MadisonRafah.org

The Madison-Rafah Sister City Project

Six Israeli assaults on Gaza in 16 years. Visualizing Palestine, Dec 28, 2023
Over the course of Israel’s 16-year blockade since 2007, the captive Palestinian population in Gaza has endured six Israeli military assaults, with devastating immediate and long-term consequences. The current Israeli assault is the most destructive by far. This video shows the cumulative impact of the failure to hold Israel accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
It didn’t start on October 7. The total killed by July 22 is over 39,000.

  • Java Cat Coffee to host Humanitarian Aid for Gaza Silent Art Auction

    By Omar Waheed, Madison365, Jun 27, 2024  

    Artwork from Java Cat Coffee’s Humanitarian Aid for Gaza Silent Art Auction (Photo by Omar Waheed)

    Java Cat Coffee’s Humanitarian Aid for Gaza Silent Art Auction will go live on Friday as the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project (MRSCP) partners with artists for humanitarian aid in Gaza.

    MRSCP’s auction “Art For Humanity’s Sake: A Silent Art Auction for Gaza” will start on June 28 and go until July 8. The auction features 66 donated works from artists around the country with the intention of raising funds for humanitarian aid. The goal amount for the fundraising auction is $6,000 with the proceeds going to Middle East Children’s Alliance.

    “What is needed right now is a huge worldwide aid response to the situation in Gaza. And I hope, personally, that that will happen,” Cassandra Dixon, a member of MRSCP, told Madison365. “I hope that my country will be a part of that at some point. But in the meantime, I think that it falls to just regular people to try to make that happen.”

    Madison-Rafah Sister City Project was founded in 2003 seeking to build person-to-person relationships with Rafah, Palestine. It aims to increase awareness of ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflicts and influence United States public policy. While it is not an official sister city recognized by Madison, it has been working to spread awareness on protests, policy, news and aid efforts.

    Palestinians receiving aid in Gaza have seen ongoing difficulties as Israel’s government has prevented deliveries from arriving. Aid via Rafah, on the border between Palestine and Egypt, has been building up due to continued military operations, the Washington Post reported.

    The art auction comes after garnering interest from a previous silent auction. Auctioning off art comes with the hope of bringing some tangibility to a “situation so unimaginable,” Dixon said.

    Artwork on display at Java Cat Coffee (below)

    “None of us really can imagine 2 million people facing starvation. We can’t imagine the devastation of all housing, all infrastructure, all education. It’s so hard to take that in, and yet we have to in order to respond,” Dixon said. “Art also requires imagination, and it requires putting yourself into a creation to appreciate it. It requires the person who created the art and the person who’s experiencing it, to have a partnership in a way.”

    Aid will go towards providing fresh produce like rice, shampoo, soap, sanitary pads, laundry detergent, toothbrushes, and toothpaste, along with helping prepare hot meals, clothing, blankets, clean water, and beginning installation of solar-powered water desalination and purification units.

    Bidding on artwork is open June 28 through July 8. An in-person showing of auctioned goods will be held at Java Cat Coffee Shop, 4221 Lien Rd., on Tuesday, July 2, 5:30-7 p.m.

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  • Monona Terrace Convention faces Palestine protesters

    By: Chloe Morrissey, 27 News, Jun 26, 2024

    Protesters took to the Monona Terrace to protest the National Space & Missle Materials Symposium (NSMMS), claiming the City of Madison should not host an event like that. The event is a joint symposium with Commercial and Government Responsive Access (CRASTE).

    MADISON (WKOW) — Protesters took to the Monona Terrace to protest the National Space & Missile Materials Symposium (NSMMS), claiming the City of Madison should not host an event like that.

    The event is a joint symposium with Commercial and Government Responsive Access (CRASTE).

    Weapons and arms manufacturing companies like Boeing, Lockheed-Martin and Northrop Grumman attended the convention. Protesters claim that the companies profit off of the war in Gaza. 

    Phil Trachtenberg is a member of World Beyond War and Jewish Voice for Peace, some of the many groups present at Wednesday night’s protest.

    “These companies, especially Boeing Lockheed and Northrop Grumman, are actively and openly having a conference where they’re talking about weapons and the bombs that we can see right now on our phones being dropped in Gaza,” Trachtenberg said. “Any company that profits off of war like this and off of death should not be allowed here, and that’s what we’re here to say.”

    Protesters said that The City has supported Palestine in the past. In December of 2023, the Common Council passed a ceasefire resolution.

    Kristen Durst, Community and Public Relations Manager for the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center told 27 News:

    “Monona Terrace hosts over 500 events each year. Event space is rentable to any person, business, or organization that can fulfill the terms of our lease. The content at events and views and opinions of clients who rent space at Monona Terrace is their own.” 

    In another statement, City of Madison Spokesperson Dylan Brogan added: 

    “The City has a long history of supporting the right to peacefully protest. This situation is no different.”

     The convention is set to wrap up on Thursday.

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  • June 25, 2024: Fitchburg Gaza Ceasefire Resolution Tabled Indefinitely

    On June 25 a City Council vote to indefinitely table the ceasefire resolution tied. The Mayor broke the tie by voting to table the resolution.

    The June 11 resolution has been postponed until June 25. You can Email the Fitchburg Mayor and City Council to support the resolution. Their addresses can also be found at Mayor & City Council.

    Tuesday, 7:30pm

    Good morning,

    I am joining Alder Nicole Vafadari in co-sponsoring a Ceasefire Resolution at next week’s Fitchburg Common Council meeting, June 11th at 7:30pm.

    A few details:

    • Resolution Language: Resolution R-123-24 is on the agenda section of the City’s website this Friday.
    • Council Meeting: This resolution will likely be discussed and passed at the beginning of the council meeting. You are welcome to participate in any and all of the following ways:
    • Attend in person at Fitchburg City Hall – 5520 Lacy Road in the Frances Huntley Cooper Council Chambers
    • Comment in person: If you attend in person, you have the option of speaking for up to 3 minutes. You can grab a comment sheet in the back of the room and share with the Mayor
    • Watch Virtually: You may watch via FACTV, Fitchburg’s Public Access website.
    • Attend and/or speak virtually: If you would like to comment virtually, please email scott.yarbrough@fitchburgwi.com to get a zoom link. You will have the same 3 minute speaking limit.
    • Invite friends/supporters/allies: Please feel free to share this invitation far and wide, as it will add to the chorus of other municipalities and counties who have spoken out and put pressure on our federal elected officials.

    Joe Maldonado
    Alder

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  • Read Palestine! High School Book Club

    August 3, 2024 10 am

    Read Palestine!, a project of the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, is hosting a book club for high school students this summer. We will read They Called Me a Lioness by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri.

    Join us in reading They Called Me a Lioness, covering Ahed Tamimi’s childhood and adolescence living under Israeli military occupation in a small village in the West Bank. Ahed’s father Bassem Tamimi was recently released after 8 months in Israeli detention without trial. 

    Sign Up Now!

    You can support local progressive bookstores and buy the book at A Room of One’s Own and Kismet Books.

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  • Israeli documents show expansive government effort to shape US discourse around Gaza war

    As the Gaza war rages, Israeli funds target US college campuses and push to redefine antisemitism in US law
    Amichai Chikli speaks in Krakow, Poland, on 22 January 2024. Photograph: Omar Marques/Getty Images

    Lee Fang and Jack Poulson, The Guardian, Mon 24 Jun 2024

    Last November, just weeks into the war in Gaza, Amichai Chikli, a brash, 42-year-old Likud minister in the Israeli government, was called into the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, to brief lawmakers on what could be done about rising anti-war protests from young people across the United States, especially at elite universities.

    “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again now, that I think we should, especially in the United States, be on the offensive,” argued Chikli.

    Chikli has since led a targeted push to counter critics of Israel. The Guardian has uncovered evidence showing how Israel has relaunched a controversial entity as part of a broader public relations campaign to target US college campuses and redefine antisemitism in US law.

    Seconds after a smoke alarm subsided during the hearing, Chikli assured the lawmakers that there was new money in the budget for a pushback campaign, which was separate from more traditional public relations and paid advertising content produced by the government. It included 80 programs already under way for advocacy efforts “to be done in the ‘Concert’ way”, he said.

    The “Concert” remark referred to a sprawling relaunch of a controversial Israeli government program initially known as Kela Shlomo, designed to carry out what Israel called “mass consciousness activities” targeted largely at the US and Europe. Concert, now known as Voices of Israel, previouslyworked with groups spearheading a campaign to pass so-called “anti-BDS” state laws that penalize Americans for engaging in boycotts or other non-violent protests of Israel.

    Its latest incarnation is part of a hardline and sometimes covert operation by the Israeli government to strike back at student protests, human rights organizations and other voices of dissent.

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  • June 24 – 27, 2024: Madison is hosting a conference for genocide profiteers

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  • Israel Is Officially Annexing the West Bank

    A quiet bureaucratic maneuver by Netanyahu’s government has begun transferring control over the occupied territory from military to civilian leadership—violating international law.

    By Michael Sfard, an Israeli lawyer specializing in international human rights law and international humanitarian law. 

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attend a press conference at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem on Jan. 25.
    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attend a press conference at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem on Jan. 25.

    Foreign Policy, JUNE 8, 2023

    On Nov. 22, 1967, the United Nations Security Council debated a resolution that would become the international community’s most important directive about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 1947 partition plan for Palestine. The discussion concerned the outcome of the 1967 war, during which Israel had triumphed over its Arab neighbors to capture the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and Golan Heights from Syria.

    At the Security Council, Israel’s then-Foreign Minister Abba Eban said, “We shall respect and fully maintain the situation embodied in the cease-fire agreements until it is succeeded by peace treaties between Israel and the Arab States ending the state of war.” Eban wasn’t being entirely accurate: When he made his statement, Israel had already unilaterally applied its law over East Jerusalem; it would do the same 15 years later by formally annexing the Golan Heights. And, over the past half-century, settlement expansion into the West Bank would deepen Israeli control and make a military withdrawal look increasingly unlikely. (Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt as part of a 1979 peace treaty.)

    Still, nebulous diplomatic verbiage aside, Eban’s speech would define Israel’s official position on the West Bank for the 50 years to come: The final status of the occupied territory was to be determined in mediated talks. That is, until a few years ago—when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started openly pushing a policy of unilateral annexation. A recent bureaucratic maneuver within his new far-right government all but made annexation official by beginning the process of transferring many powers overseeing the West Bank from military to civilian leaders—in contravention of international law.

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  • June 24 – 26, 2024: War profiteers in Madison! They are not welcome!

    Week of June 24

    Scroll down for:

    –   Monday 6/24 midday vigil 

    –   Tuesday 6/25 midday vigil

    –   Wednesday 6/26 community actions

    –   Your message

    War profiteers, including Lockheed, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman are having a secret symposium in Madison this coming week, June 24th – 27th. It will be hosted at Monona Terrace, and the building will be closed to the general public.

    Most of the sessions and presentations are led by defense contractors, Defence Department officials and representatives of various branches of the US military. Furthermore, thematically, this symposium is heavily dominated by topics of weapon development, such as hypersonic missile technology, advanced materials, and missile defense.

    This event is restricted to government and government contractors only; is not advertised and is not open to the press or general public.

    They want to be unnoticed! So let’s not let them fly under the radar!

    Monday 6/24, Tuesday 6/25 12pm – Madison for WBW is planning to be present in the MLK blvd block between E Wilson and E Doty. The goal and details are being defined; but the fundamental issue remains the same: the war industry causes global death and destruction of all life, suffering, loss of a future and we stand against it.

    Wednesday 6/26 – A coalition of local groups is working on organizing a community action for this day. The hope is to get as many of us out there to show our unequivocal opposition: we know what the war industry causes and we don’t want it.  

    Please understand that both plans above are being worked on as we write. Details as places, times, engagements are being discussed in the coalition.   They will be communicated daily on instagram: stay tuned!  If you are not linked to Instagram, please email to warabolition@gmail.com to let us know that you want to be informed.

    Your message – Create your own sound bite message against the war industry: what is your main reason to oppose it (many choices…); make your own sign of dissent to wave. Send us a picture of that slogan, we’ll collect them.

    World BEYOND War is a global network of volunteers, chapters, and affiliated organizations advocating for the abolition of the institution of war. 
    Donate to support our people-powered movement for peace.

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  • June 26, 2024: War Profiteers out of Madison!

    NSMMS letterDownload
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  • Israeli airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza City

    Israeli strikes killed 38 people in four neighborhoods Saturday, the Gaza civil defense force said. The military said it struck Hamas infrastructure in the city.

    By Victoria Bisset, Mohamad El Chamaa and Lior Soroka, The Washington Post,

    June 22, 2024

    Palestinian families mourn next to the bodies of their relatives at Nasser Hospital in the Gaza Strip on Friday. (Haitham Imad/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

    Israeli airstrikes on four neighborhoods in Gaza City killed at least 38 people Saturday, the Gaza civil defense force said, adding that rescue crews were continuing to search for more dead and wounded in the rubble.

    The bombardment hit residential buildings in the city’s north, south, east and west, with significant damage and a massive crater reported in the densely built Shati refugee camp in western Gaza City. In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said its fighter jets “struck two Hamas military infrastructure sites in the area of Gaza City,” without elaborating. The Gaza civil defense force did not say if combatants were among the dead.

    Video from Shati verified by Storyful showed entire blocks destroyed by the strike, with residents covered in dust from the debris while searching for survivors.

    “People were sitting, and suddenly, missiles destroyed a group of houses and burned the entire area,” said Yousri al-Ghoul, 43, who lives in Shati.

    “Most residents of the camp were affected because the shrapnel flew across the squares and residential blocks,” he said in a phone interview. “People were carrying others on their backs. There’s still people under the rubble.”

    The multiple, heavy strikes were somewhat unusual for Gaza City, where some of the major battles between Israel and Hamas have died down. Still, the IDF carries out regular strikes in the city, including one on Friday that killed five municipal workers, according to local authorities.

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  • ‘Operation al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 258

    Threat of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah rises

    Hassan Nasrallah warned in a televised speech that Hezbollah would “fight without restraints and without limits” in the event of an all-out war. Meanwhile, the first lawyer to visit Gaza detainees in Sde Teiman said they face “unimaginable” abuse.

    BY QASSAM MUADDI, MONDOWEISS, 

    Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah speaks in televised address threatening Israel that Hezbollah would fight "without restraints" in the event of an all-out war, June 19, 2024. (Photo: Screenshot from AlMayadeen Youtube Channel)HEZBOLLAH LEADER HASSAN NASRALLAH SPEAKS IN TELEVISED ADDRESS THREATENING ISRAEL THAT HEZBOLLAH WOULD FIGHT “WITHOUT RESTRAINTS” IN THE EVENT OF AN ALL-OUT WAR, JUNE 19, 2024. (PHOTO: SCREENSHOT FROM ALMAYADEEN YOUTUBE CHANNEL)

    Casualties 
    • 37,431 + killed* and at least 85,653 wounded in the Gaza Strip.*
    • 544+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.**
    • Israel revised its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,140.
    • 662 Israeli soldiers have been killed since October 7, and at least 3,860 have been wounded.***

    * Gaza’s Ministry of Health confirmed this figure on its Telegram channel on June 20, 2024. Some rights groups estimate the death toll to be much higher when accounting for those presumed dead.

    ** The death toll in the West Bank and Jerusalem is not updated regularly. According to the PA’s Ministry of Health on June 13, this is the latest figure.

    *** These figures are released by the Israeli military, showing the soldiers whose names “were allowed to be published.” The number of Israeli soldiers wounded, according to declarations by the head of the Israeli army’s wounded association to Israel’s Channel 12, exceeds 20,000, including at least 8,000 permanently handicapped as of June 1. Israel’s Channel 7 reported that according to the Israeli war ministry’s rehabilitation service numbers, 8,663 new wounded joined the army’s handicap rehabilitation system since October 7, as of June 18.

    Key Developments 
    • Israel kills 84 Palestinians, wounds 281 since Thursday, June 13, across Gaza, raising death toll since October 7 to 37,431 and number of wounded to 85,653, according to the Gaza health ministry.
    • Fears of all-out war rise as Hezbollah and Israel exchange threats.
    • Hezbollah releases 10-minute-long drone footage of Israeli strategic facilities in threat to Israel.
    • Washington says that war between Israel and Hezbollah will have devastating consequences.
    • Israel bombs south Lebanese towns as Hezbollah mourns one of its fighters and launches dozens of rockets into northern Galilee.
    • Israeli army spokesperson says Hamas impossible to destroy as an idea.
    • UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission for Palestine concludes that Israel committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, including intentional killing of civilians, starvation, and collective punishment.
    • First lawyer to visit Sde Teiman detention center and military base reports torture, sexual abuse, and “unimaginable” inhumane conditions.
    • Gaza health ministry says 70% of bed capacity in Gaza medical facilities has been lost, with only 272 functioning patient beds for more than 85,000 wounded.
    Hezbollah and Israel exchange threats of all-out war, escalate cross-border attacks
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  • June 29, 2024: International Festival

    Overture Center
    201 State Street, Madison
    10 am – 5 pm

    Join Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, Palestine Partners, and Playgrounds for Palestine to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of our community. Enjoy foods from around the world and browse the stunning arts and crafts — sold here, but with global connections.

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  • June 20, 2024: Jeff Halper on WORT

    WORT

    Noon – 1 pm

    Anthropologist, author and anti-occupation activist Jeff Halper will be interviewed by A Public Affair host Allen Ruff about how we can deepen our critical understandings of Israel’s ongoing onslaught on Palestine.

    Halper insists that what we have been witnessing before and since October 7 can only be understood through “the lens of settler colonialism.” A coordinating director of the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions (ICAHD), Halper is the author of War Against the People: Israel, Palestine, and Global Pacification and a co-founder of the One Democratic State Campaign. He last spoke in Madison in May of 2016.

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  • ISRAEL’S NEW AIR WAR IN THE WEST BANK

    NEARLY HALF OF THE DEAD ARE CHILDREN 
    Photo Illustration: Fei Liu/Getty Images

    Nearly 20 years after the Second Intifada, the Israeli military has resumed airstrikes in the West Bank — and killed 24 children. 

    Catherine Cartier, The Intercept, June 12 2024

    AROUND 9:30 P.M. in late February, a white Mazda pulled up near a game cafe in the Jenin refugee camp on the northern edge of the West Bank, where a crowd of boys and young men often gathered to socialize. 

    As the car stopped, a few people walked by on the narrow street. Two motorbikes weaved past in different directions. “Everything was fine at the time,” according to an eyewitness sitting nearby in the camp’s main square.

    Then the car erupted in a ball of flame. Two missiles fired from an Israeli drone had hit the Mazda in quick succession, as shown in a video the Israeli Air Force posted that night.

    According to the IAF, the strike killed Yasser Hanoun, described as “a wanted terrorist.”

    But Hanoun was not the only fatality: 16-year old Said Raed Said Jaradat, who was near the vehicle when it was hit, sustained shrapnel wounds all over his body, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International-Palestine. He died from his injuries at 1 a.m. the next morning.

    Jaradat is one of 24 children killed in Israel’s airstrikes on the West Bank since last summer, when the Israeli forces began deploying drones, planes, and helicopters to carry out attacks in the occupied territory for the first time in decades. 

    With 37 bombings, helicopter gunship attacks, or drone strikes, the Israeli military’s air campaign has killed 55 Palestinians, including 24 children. Map illustration: Fei Liu

    The world’s attention has been on the Israeli campaign in Gaza, which has killed at least 36,000 people — including more than 15,000 children — and prompted accusations of genocide from U.N. officials and at the International Court of Justice. In the name of eliminating Hamas in retaliation for the attacks in October, the Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip continues.

    But Israel has also transformed its tactics in the West Bank. Since June of last year, and with increasing regularity during the Gaza offensive, the Israel Defense Forces have shown a new willingness to use air power in the West Bank, regardless of the collateral damage to children and other civilians caught in the blasts.

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  • “Complete Dehumanization”: Israel Killed Over 800 Palestinians in 11 Days

    “We can no longer accept the statement that Israel is taking ‘all precautions’ — this is just propaganda.”

    By Sharon Zhang, TRUTHOUT, June 13, 2024

    A Palestinian woman and a child cry as they mourn the death of a loved one following Israeli bombardment, outside a hospital in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, on June 7, 2024.

    Israel’s recent massacres in Gaza killed over 800 Palestinians in less than two weeks — an extreme rate of brutal killing that has become normalized in western circles due to the “complete dehumanization” of Palestinians, a human rights group said this week.

    From June 1 to June 11, Israeli forces killed over 800 Palestinians and wounded over 2,400 as they carried out bombardments and raids across Gaza, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported. This is an average of over 72 Palestinians killed each day at the hands of Israeli forces.

    This includes Israel’s assault of Nuseirat refugee camp on Saturday that killed 274 Palestinians, including 64 children, and injured 698 others, with Israeli forces carrying out one of the most deadly single attacks of their genocidal siege so far in order to retrieve four Israelis held hostage in Gaza. The attack was carried out on a bustling civilian center in the middle of the day, raising questions about whether Israeli forces violated international law.

    MSF condemned Israel’s “propaganda” that it is not committing war crimes in Gaza.

    “How can the killing of more than 800 people in a single week, including small children, plus the maiming of hundreds more, be considered a military operation adhering to international humanitarian law?,” said Brice de le Vingne, who heads MSF’s emergency unit, in a statement. “We can no longer accept the statement that Israel is taking ‘all precautions’ — this is just propaganda.”

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  • “I Ain’t Reading All That; Free Palestine”

    The meme enrages Israel supporters because Israel apologia depends on mountains of verbiage to spin obvious atrocities as reasonable and appropriate. At some point the kids noticed this was happening, and started dismissing all the narratives. 

    Caitlin Johnstone, June 15, 2024

    Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley):

    A Zionist podcaster named Blake Flayton had a delightful tantrum that’s going around Twitter at the moment in which he bemoans the way pro-Palestinian social media users have been responding to long pro-Israel screeds with a graphic saying “i ain’t reading all that; free palestine”, a variation on the popular I Ain’t Reading All That meme.

    The meme enrages Israel supporters because Israel apologia depends on mountains of verbiage to spin obvious atrocities as reasonable and appropriate. At some point the kids noticed this was happening, and started dismissing all the narratives.

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  • NATIONAL MOBILIZATION! All out to DC!

    US Campaign for Palestinian Rights

  • A Report on the Wisconsin Democratic Convention

    The author is Jim Carpenter, a convention delegate from the 4th Congressional District (Milwaukee)

    Hi, supporters of peace and justice:

    This is a summary of issues related to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Convention from this last week-end. 

    Heba Mohammad will be on WPR (Wednesday, June 12) at 9 a.m. on the Wisconsin Today show.  

    She will discuss the ceasefire resolution and the Listen to Wisconsin campaign where people were asked to vote in the primary for Uninstructed Delegation rather than Joe Biden as a protest against Biden’s failure to call for a ceasefire.      

    Videos below were taken by Ann Batiza of disrupters of Baldwin’s talk.  Thanks Ann.  

    Note: if you look at the crowd you can see that most people are not yelling “Tammy”. They are sitting silently.

    People inside were aware of the big demonstration outside. Thanks to those who did it 🙂    

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  • June 19, 2024: Banners Up for Palestine, Law Park

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  • The Genocidal Massacre in Nuseirat Refugee Camp

    Israeli Forces Kill 274 Palestinians and Injure 698 in Attack Lasting 75 Minutes

    9 June 2024

    Date: 10 June 2024

    On Saturday, 8 June 2024, the Israeli occupying forces (IOF) perpetrated yet another genocidal massacre against the Palestinian people in Gaza. During a military attack in Nuseirat Refugee Camp and across other areas of central Gaza, the IOF killed at least 274 Palestinians and injured around 698 others, including 161 women and 153 children, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Among the number of casualties were amputees and serious injuries. The military attack, which lasted around 75 minutes, featured the use of deadly force and heavy firing in a densely populated area, primarily inhabited by internally displaced persons (IDPs), proving once again no regard for Palestinian life. 

    According to our preliminary documentation, at 11:00 am on Saturday, 8 June 2024, an Israeli Special Unit camouflaging in civilian vehicles—including a Volkswagen Caddy, and a transporting van— which may amount to the war crime of perfidy, entered the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in central Gaza. The Special Unit raided two homes in Block 5 of the Camp. Shortly after, the IOF launched a ground attack with a large number of tanks on the Camp and besieged three areas: Abu Assi Petrol Station to the southeast, the Wadi Gaza area to the northeast, and Al-Maghazi and the New Camp area to the north of the Camp. This coincided with Israeli warplanes directly striking five homes in the Camp while their residents were still inside and intensively conducting airstrikes and fire belts in Block 5, Al-Hasayna area and the New Camp. The ground attack, combined with the Special Unit’s infiltration and relentless bombardment, took place when the Nusairat Camp’s market was overcrowded with thousands of shoppers. It is important to note that Nusairat shelters tens of thousands of forcibly displaced Palestinians from the eastern Middle Area and Rafah. In parallel, while the attack in Nusairat was unfolding, Israeli warplanes conducted several airstrikes, targeting multiple houses in Deir al-Balah, in Gaza’s Middle Area.

    Later, the IOF announced that the military attack led to the release of four Israeli captives. The attack resulted in the killing of  274 Palestinians, including 64 children, 57 women, and 37 elderly, and the wounding of 698 others, including 153 children, 161 women, and 54 elderly. Ambulance and rescue teams struggled to evacuate killed and injured Palestinians, many of whom had been shredded to pieces or decapitated by the bombing. This attack further proves Israel’s dehumanisation of Palestinians and blatant disregard for Palestinian life. The sheer scale of Palestinians killed and injured underscores a deliberate and callous indifference to Palestinian suffering, further emphasising a systemic policy that views Palestinian lives as expendable.

    Our teams continue to diligently document IOF’s international crimes committed during this attack, including the circumstances of the killings and the deliberate targeting of homes with residents inside. According to initial information, the overwhelming majority of those killed were targeted while at home or on the streets, with some being killed as they were trying to flee the IOF attacks from the camouflaged civilian vehicles. Our teams are further carrying out preliminary investigations into alleged United States involvement in the attack, including the utilisation of the pier in the military attack, which was supposedly constructed for humanitarian purposes. We further warn of the grave dangers this poses to the lives of humanitarian workers in Gaza, who are providing life-saving assistance amid starvation and the collapse of the health sector. 

    As of time of writing, the Israeli military continues with its aerial, artillery and naval bombardment across the Gaza Strip, inflicting further killings, injuries, and destruction to buildings and infrastructure. Over two million Palestinians continue to suffer amidst lack of life essentials, ban of humanitarian aid entry and the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system.

    We urge the international community, especially the members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, the Secretary-General of the UN, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to take immediate and concrete measures to put an end to the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip and enforce an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. We call on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to urgently investigate and prosecute genocidal acts orchestrated by Israeli policy makers and the Israeli military in Gaza. Furthermore, we reiterate our call on Third States to abide by their obligations under the Genocide Convention, including by taking all feasible measures to end the ongoing genocide and prevent the commission of further genocidal acts. This includes imposing economic and diplomatic sanctions and a two-way arms embargo on Israel. We call on Third States to hold Israel accountable, including by joining the pending case at the International Court of Justice regarding the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel). 

    Our organisations warn the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and other States arming and financing Israel’s genocidal acts that they may be complicit in the commission of international crimes, including genocide. The international community of States has a responsibility to cooperate and intervene to bring the internationally wrongful acts of these States and Israel, which are in breach of peremptory norms of international law, to an end.  

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  • June 21, 2024: Liberation Shabbat is Back!

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  • The Gaza Kitchen Cookbook Club

    More info & registration

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  • June 13, 2024: Panel Discussion on Gaza Today

    7:00 pm CT

    You Are Invited to a Solidarity Members’ and Friends’ Discussion:

    GAZA: GENOCIDE & SOLIDARITY

    As the horror of the U.S.-funded Israeli assault and massacre in Gaza continues with no end in sight, and Israeli settlers take over land in the West Bank, join us for a panel discussion that will focus on the magnificent movement that has sprung up this year in support of the Palestinian people and an immediate permanent ceasefire.

    We’ll try to examine both what it’s accomplished, and its potential future. We ask everyone to come to the discussion with your observations and experiences of the encampments and other activities in your city!

    Panelists

    Huwaida Arraf, Detroit human rights attorney, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, and currently an organizer for the Gaza freedom flotilla and a new initiative to defend Palestinian lives under occupation. She will update the organizing efforts and the obstacles created by Israel’s blockade and obstruction of aid.

    Kathleen Brown, Active in Tahrir Coalition and campaign for divestment at the University of Michigan; former vice-president of the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO).

    Sam Salour, Ph.D. student at the University of California Santa Barbara, was active in rank-and-file organizing for both the 2020 COLA strike and 2022 strike. He is part of the organizing team for UAW 4811’s on-going ULP strike across the UC campuses.

    For some background see “University of Michigan President Ono and the Pepper-Spray Gang” by Alan Wald.

    Please bring your own experiences and ideas to the discussion! What are the possibilities going forward?

    ZOOM REGISTRATION

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  • Read Palestine! 3rd-5th Grade Book Club

    Sign up (requires Google account)

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  • Week of 6/10/24 – Daniel Ellsberg Week

    Madison for a World BEYOND War

    Although Palestine remains our focus, we are mindful of all the other areas in the world, including in our own country, where the insanity of militarism continues to cause unbearable suffering, either directly or indirectly. We continue our presence to advocate for a world beyond war.

    Scroll down for:

    Vigil and fasting at the Capitol continues on Thursday 6/13

    Farmers’ Market Gaza vigil with shoe display and reading names of victims continues this Saturday 6/15

    Honoring Daniel Ellsberg

    Madison, Farmers’ Market, 6/8/24   War Abolition Bike Riders at the IPWG’s protest for Gaza

    Shoes are displayed to signify the victims, and names of victims are spoken

    Thursday 6/13   11am-3pm   Capitol Rotunda

    Join Madison for a World BEYOND War and Building Unity for one day of vigil and optional fasting. Call on representatives at all levels to join in solidarity with the people of Palestine and end US military support for the ongoing atrocities. Show up anytime and stay as long as you are able. Building Unity has initiated a petition drive; copies will be available to sign. You can read this petition here. Or print it out, sign and gather all the signatures that you can. Scan or take pictures of your signed petitions and forward them to Madison for a World BEYOND War (warabolition@gmail.com)

    Saturday 6/15 10am-12pm Madison Farmers’ Market Gaza Vigil 

    Interfaith Peace Working Group (IPWG) organized successful actions the past two Saturdays with a display of shoes and a reading of Gazan victims’ names. Both the visual and the audio are powerful representations of the suffering, some people were moved to tears. We will borrow IPWG’s idea and their material to again make a presence at the Farmers’ Market this Saturday. We will be located at the WNPJ table on the square, King, S Pinckney, E Main Streets’ corner. Stop by for any time or the entire time as you can. Please let us know if you’d like to help set up or take down.

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  • Chipmaker Intel to halt $25-billion Israel plant

    A man walks past the Intel logo at its booth during the first China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, China November 28, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo

    Reuters, June 10, 2024

    JERUSALEM, June 10 (Reuters) – Intel Corp (INTC.O) is halting plans for a $25-billion factory in Israel, Israeli financial news website Calcalist said on Monday, in a report that the chipmaker did not confirm or deny.

    The U.S. company, asked about the report, cited the need to adapt big projects to changing timelines, without directly referring to the project.

    “Israel continues to be one of our key global manufacturing and R&D sites and we remain fully committed to the region,” Intel said in a statement.

    “Managing large-scale projects, especially in our industry, often involves adapting to changing timelines. Our decisions are based on business conditions, market dynamics and responsible capital management,” it said.

    Israel’s government in December agreed to give Intel a $3.2-billion grant to build the $25-billion chip plant in southern Israel.

    Intel has previously said that the factory proposed for its Kiryat Gat site, where it has an existing chip plant, was an “important part of Intel’s efforts to foster a more resilient global supply chain” alongside the company’s investments in Europe and the United States.

    Intel operates four development and production sites in Israel, including its manufacturing plant in Kiryat Gat called Fab 28. The factory produces Intel 7 technology, or 10-nanometer chips.

    The planned Fab 38 plant was due to open in 2028 and operate through 2035.

    Intel employs nearly 12,000 people in Israel.

    Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; editing by James Mackenzie and Rod Nickel

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  • Ask UBS to divest from Elbit Systems

    UBS’s shares in Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturer, Elbit Systems, just increased by 875%. This comes as the world’s biggest bank, JPMorgan Chase, just divested huge amounts from Elbit. 
    Let’s build on this momentum and tell UBS to divest too.

     SIGN THE PETITION

    While UBS lines its pockets, the Israeli military has surrounded and is attacking Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of terrified Palestinians are sheltering. The Israeli military just killed 274 people in Nuseirat in less than 2 hours. This comes after the Rafah safe zone massacre and the attacks on Kamal Adwan Hospital and Jabalia refugee camp.

    The bloodshed must stop.

    Public pressure works: the biggest bank in the world, JPMorgan Chase, just divested 70% of its holdings in Elbit. Now it’s time for UBS to stop profiting from bloodshed.

    Tell UBS: divest from Elbit Systems now.

    UBS was founded in Switzerland but it needs to stop hiding behind this neutral facade. UBS’ money is funding weapons for the Israeli Government’s genocide.

    At least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military since October 7 last year. Children in Gaza are already dying from malnutrition and the United Nations just suspended food distribution in Rafah because the Israeli military and settlers are preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.

    Let’s do it again.

    Call on UBS to cut off the money for Israel’s weapons.

    The Ekō community has helped cut off funding for weapons before. When we published a report exposing global insurance company AXA’s financial connections it dropped its shares in Elbit. And after we revealed Scotiabank was pouring hundreds of millions into Elbit, the Canadian bank drastically reduced its stake in the weapons company too.

     SIGN THE PETITION 

    Thanks for all that you do, 
    Nish and the team at Ekō

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  • Film “Where Olive Trees Weep”

    July 23, 2024
    worldbeyondwar.uw Antiwar Film Series
    Central Library, 201 W Mifflin St, Room 302
    Meet at 6:00 pm, film at 6:30 pm, then discussion
    RSVP if you can to warabolition@gmail.com

    “Where Olive Trees Weep” (2024) offers a searing window into the struggles and resilience of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation. It explores themes of loss, trauma, and the quest for justice. 

    We follow, among others, Palestinian journalist and therapist Ashira Darwish, grassroots activist Ahed Tamimi, and Israeli journalist Amira Hass. 

    We witness Dr. Gabor Maté offering trauma-healing work for a group of women who have been tortured in Israeli prisons. Ancient landscapes bear deep scars, having witnessed the brutal reality of ancestral land confiscation, expulsions, imprisonment, home demolitions, water deprivation, and denial of basic human rights. 

    Yet, through the veil of oppression, we catch a glimpse of resilience—deep roots that have carried the Palestinian people through decades of darkness and shattered lives. This emotional journey bares the humanity of the oppressed while grappling with the question: what makes the oppressor so ruthlessly blind to its own cruelty? 

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  • Protesters disrupt Wisconsin Democrats’ convention

    Call for defunding Gaza war

    Erin McGroarty, The Cap Times, Jun 8, 2024

    Protesters gather at the Wisconsin State Capitol on Saturday, June 8, 2024 for Code Pink’s “We Are The Red Line” silent vigil in support of Palestinians. (Ilana Bar-av)

    Protests calling for a cease-fire in Gaza erupted in multiple demonstrations Saturday as the Wisconsin Democratic Party held the first of its two-day convention in Milwaukee.

    About 10 audience members inside the convention hall interrupted U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s address, calling for the defunding of Israel’s military and accusing the senator of being complicit in genocide. 

    Earlier that day, organizers gathered at the state Capitol building in Madison and in front of the Potawatomi Casino and Hotel in Milwaukee — where the Wisconsin Democrats held their convention.

    Party officials are facing criticism for recommending that delegates reject two proposed resolutions that call for a cease-fire as part of the Democrats’ updated platform.

    Three resolutions were brought forward for consideration by the party at its convention.

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  • White House Encircled with Red Line

    (Since Biden’s Wasn’t Real) to Demand End to War on Gaza

    David Swanson, World BEYOND War, June 8, 2024

    Photos by David Swanson, John Reuwer, Ted Majdosz, and random passersby

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  • More than 200 Palestinians killed in Israeli hostage raid

    The brazen daytime raid freed four Israeli hostages but unleashed relentless bombardment of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

    By Claire Parker, Mohamad El Chamaa and Lior Soroka, The Washington Post, June 8, 2024

    Palestinians inspect the debris of buildings targeted during an operation by Israel’s military to rescue four hostages from the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday. (Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images)

    Israel’s military launched one of the bloodiest raids of the war Saturday, killing more than 200 Palestinians in a brazen operation to rescue four hostages from the central Gaza Strip.

    Israeli forces recovered the hostages alive from two buildings in Nuseirat, an impoverished refugee camp. But the fiery assault, in the middle of the day, left unimaginable devastation in its wake.

    Residential blocks were destroyed, tanks menaced the streets and grievously wounded Palestinians, some without limbs, writhed in pain on the dusty roads of the camp’s central market, according to videos and images of the raid. Many of them never reached local hospitals, health officials said. But even then, medical facilities decimated by the war often have little ability to treat injured patients.

    “Israel committed a massacre in Nuseirat,” Khalil al-Degran, spokesman for al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah, said at a news conference Saturday. “In this terrible state … the hospital cannot absorb the number of dead and injured. The hospital has been at full capacity for weeks.”

    Degran and other health officials said 210 people had been killed and 400 others wounded in the blitz. The number of dead included 94 at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and 116 at the nearby al-Awda Hospital, according to Degran and Marwan Abu Nasser, administrative director at al-Awda.

    “During the operation, helicopters targeted anyone who moved in the courtyard of al-Awda,” said Rami al-Sharafi, a doctor at the hospital. The military, he said, had “prevented ambulances from leaving or returning to the hospital” while the raid was underway.

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  • Update: Watch Israelism Online

    ISRAELISM NOW AVAILABLE TO RENT OR OWN 

    Dear Israelism Supporters, 

    We are delighted to let you know that Israelism can now be rented or bought on all major video on demand platforms. Click the buttons below to watch Israelism on each respective platform.

    ISRAELISM ON APPLE TV

    ISRAELISM ON YOUTUBE

    ISRAELISM ON GOOGLE PLAY

    ISRAELISM ON AMAZON PRIME

    ISRAELISM ON VIMEO

    ISRAELISM ON FANDANGO

    ISRAELISM ON MICROSOFT/XBOX

    Also, because of all of your support, Israelism is now #1 on Apple TV’s Documentary Chart. 

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  • June 8, 2024: We Are the Red Line – Wisconsin State Capitol

    24-06-08 CODEPINK Capitol Red Line

    Join us for our very own Madison red line this Saturday! We will join hands in the capitol rotunda wearing red as our own mini-version of the DC red line protest. All are welcome! Event takes place from 12:00PM to 2:00PM on Saturday, June 8th.

     WHEN
    June 8, 2024 at 12:00pm – 2:00pm (CDT)

     WHERE
    Wisconsin State Capitol
    2 E Main St, Madison, WI 53703, United States, 

    Google map and directions

     CONTACT
    Danaka · danaka@codepink.org

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  • Update from MECA on aid to Gaza

    $20,057 of $20,000 on 7/21/24

    Please give now to allow MECA to provide medical aid, clean water, food, psychological support, and more.

    MECA volunteer fills containers from a water tank in Gaza. DONATE FOR WATER NOW.

    “Death is coming, not just from bombs, death is coming from starvation, from dehydration, and from diseases. Using starvation and thirst as a weapon is hitting hard especially in these hot summer months.” 

    This is what Amal, MECA’s Water Coordinator in Gaza told me on the phone today. 

    With your solidarity and support, MECA is distributing 35,000 gallons a day in many areas of Gaza.

    Please give now

    MORE
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  • Visiting Palestinian textile artist has a message for Madisonians

    Miquéla V. Thornton, The Cap Times, June 6, 2024

    Laid on top of a table mat featuring purple Moons of Bethlehem motifs and several historical patterns like the saw and Old Man’s Teeth, the Gaza-lettered coin pouch befittingly dons a long-time symbol of Palestine: the olive tree. ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ

    When Laila Hasan thinks back to the first time she engaged in the traditional Palestinian embroidery technique of tatreez, she recalls being 7 years old and learning the skill from her mother, who told her, simply, “Laila, if you want to be strong, you have to be more independent.”

    “If you feel like you have a bad life or no one can help you, you can help yourself by your hand,” her mother told her.

    Hasan, a textile artist visiting Madison on Sunday from the West Bank, went on to make money embroidering dresses, or thoubs, stylized by the tatreez technique. Born in 1961, she kept dress-making until she became one of the first women shopkeepers in the “Old City” of Jerusalem in 1995 and founded an embroidery and jewelry-making collective 10 years later.

    Passed down from mother to daughter for centuries, tatreez uses threads to weave stories by cross-stitch, representing distinct landscapes of Palestinian regions, earning it a spot on a UN list intended to protect things intangible to cultural heritage.

    Now, with more than 150 stitchers, Hasan’s organization, Women In Hebron, aims to give women in the Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town of the West Bank a means to earn income with their craft.

    “There’s so much knowledge and history and culture that’s inside those embroidery patterns that represent plants and animals and aspects of life on that land for those people for so many generations,” said Cassandra Dixon, founder of the Madison-based organization Palestine Partners, which is sponsoring Hasan’s trip to Madison.

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  • Gaza Summer School!

    This summer, we’re turning up the heat to demand an end to the genocide in Gaza and to Free Palestine! It’s time to educate, agitate, and mobilize our communities like never before. Inspired by the courageous campus encampments that have swept across colleges nationwide, CODEPINK is thrilled to announce the Gaza Summer School!

    Join us for a transformative, summer-long online education series that will empower you to become a powerful advocate for Palestine. Through bi-weekly classes, you’ll gain in-depth knowledge and vital skills to make a real impact. Led by dynamic leaders, each session kicks off with a 30-minute deep dive into the history and current realities of Palestine, followed by a dynamic 30-minute skills training to arm you with the tools to drive change in your community.

    After every class, you’ll receive a set of materials and resources to amplify your demands for a Free Palestine this summer. Educate your community, agitate those in power, and organize bold actions alongside fellow passionate advocates from coast to coast as part of CODEPINK’s Summer of Love for Gaza.

    Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be part of something bigger. Together, we can make waves and create lasting change. Sign up now and let’s make this summer unforgettable!

    SESSIONS:

    Monday June 3 @8PM ET – OUT OF SESSION: Disrupting Congress at Home 

    Monday June 17 @8PM ET – Building Resistance By Cultivating Community

    Monday July 1 @8PM ET Decolonizing Environmentalism 

    Monday July 22 @8PM ET Gaza, Freedom Flotillas, & Peacemaking 

    Monday August 5 @8PM ET Art and Resistance in Palestine 

    Monday August 26 @8PM ET Palestine, Repression, & Looking Ahead 

    ENROLL NOW! 

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  • June 9, 2024: Laila Hasan’s Embroidery & Jewelry

    Listen to Laila Hasan and Esty Dinur

    on WORT 89.9 FM’s A Public Affair, 5/31/24

    Textile artist Laila Hasan joins us by phone. For many years she has brought women textile artists together to develop shared sales opportunities for their hand made items. Many of the artist now the sole economic support for their families. She talks with Esty about her art making as well as the current situation in the West Bank.

    Laila will be presenting and selling art in Madison on June 9th from 1:30-3:30 at Madison friends meeting house at 1704 Roberts Court.  There will be snacks. Learn more here. 

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  • June 13, 2024: Palestine Partners at the Madison Night Market

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  • COLUMBIA LAW REVIEW REFUSED TO TAKE DOWN ARTICLE ON PALESTINE

    ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS NUKED THE WHOLE WEBSITE

    Alumni of Columbia Law School mount pro-Palestinian protests during graduation in New York, on May 13, 2024. Photo: Fatih Akta/Anadolu via Getty Images

    The students who edit the journal sought out the article by a Palestinian scholar who was censored by Harvard Law Review last year.

    Natasha Lennard and Prem Thakker, The Intercept, June 3 2024

    LAST NOVEMBER, THE Harvard Law Review made the unprecedented decision to kill a fully edited essay prior to publication. The author, human rights lawyer Rabea Eghbariah, was to be the first Palestinian legal scholar published in the prestigious journal. 

    As The Intercept reported at the time, Eghbariah’s essay — an argument for establishing “Nakba,” the expulsion, dispossession, and oppression of Palestinians, as a formal legal concept that widens its scope — faced extraordinary editorial scrutiny and eventual censorship. 

    When the Harvard publication spiked his article, editors from another Ivy League law school reached out to Eghbariah. Students from the Columbia Law Review solicited a new article from the scholar and, upon receiving it, decided to edit it and prepare it for publication.

    Related 

    Harvard Law Review Editors Vote to Kill Article About Genocide in Gaza

    Now, eight months into Israel’s onslaught against Gaza, Eghbariah’s work has once again been stifled — this time by the Columbia Law Review’s board of directors, a group of law school professors and prominent alumni that oversee the students running the review. 

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  • Dozens killed in strike on U.N. school

    WaPo Washington Post logo

    At least 30 were killed, an al-Aqsa Hospital spokesman said, as the IDF struck what it called a Hamas compound inside the UNRWA-run school in central Gaza.

    Niha Masih, Hajar Harb and Kyle Melnick, The Washington Post, June 6, 2024 at 3:23 a.m. EDT

    Palestinians at the al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza search Thursday for relatives killed in the Israeli strike on a UNRWA school in Nuseirat. (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)

    Israeli fighter jets on Thursday struck a U.N. school in central Gaza that the Israel Defense Forces said housed a “Hamas compound,” killing at least 30 people, according to an official from a nearby hospital.

    Children were among the many casualties of the attack, Khalil al-Degran, a spokesman at the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah where the casualties were brought, told The Washington Post. He estimated that there were dozens of wounded.

    IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said at a news conference Thursday that 20 to 30 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters were operating from a compound inside a school belonging to UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, in the Nuseirat area. The strike had previously been called off twice to limit civilians casualties, Lerner said, and he wasn’t aware of civilian deaths resulting from Thursday’s attack.

    “We are confident that our activities were effective in limiting and reducing the harm to civilians in the area,” Lerner said.

    Lerner said this was the fifth time the IDF had identified Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters using UNRWA facilities to plan attacks. A Hamas spokesman denied that the school contained a hidden Hamas command post, Reuters reported.

    Juliette Touma, UNRWA’s communications director, said its schools or premises must never be used for “military or fighting purposes.” Israel has alleged that some of the agency’s staff took part in the October attack and that some of its facilities have been used for militant activity.

    An independent review concluded in April that Israel did not provide evidence that significant numbers of UNRWA workers are tied to militant groups, but added that the agency must implement more robust vetting of staff members to ensure neutrality.

    Touma said in a statement that more than 170 UNRWA buildings — mostly schools that were transformed into shelters — have been attacked since the war began in October, killing more than 450 people.

    “We call for investigations into all violations against the United Nations including attacks on our buildings,” Touma said.

    Israel has drawn widespread international condemnation over the mounting civilian casualties in Gaza. At least 45 people were killed in a strike on a tent camp in Rafah last month, which the IDF said targeted two Hamas officials.

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  • June 8, 2024: War Abolition Bike Ride

    Bring the kids! Bring the adults! Share this post to invite others. Join us for all or part of this short, family-friendly ride at a moderate pace. Questions or if you can help out – warabolition1@gmail.com. For updates on the day of this Move for Peace event, look here or here.

    9 am – Meet at Winnebago St & Atwood Ave (Schenk’s Corner), pedal off up Winnebago Street

    9:30 – Meet up at the farmers market on the Square – State St corner, 30 W Mifflin St: Greet Madison-Rafah Sister City Project demonstrators there & loop the Square

    9:45 – Pedal off from corner of Mifflin & State Street —Ride up State Street then loop Monona Bay

    11:00 – End at 640 W Washington Ave (Bandit Tacos and Coffee)

  • June 1 – 6, 2024: Genocide Petition & Madison Free Palestine! Events

    Building Unity Wisconsin,  June 2, 2024

    Petition to End the Genocide Project

    We can’t sit back and allow our country to support a genocide any longer.
    It is time for all of us, elected leaders and we, the people, to take a stand.

    • Print, sign, and ask your friends, neighbors, family, workmates, and elected representatives to sign our petition. You can use this sample letter and contact info.
    • Like, share, and comment on this Facebook Event/Post.
    • Show up at all or any of the upcoming events in and around Wisconsin’s State Capitol:
      • Sat. 6/1 – WI State Capitol Rotunda –10:00 am – 2:00pm – Vigil & Fast to End the Genocide.
      • Mon. 6/3 – Corner of Doty St. and MLK, Jr. Blvd – Noon – 1:00pm – Vigil & Fast to End the Genocide.
      • Mon. 6/3 – Meet at Doty and MLK, Jr. Proceed to City County Building 210 MLK, Jr. Blvd.
        1:00 – 2:00 pm.         We will take our petition around to city and county leaders and staff.
      • Tue. 6/4 – WI State Capitol Rotunda – Noon – 6:00pm – Vigil & Fast to End the Genocide. We will take our petition around to state leaders and staff.
      • Wed. 6/5 – WI State Capitol Rotunda – Noon – 6:00pm – Vigil & Fast to End the Genocide. We will take our petition around to state leaders and staff.
      • Thur. 6/6 – WI State Capitol Rotunda – Noon – 5:00pm – Vigil & Fast to End the Genocide. We will take our petition around to state leaders and staff.
        5:00 pm – “Break the Fast Potluck” – Bring food, beverages, &/or funds for humanitarian relief in Gaza to a potluck in the State Capitol.

    If anyone wants to help expand the actions to locations beyond Madison, let us know – 608-630-3633. We will be updating this event page as more events become known to us.

    Activities that will unfold in the days that follow are still being planned. Please check back to the Facebook page for updates about the days following June 6th.

    For more information or to help with improving this campaign or our promotional materials, please call Building Unity at 608-630-3633.

    BuildingUnityWi@gmail.com

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  • We need to talk about Zionism

    THE LISTENING POST

    We need to talk about Zionism

    Al Jazeera, 1 Jun 2024

    The Listening Post cuts through the confusion about Zionism and anti-Zionism in Western media and politics.

    In the coverage of Israel-Palestine in the Western media, an ideology that is central to the story – Zionism – rarely gets discussed. Instead, we hear a debate about whether opposition to it – anti-Zionism – is anti-Semitic.

    The Listening Post’s Daniel Turi reports on Zionism, the confusion that surrounds it, and what it tells us about the world’s longest-running occupation.

    Contributors:
    Bernard Avishai – Professor, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
    Sherene Seikaly – Associate Professor of History, University of California at Santa Barbara
    Avi Shlaim – Emeritus Fellow, University of Oxford

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  • All Eyes on Rafah

    Israel’s International Isolation and Drift Towards Authoritarianism

    Joel Beinin, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History and Professor of Middle East History, Emeritus, Stanford University

    June 1, 2024

    Israel’s continuing war on the Gaza Strip and the shocking accounts of the human carnage it is inflicting on Rafah are deepening its international isolation. Global opinion is outraged by the unrelenting live-stream display of gruesome Palestinian civilian casualties, the targeting of humanitarian aid workers and journalists, and images of wanton cruelty by Israeli soldiers circulating on social media. Diplomatic and legal measures long discussed as alternatives to the failed U.S.-managed “peace-process” are materializing more rapidly since Israeli leaders publicly announced their genocidal intentions in invading Gaza.

    On May 28, Spain, Ireland, and Norway officially recognized Palestinian statehood. Two days later the government of Slovenia announced it will follow suit. Belgium, Luxembourg, and Malta are considering joining them. Altogether,145 of the 193 UN member states recognize Palestinian statehood, including 9 of the G20 and 10 of the 27 EU countries.

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  • Israeli International Criminal Court Arrest Warrants

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  • Israel’s covert war on the ICC exposed

    Top Israeli government and security officials have overseen a nine-year surveillance operation targeting the ICC and Palestinian rights groups to try to thwart a war crimes probe, a joint investigation reveals.

    ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan sworn in at the seat of the International Criminal Court, 16 June 2021. (ICC-CPI)

    By Yuval Abraham and Meron Rapoport, +972 Magazine, May 28, 2024

    In partnership with

    For nearly a decade, Israel has been surveilling senior International Criminal Court officials and Palestinian human rights workers as part of a secret operation to thwart the ICC’s probe into alleged war crimes, a joint investigation by +972 Magazine, Local Call, and the Guardian can reveal.

    The multi-agency operation, which dates back to 2015, has seen Israel’s intelligence community routinely surveil the court’s current chief prosecutor Karim Khan, his predecessor Fatou Bensouda, and dozens of other ICC and UN officials. Israeli intelligence also monitored materials that the Palestinian Authority submitted to the prosecutor’s office, and surveilled employees at four Palestinian human rights organizations whose submissions are central to the probe.

    According to sources, the covert operation mobilized the highest branches of Israel’s government, the intelligence community, and both the civilian and military legal systems in order to derail the probe.

    The intelligence information obtained via surveillance was passed on to a secret team of top Israeli government lawyers and diplomats, who traveled to The Hague for confidential meetings with ICC officials in an attempt to “feed [the chief prosecutor] information that would make her doubt the basis of her right to be dealing with this question.” The intelligence was also used by the Israeli military to retroactively open investigations into incidents that were of interest to the ICC, to try to prove that Israel’s legal system is capable of holding its own to account.

    Additionally, as the Guardian reported earlier today, the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, ran its own parallel operation which sought out compromising information on Bensouda and her close family members in an apparent attempt to sabotage the ICC’s investigation. The agency’s former head, Yossi Cohen, personally attempted to “enlist” Bensouda and manipulate her into complying with Israel’s wishes, according to sources familiar with his activities, causing the then-prosecutor to fear for her personal safety.
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  • Stop the Massacres!

    MECA

    Eight actions you can take now

    1. Join a local, regional, or national protest. Check with a Palestine solidarity group near you or this list on the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights website. If you are in the Bay Area, check AROC’s list of local events.

    2. Call for a ceasefire and humanitarian access for Gaza now! Contact your US Congresspeople and Senators.

    3. Boycott companies profiting from genocide. See the list of businesses and more on the BDS website. 

    4. Educate yourself and others with basic info, recent analysis, or infographics at Visualizing Palestine. Look for books, articles, videos, and podcasts. If you are a K-12 teacher, check out MECA’s Teach Palestine Project.

    5. Support MECA’s emergency aid work in Gaza by making a donation or setting up your own online fundraising page.

    6. Put a sign in the window of your home or business. Purchase “Ceasefire” by Eric Drooker, request a free “We Stand with Palestine” by emailing MECA@MECAforPeace.org, or download “NO GENOCIDE IN GAZA” by Ernesto Yerena, and search for others online. Signs are available from the Madison-Rafah Marketplace.

    7. Attend your local city council or schoolboard meetings that are discussing or voting on ceasefire resolutions, teaching about Palestine, false accusations of antisemitism, or other matters about the genocide in Gaza.

    8. DON’T GIVE UP! Every action we take brings a permanent ceasefire closer and builds the movement for justice in Palestine! 

    Please act now. Take one or all of these actions today. And, please, don’t stop.

    In solidarity,
    All of us at MECA

    MadisonRafah.org

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  • GAZA’S STOLEN HEALERS 

    Hundreds of Palestinian Doctors Disappeared Into Israeli Detention

    Medical supplies scattered inside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on April 21, 2024. Photo: Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg via Getty Images

    Kavitha Chekuru, The Intercept, May 24 2024

    IT’S BEEN TWO months since Osaid Alser has heard from his cousin, Khaled Al Serr, a surgeon at Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis.

    Before late March, they had been in regular contact — or as regular as the shredded communication infrastructure would allow. Al Serr had created a telemedicine WhatsApp group where he and Osaid, a surgical resident in the U.S., recruited doctors from stateside, the U.K., and Europe to give advice to their overstretched colleagues in Gaza.

    “He reported on a gunshot injury in a 70-year old,” Osaid said, of Al Serr. “It was in her head. And really, there were no neurosurgeons at that time.”

    “He was sharing those cases, and he was asking for help,” Osaid went on. “It was like, ‘Is there any neurosurgeon that can help me? How can I fix this?’”

    Khaled Al Serr in a selfie taken in front of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, in Jan. 2018. Courtesy: Healthcare Workers Watch – Palestine

    Al Serr was a natural vessel for the collective medical knowledge of the group chat. “He always wanted to help out, always liked to use his hands, to kind of fix a problem and have an immediate impact,” according to Osaid.

    In February, the Israeli military invaded Nasser Hospital. The attack left the hospital hollowed out, just one of the destroyed health care centers in a medical system savaged by an overwhelming caseload and a relentless military assault by Israel.

    MORE
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  • May 31, 2024: Gaza and the West Bank on WORT

    WORT

    Noon CT
    WORT 89.9 FM
    Live or archived

    We will have two guests this Friday at noon CT on WORT, 89.9 FM’s A Public Affair. First is Robert Schoville, a Madison native best known in Madison as the founder of the Brazilian percussion group The Handphibians. He has spent the last five years living on the Aegean coast of Turkey and will discuss life under Erdogan, attitudes towards Gaza/Israel, the role of the country in the Middle East and the world and more.

    Second is Laila Hasan who is visiting the US on a tour from Hebron. She will talk about life in the West Bank under constant threat by settlers and soldiers, the embroidery collective she has founded and the cultural role of this 3000 year old art and tradition, the lives of the women who have made the items she has brought with her, and the impact of 76 years of Israeli occupation on Palestinian women and their families. Hasan will be in Madison on 6/9 and participate in an afternoon event. 

    Esty Dinur

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  • June 1, 2024: Education Against the Gaza War

    Madison Farmer’s Market
    Capitol Square King Street corner
    7 am – 2 pm

    An action including a display of shoes and reading of names of the dead is planned by several local groups at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday.

    If people want to participate, they should go to the Veterans for Peace table on the Square at the King Street corner.

    For more information or to volunteer, please contact Paula Rogge at roggepann@gmail.com or 608-577-1721. Help is especially needed at the beginning and the end of the event.

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