations, you will also meet additional Israelis and Palestinians working for peace and justice as well as visit many impotant historical sites.

Get updates about this delegation, including how to apply to join, financial aid, and how we’ll support your advocacy after this life-changing experience.

SIGN UP TO LEARN MORE at Interfaith Peace-Builders

Founded in 2001, Interfaith Peace-Builders is an independent 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization working to build movements of solidarity with grassroots struggles for justice in Palestine/Israel. IFPB delegates root their activism in the realities of Palestine/Israel. We build bridges and build movements. Join us!

Tsela Barr and Michele Bahl: Recent visit to Gaza heartbreaking

TSELA BARR AND MICHELE BAHL | members, Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, Cap Times, Nov 22, 2012

Picture this normal scene: Teenage boys are playing soccer in front of their house on a sunny day in November. Just one problem: These boys live in the Gaza Strip. Suddenly a 13-year-old drops bleeding to the ground, shot by an Israeli soldier in a helicopter.

We were in Gaza at the time and paid a condolence call to the parents of the dead boy. The grief of his mother was unbearable to see.

A man at the funeral said, “We hope you will be strong ambassadors to reflect our message that we need protection. We are looking for freedom and peace.”

Since we left Gaza, over 149 people were killed and over 850 injured during “Operation Pillar of Cloud.” A majority of those killed in this eight-day assault were noncombatants including women, children and the elderly. The many hundreds more who were injured were overwhelmingly civilians.

We were in Gaza with a delegation organized by Inter-Faith Peace Builders. We met with human rights groups, women’s groups, fishermen, farmers, schoolchildren, refugees and other residents. Everyone we met has been severely impacted by Israel’s ongoing economic siege and by the destruction of “Operation Cast Lead” in 2008, when Israel killed an estimated 1,400 Gazans and destroyed thousands of homes and buildings.

Farmers are not allowed to export their crops, the water and sewage system has been destroyed, no garbage trucks are allowed in, fishermen are continually shot at, and people are not allowed out for crucial medical treatments. And for years, Israel has struck into Gaza at will, killing and injuring ordinary Palestinians on a daily basis.

While every death or injury is a tragedy, the enormously lopsided casualty figures are proof that this is not an even playing field for both parties. Israel is the occupier, with the world’s fourth-largest army supplied by the U.S. government, provoking and relentlessly bombing a small strip of land that they have lain siege to for the past six years, to which they control nearly all entry and exit by sea, air and land.

Largely protected from Palestinian retaliation by its U.S.-taxpayer-funded “Iron Dome” missile defense system, Israel set in motion its pre-planned “do over” against Gaza. On Nov. 14 it broke a two-day ceasefire by assassinating perhaps the only man capable of maintaining that ceasefire, Ahmed Al-Jabari, the head of the Hamas military wing. Israeli peace negotiator Gershon Baskin reports that Al-Jabari had just received a proposal for an extended cease fire with Israel hours before he was killed.

All aspects of civilian life were targeted, including schools, homes and infrastructure. It does not matter how sophisticated Israel’s “precision” weapons are, the 1.7 million people living in the densest place on earth were at enormously greater risk of death and injury than anyone in Israel who might be threatened by the primitive rockets of Hamas.

The Gaza that we saw right before this assault was inspiring because of the creative resistance of the people, yet heartbreaking because of the needless suffering they must endure. We were fortunate to leave before the major bombardment began and we can only imagine the chaos and terror of the the people who were so hospitable to us.

As we write, a ceasefire is in effect that we fervently hope will last. But whether or not it does, we call on Republicans and Democrats alike to stop pouring billions of our tax money into the Israeli military machine which clearly has committed human rights abuses with U.S.-supplied weapons. The U.S. and Israel must stop trying to solve a political problem through military force, end the siege of Gaza, and stop sabotaging all efforts to negotiate a just solution in accordance with international law.

Stories of Peacebuilding in Gaza and the West Bank

John Quinlan, WORT 89.9 FM – A Public Affair, November 19, 2012

On Monday November 19th, host John Quinlan was joined in conversation with visitors from a peace delegation sponsored by the Interfaith Peace-Builders.

The delegates just returned this past week from Gaza and and the West Bank. Permission for foreigners to obtain passage to Gaza is rare, and thus these interviews provided listeners with a vital opportunity to understand daily life in the Palestinian territories and how this existence is being affected by the current conflict. John spoke with Tsela Barr and Michele Bahl who just came back from a peace delegation to Gaza on November 12th. During the second half of the hour John spoke with Veena Brekke who recently returned from a peace delegation to the West Bank.

According to their website, “Interfaith Peace-Builders believes in the power of eye-witness experience and transformation. Given the opportunity to speak directly with Israelis and Palestinians, delegates return to the United States better informed, more energized, and with a deeper understanding of the possibilities for true justice in the Middle East.” Tsela, Michele, and Veena shared with WORT listeners their fascinating experiences from both Israel and Palestine.

Read more about Interfaith Peace Builders on their website: http://www.ifpb.org/

Listen to the entire show:

Related Posts:

Israel Attacks the Gaza Strip

On the day that the Interfaith Peace Builders delegation (with four women from Wisconsin) safely left Gaza, Israel’s attacks began … please read the following message and watch the news. The great fear is a repeat of Operation Cast Lead, launched exactly four years ago following the U.S. presidential election … emergency demonstrations are being organized around the world. There may be one in Madison, possibly downtown in the late afternoon on Friday, details TBA.

In the meantime, the US Campaign to End the Occupation is asking people to call the White House.

Today, Israel launched a major offensive in the Gaza Strip, killing the Hamas leader nearby civilians, including two girls under the age of five. The death toll continues to rise. The US Campaign strongly condemns these brutal attacks, carried out with U.S. weapons given to Israel as military aid and paid for by U.S. taxpayers, and Israel’s ongoing, illegal siege of Gaza.

Please act now and call on the Obama administration to exert diplomatic pressure on Israel to bring about an immediate cease-fire and to initiate an investigation of Israel’s misuse of U.S. weapons against Palestinians in this and previous attacks.

White House: 202-456-1111
State Department: 202-647-6575

An Ongoing Terror

Michele Bahl, Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, November 14, 2012

Yesterday we visited the Gaza Community Mental Health Program. Since the siege, which started in 2006 when Hamas won the election, there has been a medication shortage. Israel controls everything that comes into Gaza, and we were told that cancer medications are not allowed in. There are so many things that are not allowed into Gaza, such as materials to rebuild from the Israeli bombings, and utility vehicles to collect garbage. People are dying in Gaza not because there are a shortage of hospitals, but because there are a lack of supplies due to the severe restrictions that Israel imposes on the people of Gaza by this siege.

I haven’t seen one Israeli soldier here, but the population of 1.7 Gazans feel Israel’s presence here all of the time. It is a terrifying presence.

During Operation Cast Lead, which took place in Dec. ’08/ Jan. 09, Israel killed hundreds of innocent civilians. Over half of the population of Gaza is under 18 years old. There is no place that people feel safe in Gaza due to the reality that Israel can attack Gaza and cause widespread destruction at any time.

There is ongoing terror that people face every day, but Americans never hear about it. I believe if my fellow Americans were aware of the ongoing systematic violence that Israel carries out, they would be outraged and want to do something to stop it. If I didn’t believe this, I would have no hope.

Raji Sourani, the head of the Palestine Center of Human Rights, shared the following: “Never ever tell a free person what to do; a free person should know what to do.”

Through all of this disaster and trauma, the people of Palestine are incredibly resilient and will never give up their hope of having justice and being free. The many people we spoke with made it clear that the cause of the suffering of the Palestinian people is political, not humanitarian.

“We have the right to plan for our future, if even for one minute. It is a dream for us.”

“Everyone in the world wants to trust tomorrow, but you cannot trust tomorrow in Gaza.”

Gaza is an open air prison and I will work as hard as I can when I return to the United States to expose this truth and do whatever I can to work toward change. This is what the people in Gaza have been imploring our delegation to do.

2012 Gaza Delegation Photos


 


Michele Bahl and Tsela (Carol) Barr of the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project entered Gaza through the Rafah Crossing on November 5, 2012 as part of a 21-member delegation from Interfaith Peace-Builders (IFPB). This was the first IFPB delegation to enter the Gaza Strip since 2003. From the Interfaith Peace-Builders report:

    “Like other Interfaith Peace-Builder delegations, its purpose is to educate North Americans about the region and deepen their understanding of its conflicts.

    On the eve of the Presidential Election in the United States, the US-brokered peace process continues to show few results and US military aid to the region continues to flow unabated.

    This delegation focuses on the realities of Palestinian life in the Gaza Strip. Participants have the unique opportunity to hear directly from Palestinians throughout the territory regarding their hopes for peace and the role of the United States, the US government, and other international actors in promoting a resolution to the conflict.

    The Interfaith Peace-Builders delegation to the Gaza Strip is led by Michael Brown and Cindy Corrie.

    Michael Brown worked off and on in the Gaza Strip between 1993 and 2000 for the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. A former IFPB board member, Michael continues to work today on the media and Palestine. Michael led an IFPB delegation in 2008.

    Cindy Corrie is the mother of human rights activist and observer Rachel Corrie who on March 16, 2003 was killed by an Israeli military Caterpillar bulldozer in the Gaza Strip. Motivated by her daughter’s work and sacrifice, Cindy Corrie has dedicated herself to the pursuit of justice and peace in the Middle East and has visited Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza on numerous occasions. She is also president of the board of the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, inspired by her daughter.”

The delegation visited the Palestinian Legislative Council, a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) school and food warehouse, the Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children, the Gaza Community Mental Health Program, and the Society of Women Graduates NGO. They also met with Khalil Abu Shammala, human rights advocate and Director of the Al Dameer Association for Human Rights. On November 14, 2012, the day that the delegation left, Israel attacked Gaza with the eight-day Operation Pillar of Defense.


Related posts:

  • VOICES OF CONSCIENCE: DELEGATION to THE GAZA STRIP
  • An Ongoing Terror
  • Israel Attacks the Gaza Strip
  • Stories of Peacebuilding in Gaza and the West Bank
  • Tsela Barr and Michele Bahl: Recent visit to Gaza heartbreaking
  • Tsela Barr and Veena Brekke at East High School

  • VOICES OF CONSCIENCE: DELEGATION to THE GAZA STRIP

    Interfaith Peace-Builders, November 5, 2012

    November 5, 2012 – Interfaith Peace-Builders (IFPB) is pleased to announce that our 21 member delegation to the Gaza Strip passed safely through the Rafah Crossing Monday morning and is now safely in the Gaza Strip.

    Interfaith Peace-Builders has sent more than 44 delegations to Palestine/Israel since 2001. This is the first IFPB delegation to enter the Gaza Strip since 2003. Like other IFPB delegations, its purpose is to educate North Americans about the region and deepen their understanding of its conflicts.

    On the eve of the Presidential Election in the United States, the US-brokered peace process continues to show few results and US military aid to the region continues to flow unabated.

    This delegation focuses on the realities of Palestinian life in the Gaza Strip. Participants have the unique opportunity to hear directly from Palestinians throughout the territory regarding their hopes for peace and the role of the United States, the US government, and other international actors, in promoting a resolution to the conflict.

    The Interfaith Peace-Builders delegation to the Gaza Strip is led by Michael Brown and Cindy Corrie. Michael Brown worked off and on in the Gaza Strip between 1993 and 2000 for the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. A former IFPB board member, Michael continues to work today on the media and Palestine. Michael led an IFPB delegation in 2008. Cindy Corrie is the mother of human rights activist and observer Rachel Corrie who on March 16, 2003, was killed by an Israeli military Caterpillar bulldozer in the Gaza Strip.  Motivated by her daughter’s work and sacrifice, Cindy Corrie has dedicated herself to the pursuit of justice and peace in the Middle East and has visited Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza on numerous occasions. She is also president of the board of the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, inspired by her daughter.

    del44gaza
    a photo of the delegation in Gaza City

    The delegation includes the following people:

    Diane Adkin – Camas, Washington
    Michele Bahl – Madison, Wisconsin
    Carol Barr – Madison, Wisconsin

    Michael Brown – Asheville, North Carolina
    Marsha Carlton – Davis, California
    Craig and Cindy Corrie – Olympia, Washington
    Gary Doupe – Bainbridge, New York
    Rich Forer – Yardley, Pennsylvania
    Joyce Guinn – Germantown, Wisconsin
    Maya Harris – Olympia, Washington
    Wendy Hartley – Nevada City, California
    Darlene Jones-Owens – Carrollton, Georgia
    Declan Keogh – Decatur, Georgia
    Ralph and Emily McCoy – Boone, North Carolina
    Donna Nassor – Moonachie, New Jersey
    Karen Peterson – Horseheads, New York
    Cathy Sultan – Eau Claire, Wisconsin
    Colleen Toomey – North Andover, Massachusetts
    Sonja Wentz – Olympia, Washington

    Reports and Photos from IFPB’s November 2012 Delegation to the Gaza Strip:
    Photos
    Report 1: Greetings from Gaza, Palestine
    Report 2: Occupation is "An Ongoing Terror"
    Report 3: Bringing Gaza With Us
    Follow-Up: Delegates in Action!

    In addition to the reports linked from this page, IFPB delegation participants may be blogging and tweeting about their experiences. Like the trip reports posted here, individual blogs and tweets reflect the views of delegation participants only, and not necessarily Interfaith Peace-Builders or partners.

    Blogs by delegation members:
    Maya Harris may be blogging here
    Cindy Corrie may be blogging here

    Interfaith Peace-Builders believes in the power of eye-witness experience and transformation. Given the opportunity to speak directly with Israelis and Palestinians, delegates return to the United States better informed, more energized, and with a deeper understanding of the possibilities for true justice in the Middle East.

    Upon their return to the United States, delegates will share their experiences with the public, the media, and their political representatives.

    Media interested in interviewing the participants when they return, and groups wanting information about speaking engagements, should contact Interfaith Peace-Builders at media@ifpb.org or 415.240.4607.

    Loving the Land and It’s People: Palestinian Hospitality

    Veena Brekke, Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, October 31, 2012

    On October 28th we departed the beautiful city of Nazareth to visit Palestinian towns, villages, farms and spend two nights in Palestinian homes. I would like to share my experience of visiting the small farming village of Nusf Jubayl, West Bank (Area A – occupied territory) and a home of an Israeli Palestinian family in Akka, Israel.

    Nusf Jubayl farmers are part of a small farmer’s co-operative (1200 farmers around the town of Jenin) who harvest olives and sell its products through Canaan Fair Trade. The village is located in a mountainous, rocky area. We were welcomed by Khader and Ransees’s family.

    A group of us walked along the beautiful mountain side, peaceful, barren and rocky land, to reach the olive trees that needed harvesting. We worked alongside children and adults from the village until sunset and watched the full moon come up as we walked the mile and half back to the village.

    Several families had planned a meal for us in a common court yard. We were offered a delicious dish, Maqlouba, of chicken and cauliflower in rice, tomatoes and cucumber salad, and yogurt. I was impressed by the caring actions of Palestinian teenage boys who rushed to help older travelers with their luggage and offered chairs for their comfort.

    After dinner four of us travelers were guided along the dark uphill narrow streets of the village by Noor, age 12, and his older brother to their home. Niveen and Asaad, their parents, are farmers and have seven children. They vacated their kitchen, large first floor living area and bathroom for our overnight stay. It is clear that they have little material wealth but offered so much in their generosity.

    The next morning, following coffee and breakfast, Khader showed us a restoration project of an old building to create a child care and community center. Everyone in this small village lives with extended family, cares for their children, values elders and works towards improving their community. It was refreshing to note that there were no Israeli settlements and military towers threatening their existence. My hope is that their farming co-op will be prosperous and they will be left alone by Israeli settlements.

    My second overnight home stay was with Sirri and Hindiah Idilbi’s family in Akka, a city near Haifa. They are Palestinians that live inside Israel. It was the last night of the Muslim holiday Eid Al-Adha and a feast awaited me and Alexandra, a traveling companion: three salads, stuffed grape leaves, chicken pastry, kibbeh, and other delicious items that I can’t identify by name.

    Hindiah is a school principal of the local elementary school and Sirri speaks excellent English because of attending college in Houston, TX for several years. They talked about the importance of education for their two daughters, Sirri – 11 and Aseel – 14, and the high cost of private high school. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn of their experience as Palestinians and their hope for equality and justice in Israel.

    We woke up to a variety of delicious breakfast items and that great strong Arabic coffee. When it was time for us to depart, Hindiah gave us bags with apples and pastries for our bus ride to Tel Aviv.

    Palestinian hospitality is expressed by the offering of food and insisting that you eat a little more!

    Veena, a member of the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, was participating in an Interfaith Peace-Builders delegation to the West Bank olive harvest.

    2012 West Bank Olive Harvest Delegation

    Interfaith Peace-Builders Delegation Arrives in Israel/Palestine

    Interfaith Peace-Builders, October 23, 2012

    October 23, 2012 – Interfaith Peace-Builders (IFPB) is pleased to announce that our 32 member delegation to Israel/Palestine arrived at Ben-Gurion airport Tuesday morning and is now safely in Jerusalem.

    The purpose of this delegation, the 42nd to make the trip since 2001, is to educate North Americans about the region and deepen their understanding of its conflicts.

    The delegation focuses on the Palestinian olive harvest which takes place each autumn. The olive harvest is an occasion of particular cultural and economic importance for Palestinian communities and a time when tensions between Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents of the West Bank run high.

    As the Presidential Election heats up in the United States, the US-brokered peace process continues to show few results and US military aid to the region continues to flow unabated. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict played a significant part in the US Presidential Foreign Policy Debate which took place on October 22 in Boca Raton, Florida.

    Participants on this Interfaith Peace-Builders delegation have the unique opportunity to hear directly from Palestinians and Israelis regarding their hopes for peace and the role of the United States, the US government, and other international actors, in promoting a resolution to the conflict.

    D42 group
    A photo of the delegates at orientation in Washington, DC

    The delegation includes the following people:

    Austin Branion – Arlington, Virginia
    Veena Brekke – Madison, Wisconsin
    Marsha Carlton – Davis, California
    Jan Cebula – Clinton, Iowa
    Andy Clarno – Chicago, Illinois (not pictured)
    Laura Common – Toronto, Ontario (not pictured)
    Cindy Corrie – Olympia, Washington
    Craig Corrie – Olympia, Washington

    Mike Daly – Boston, Massachusetts(not pictured)
    Gary Doupe – Bainbridge, New York
    Brian Fry – Grass Valley, California
    Kathy Garbarino – Detroit, Michigan
    Krystal Garvin – Washington, DC
    Elissa Goss – Olympia, Washington
    Maya Harris – Olympia, Washington
    Wendy Hartley – Nevada City, California
    Hanan Idilbi – Alexandria, Virginia
    Darlene Jones-Owens – Carrollton, Georgia (not pictured)
    Declan Keogh – Decatur, Georgia
    Laila Liddy – Tuscaloosa, Alabama
    Alexandra Lusak – Troy, New York
    Sean McManus – Washington DC
    George Meek – Arlington, Virginia
    Elizabeth Moore – Olympia, Washington
    Brad Ogilvie – Washington, DC
    Arthur Pazia – Toronto, Ontario (not pictured)
    Karen Peterson – Horseheads, New York
    Jeanne Randorf – Otis, Massachusetts
    Arlene Tolopko – Otis, Massachusetts
    Ann Valtsakis – Hyannis, Massachusetts
    Sonja Wentz – Olympia, Washington

    Interfaith Peace-Builders believes in the power of eye-witness experience and transformation. Given the opportunity to speak directly with Israelis and Palestinians, delegates return to the United States better informed, more energized, and with a deeper understanding of the possibilities for true justice in the Middle East.

    Upon their return to the United States, delegates will share their experiences with the public, the media, and their political representatives.

    Media interested in interviewing the participants when they return, and groups wanting information about speaking engagements, should contact Interfaith Peace-Builders at media@ifpb.org or 415.240.4607.

    Reports and Photos from IFPB’s 42nd Delegation
    (Oct. – Nov. 2012)

    photo link
    Photos

    Delegation 42 Announcement
    Report 1: First Impressions
    Report 2: Oases: Real, Imagined, and Impossible
    Report 3: A Day With The Olives (and other experiences)
    Report 4: Loving the Land and it’s People
        Palestinian Hospitality by Veena Brekke
    Report 5: Returning With Open Eyes
    Follow-Up: Delegates in Action!

    A Gift to Rafah

    How Madisonians helped create a respite from violence for Palestinian children

    Kathy Walsh, Isthmus, April 29, 2005

    Children were everywhere. They were standing on rooftops, shooting marbles in the streets, playing “football” wherever there was bare ground, making their way to and from school. And always in the background there was machine-gun fire.

    This was a “quiet” time in Rafah. There were no tanks in the streets, no missile-firing helicopters overhead, no Israeli soldiers to be seen. But day and night, there was firing from Israeli towers on the edges of town.

    I visited Rafah from Jan. 31 to Feb. 5 with my daughter Karen, a recent UW-Madison graduate. We hoped to help dedicate a new playground built in part with funds from Madison residents and support from the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, a group whose appeal for official city recognition was rejected by Madison’s mayor and Common Council last year.

    Rafah is a Palestinian city and refugee camp of about 145,000 people in the southern Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt. More than 80% of its residents are refugees. Many have lost their homes two or more times and lived under the constant threat of losing them again as the Israeli Army razed row after row of homes along the Egyptian border.

    The “camp” areas of Rafah where we spent most of our time are concrete jungles. The homes that remain nearest the border are pockmarked with bullet holes. Tanks, bulldozers and missiles have severely damaged many buildings.

    Yet people continued to live in them. If they left, the homes were deemed “abandoned” and destroyed, and there was no place to go. Amid this rubble, children continue to play, go to school and live their lives.

    Last spring, Playgrounds for Palestine donated a playground to be built in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah. One of the poles for the playground was missing from the original shipment, so the playground was stored in a neighborhood home.

    Then, in May, the Israeli army launched “Operation Rainbow,” a code name for one of the most devastating incursions ever into Rafah. The Tel al-Sultan neighborhood was hit particularly hard, despite its lack of strategic significance. Ten homes were destroyed, and another 156 were damaged. Roads, water and sewage pipes were ripped up. Twenty-six Palestinian civilians were killed, including nine children. The site of the planned playground was completely razed.

    Loss of the park was hardly the worst disaster that befell the children of Tel-al-Sultan. But the park represented a hope for a more normal life. So last summer, the Madison-Rafah Sister City project set out to raise the $10,000 needed to rebuild this park as a gift from Madison to the children of Rafah.

    America-Near East Refugee Aid, a nongovernmental organization (NGO), advanced the money so work on the park could begin over the winter. By January, construction of the playground had begun. The missing pole had been shipped and was waiting to cross into the Gaza Strip from Israel.

    Karen and I went to Rafah to document the playground installation. When we arrived, children were playing soccer in the park, though it was not much more than a field of sand. The first pole of the playground was in place, and many children were checking out the playground construction team and their equipment.

    Later that day, we were exposed to the precariousness of life for the children of Rafah. Two schoolgirls standing in their school courtyard were hit by machine-gun fire, apparently from a nearby Israeli surveillance tower. One of them, 11-year-old Noran Deeb, was shot through the head and died instantly. The other, 7-year-old Aysha Al Khatib, was shot through the hand.

    We saw Aysha at the hospital, then stopped briefly at the morgue to see Noran’s body. (The Israelis denied involvement, saying the bullets were from a Palestinian celebrating by firing his gun in the air, although the trajectory of the wounds did not support this.) School officials told us this was not the first time fire from the sniper tower was directed at the school, but it was the first to cause injuries and death. Later, classes were dismissed and children surrounded us, asking us questions, laughing and posing for photographs.

    Throughout the week we talked with city officials, health-care workers and members of nongovernmental organizations. We learned more about homelessness, malnutrition and stress disorders among Rafah’s children. At night, we were told, there is an epidemic of nightmares and bedwetting.

    Every day, we visited the playground and were surrounded by active, seemingly happy children. We visited Aysha in the hospital. Her father told us that her hand was healing well. Aysha sat up and smiled shyly for a picture.

    When we left Rafah, the missing pole was still being held at the crossing into Gaza. But children were playing on the partially completed playground. And, as always, there was machine-gun fire from the direction of the Israeli towers.

    Both the fund-raising and the installation have since been completed. The missing pole was finally allowed into Gaza during the last week of March.

    The Madison-Rafah Sister City Project is now working with Family Farm Defenders in Wisconsin and the Women’s Empowerment Project in Rafah to send powdered milk from Wisconsin’s dairies to Rafah.

    Noran Deeb was the 99th child in Rafah to die from Israeli violence since September 2000, when the Second Intifada began. The toll reached 103 on April 9, when three 14-year-old boys from the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood were shot. I am left wondering if these boys were among the children I met in the park that Madison helped rebuild.

    KATHY WALSH, AN EMT, IS A MEMBER OF THE MADISON-RAFAH SISTER CITY PROJECT, MADISONRAFAH.ORG.

    Sidebar:
    Suffer the children
    Since September 2000, a total of 118 Israeli children and 678 Palestinian children have died as innocent victims of the violence in the Middle East. For information on these children, visit “Remember These Children” at www.remeberthesechilden.org. For information on “Operation Rainbow,” visit the Human Rights Watch Web site at hrw.org/reports/2004/rafah1004.