The Madison-Rafah Sister City Project (MRSCP)
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“Yitgadal V’yitkadash Shmei Rabba —
May His great Name be magnified and sanctified.”
Not great and not holy is He,
for in His Name blood is spilled in vain.
― Avrum Burg, Kaddish of the New Year, Sep 12, 2025
February 14, 2023
Webinar by No Way to Treat a ChildPlease join the No Way to Treat a Child campaign for a webinar next week on February 14 at 11 a.m. Central. We’ll hear how Palestinian children have been impacted by the reign of Israeli aggression across the occupied West Bank this year. Israeli forces have carried out incursions into Palestinian cities and towns almost every night,…
Israel probes legality of US giving artifact to Palestinians
Heritage Minister Eliyahu, a religious ultranationalist now in charge of the Israel Antiquities Authority, denies the existence of a Palestinian people. A 2,700-year-old ivory incense spoon, displayed at the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Jan. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo) Ilan Ben Zion, Associated Press, February…
160 Organizations Demand Congress Stop Funding Israel’s Massacres
160 organizations representing Palestinian communities, Palestinian solidarity organizations, and the racial justice movement have signed on to the new joint statement “Stop Funding Israel’s Massacres,” calling out the U.S. government’s complicity and racist dehumanization of Palestinian life. Read the statement below: Israel’s horrific murder of 10 Palestinians in Jenin, unprecedented for two decades in the…
Gunman kills at least 7 people in occupied East Jerusalem attack
Shooting follows a deadly Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp that killed nine Palestinians. Israeli forces deploy at the site of the deadly shooting in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday [Ahmad Gharabli/AFP] Al Jazeera, 27 Jan 2023 A gunman has killed at least seven people near a synagogue in an Israeli…
Jerusalem synagogue attack: Seven killed in shooting
Israeli emergency service personnel and security forces attended the scene (Getty Images) BBC, 27 January 2023 Seven people have been shot dead at a synagogue in East Jerusalem, the most killed in an attack of this kind for years. At least three more people were injured. The incident happened in the city's Neve Yaakov neighbourhood…
A Massacre Took Place in Jenin
January 26, 2023 This morning, Israeli forces murdered at least 9 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. They bombed homes, tear-gassed a hospital children's ward, shot at residents, and prevented access to medical aid. This unhinged massacre is the most violent Israeli invasion of the Jenin Refugee camp since 2002. This Sunday,…
Nine Palestinians killed in Israeli raid in Jenin
Yolande Knell & David Gritten, BBC News, 26 January 2023 Jenin & London — Nine Palestinians have been killed during an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank – the deadliest in years – Palestinian officials say. A woman aged 61 was reported among the dead in the flashpoint town of Jenin. The…
Extreme Israeli group takes root in US with fundraising bid
Jewish radicals convicted of hate crimes are collecting tax-exempt donations from Americans Yosef Haim Ben David, center, arrives at court in Jerusalem on March 22, 2016, during his murder trial in the death of a 16-year-old Palestinian boy. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean, File) JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli group raising funds for Jewish extremists convicted in…
Virtual Discussion on Corporate BDS Organizing
I am writing to invite you to join Omar Barghouti and me for a virtual discussion on corporate BDS organizing this Thursday, January 26 at 11 am ET/10 am CT/6 pm Palestine. Adalah Justice Project has played a key role in campaigns to compel corporations like Ben & Jerry’s to withdraw their complicity from Israeli…
Harvard Reverses Course on Advocate Who Criticized Israel
Blocking the former head of Human Rights Watch stirred debate over academic freedom and donor influence Kenneth Roth, the former director of Human Rights Watch, in New York last April. The Harvard Kennedy School recently reversed its early decision to reject his fellowship application because of his criticisms of Israel. (Todd Heisler/The New York Times)…
Kuffiyeh Contingent at the National March on Madison
Show your support for Palestinian women during the January 22 National Women’s March in Madison! Join the Kuffiyeh Contingent and stand with us in the State Capitol Rotunda. Madison Rafah Sister City Project plans to be in the Rotunda of the State Capitol near the State Street entrance at 1:00 pm. Wear your Kuffiyeh (we’ll…
U.S. Palestinian Rights Group in Federal Appeals Court
Confronts Challenge to Human Rights Advocacy Last week a U.S.-based Palestinian rights organization asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the Jewish National Fund and several U.S. citizens who live in Israel. Citing the speech and expressive activities of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights,…
Distorted Definition: Redefining Antisemitism to Silence Advocacy for Palestinian Rights
One of the primary tactics opponents of the movement for Palestinian freedom have used to silence political debate is the branding of all support for Palestinian rights as anti-Jewish. Roughly half of the incidents of suppression Palestine Legal responds to each year include false accusations of antisemitism, totaling 895 incidents from 2014 to 2020. …
Join the Kuffiya Contingent at the National March on Madison
January 22, 2023 Rally on Library Mall 12:00-12:45 March to the Capitol Building 1:00-1:45 Speakout at the Capitol 1:45-4:00 Show your support for Palestinian women during the January 22 National Womens March in Madison! Join the Kuffiya Contingent and walk with us as the March moves to the Capitol. Madison Rafah Sister City Project will…
Zoom: Dilemmas of Rebuilding Gaza
A Conversation between Sara Roy and Salem Al Qudwa Thursday, January 12, 11 a.m. CT AFSC will host regular webinar conversations with Palestinian writers from our anthology Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire in 2023. In our first webinar in January, Dr. Sara Roy and Salem Al Qudwa will discuss development and rebuilding in…
Masafer Yatta Instagram Live!
Monday, January 9th 11:00 am Central Join us for an urgent Instagram live! Tune in to learn how you can stand in solidarity with Palestinian people as they defend Masafer Yatta from Israel’s violence. We’ll be joined by Sami Huraini, a Palestinian activist and co-founder of Youth Of Sumud / شباب صمود, based in Masafer…
Rep. Pocan on Israeli demolition in Masafer Yatta
The Israeli government is demolishing homes, schools, farms, water infrastructure, and other basic necessities in Masafer Yatta. This blatant violation of international law is unconscionable, escalating tensions and making peace more difficult.https://t.co/MzMsgGakaS — Rep. Mark Pocan (@RepMarkPocan) January 5, 2023
California cancels Palestinians
Omar Zahzah, The Electronic Intifada, 21 December 2022
Rights Advocates Alarmed Over Israel’s New ‘Fascist, Racist, and Settler’ Government
“The occupation and apartheid in the occupied Palestinian territories have made Jewish supremacy the de facto law of the land and the new government seeks to adopt this into their official policy” Israelis carry banners and flags as they gather in front of the the Knesset to protest Israel’s new far-right government in Jerusalem on…
231 Palestinians were killed this year. These are their stories.
2022 has been the deadliest year for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in decades. We kept a record of all those who were killed by Israeli state and settler violence. YUMNA PATEL, MONDOWEISS, DECEMBER 31, 2022 Some of the Palestinian martyrs from 2022. (Illustration: Yumna Patel/Mondoweiss) 2022 has been the deadliest year for Palestinians living…
January 3rd CODEPINK Capitol Calling Party
You are invited to join our Tuesday CODEPINK CONGRESS Calling Party to talk with special guests about what’s happening in Palestine and efforts to end US complicity in Israeli crimes. Chat with peacemakers and experts Tuesday, January 3rd at 5 pm PT/7 pm CT/8 pm ET: RSVP now! Israeli settler violence against Palestinians escalated in 2022 with…
End-of-Year Appeal: Help with Rafah Family Home
Dear Friends of MRSCP, We hope you will consider contributing to our year-end fundraising drive to renovate and repair a family home located in the Tal al Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, where we previously installed a playground. This house is one of 20 that the U.S. organization Rebuilding Alliance has selected for their new Gaza Family…
The Zionist Cossacks Have Been Released on the Palestinians
What are we – anti-colonial Israelis, Jews of conscience and international supporters of Palestinian rights – going to do about it? Jeff Halper, ICAHD, 16 December 2022 Benjamin Netanyahu, due to return as Israel’s prime minister within the next few days, has one overriding concern: evading conviction and possible imprisonment in the three corruption cases…
ACT NOW: Prevent water cistern demolition in Sfai, South Hebron Hills
December 24, 2022 In this time of Hanukkah, while Jews celebrate the miracle of the oil that lasted 8 days, the Palestinian village of Sfai in the desert of Masafer Yatta is about to have its water cisterns demolished. There could not be a more cruel irony. No water means no life. We are supporting…
“International pressure is crucial to ending Israel’s rule over Palestinians”
Credit…Illustration by Rebecca Chew/The New York Times; photograph by Dan Balilty for The New York Times Re “The Ideal of Democracy in Israel Is in Jeopardy” (editorial, Dec. 18): As the editor of a progressive Jewish magazine that closely covers Israel and Palestine, I was deeply dismayed by the editorial. Though the editorial is critical…
Department of Education to investigate Berkeley Law School
MICHAEL ARRIA, MONDOWEISS, DECEMBER 16, 2022
Why Are Palestinian Christians Leaving Jesus’ Birthplace?
Jesus was born here. So where have all the Palestinian Christians gone? Dena Takruri goes to Bethlehem to find out. Dena Takruri is a journalist, Senior Presenter on AJ+, and co-author of They Called Me A Lioness: A Palestinian Girl’s Fight For Freedom.
Palestine has won the World Cup
Palestine has won people’s hearts and captivated the world’s attention — and its team isn’t even playing. YUMNA PATEL, MONDOWEISS, DECEMBER 9, 2022 MOROCCAN NATIONAL TEAM UNFURLS PALESTINIAN FLAG AFTER VICTORY OVER SPAIN (PHOTO VIA TWITTER) As the World Cup enters its final 10 days, and the remaining eight teams gear up for the quarter…
Salah Hamouri
Salah Hamouri photographed by Alain Bachellier Jonathan Kuttab, Friends of Sabeel North America, December 9, 2022 Salah Hamouri is a Palestinian human rights lawyer, from Jerusalem, who has just been informed he will be deported to France in 3 days. He has appealed this decision, but the hope that Israeli court would provide him with justice is…
How the Israeli government will turn its Jewish critics into dissidents
The transformation of Israeli leftists into dissidents is a reminder that no one is safe from the attempts to turn the ‘wrong kind’ of Jews into enemies. Edo Konrad, +972 Magazine, December 16, 2022 Israeli activists hold a protest in Tel Aviv against Israeli military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank, September 23, 2021.…
Israel has deported Palestinian lawyer to France
Move constitutes a war crime Medjool, 2022-12-18 Ramallah, 18 December 2022 Today, Sunday, 18 December, the Israeli settler-colonial authorities are unlawfully deporting French-Palestinian lawyer and human rights defender Salah Hammouri from his hometown, Jerusalem, to France for “breach of allegiance” to the occupying state. Such a move constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law of forcible…
2022 was a record year for settler violence. Next year will be even worse.
Palestinians say the worrying trend will only worsen as right-wing extremists make their home in Israel’s new government. YUMNA PATEL, MONDOWEISS, DECEMBER 15, 2022 Israeli security forces deploy amid altercations between Jewish settlers on their way to visit the tomb of Othniel ben Kenaz in the area H1 (controlled by Palestinian authorities) and Palestinian residents,…
Zoom: Playing With Fire — Jerusalem and the Incoming Israeli Government
Zoom 11:30 am Central Alarming developments in coalition agreements and promised ministerial appointments following the Israeli elections in November have left many of us rightfully worried about the future of Israeli democracy and human rights in the region. The incoming government, comprised of far-right extremist and Jewish supremacist politicians, is shaping up to give their…
Zoom: Christmas in Palestine!
Digital Webinar: Christmas in Palestine! December 18, 12 noon Central Green Olive Tours sponsors a panel discussion featuring Christian Palestinian perspectives on liberation and theology. Join members of Sabeel, the ecumenical liberation theology center in Jerusalem, to explore the ways they draw on Christian narratives and teachings as a source of resilience in the face…
Expulsion of Palestinian tests the waters for future deportations
Legal experts fear Israel’s deportation of Salah Hammouri could set a precedent for similar moves against Palestinians holding foreign citizenship Salah Hammouri’s mother (left), alongside Attorney Leah Tsemel (center) and Munir Nuseibeh (right), holds up a photo of him at an emergency press conference in Jerusalem, December 2, 2022. (Oren Ziv) Oren Ziv, +972 Magazine,…
Rise of Israel’s far right puts focus back on the West Bank occupation
The Israeli-controlled checkpoint in Hebron (Bab al Zawiyah) divides Palestinians in their city. (Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR for The Washington Post) A new weapon on the right side of the checkpoint can remotely shoot live ammunition and special “crowd control” munitions. (Tanya Habjouqa/NOOR for The Washington Post) Shira Rubin, The Washington Post, December 10, 2022 HEBRON, West…
Shireen Abu Akleh documentary raises pressure on Biden over inquiry
Film offers most detailed account yet of journalist’s killing by Israeli army, including video of moments surrounding shooting Colleagues and friends react as the Palestinian flag-draped body of Shireen Abu Akleh is brought to the news channel’s office in the West Bank city of Ramallah in May. Abbas Momani/AP Chris McGreal, The Guardian, 4…
I’d like to you to meet Mahmoud and Emily, a Palestinian and foreigner couple who are thinking about taking the next big step in their relationship together. Watch “Love Under Occupation,” a 2-minute short film by Mondoweiss. WATCH THE FILM No relationships were harmed in the making of this video. But they will be soon.…
Dec 14, 2022: The Right to Boycott: Resisting the Crackdown on BDS
Join CODEPINK and Meera Shah of Palestine Legal on Zoom December 14th at 2pm ET/11am PT for an important and timely call on recent anti-BDS legislation and its impacts on movements for Palestine solidarity, and various forms of divestment. Since 2014, U.S. legislators have introduced over 200 bills targeting boycotts for Palestinian rights – and…
Morocco celebrates with Palestinian flag after historic World Cup victory
Morocco becomes first Arab nation to make it to the last eight of international soccer tournament Morocco’s players celebrate with a Palestinian flag at the end of the Qatar 2022 World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Morocco and Spain at the Education City Stadium in Al-Rayyan, west of Doha on December 6, 2022.…
Kick Out Apartheid Campaign
Palestinian Artist, Poet, and Filmmaker Lina Abojaradeh asks What country in the world intentionally shoots football players in the legs and knees? Join the movement and visit Kick Out Apartheid
Rightwing Zionist Money & its Influence on U.S. Elections
[pdf-embedder url=”http://madisonrafah.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Rightwing-Zionist-Money.pdf”]
The Mask Is Off
The newly elected Netanyahu government will include bigoted, intolerant, and violence-advocating ministers Dr. James J. Zogby, Arab American Institute, December 5, 2022 Since its founding, Political Zionism has had two distinct and contradictory personas. One portrayed it as a national liberation movement that was liberal, democratic, tolerant, and inclusive. This was the face its adherents…
Tragedy in Gaza after 21 people die in fire
The Abu Rayya tragedy is a direct result of the blockade, as frequent power cuts have forced families in Gaza to use alternative fuel sources to fight the dark, often in hazardous conditions. MOURNERS ATTEND THE FUNERAL OF 21 PALESTINIANS WHO DIED IN A FIRE THAT BROKE OUT IN AN APARTMENT IN JABALYA REFUGEE CAMP…
Watch Farha on Netflix
Farha tells the true story of a young Palestinian girl surviving the Nakba in 1948 by hiding in a small, locked storage room. This eye-opening and heartbreaking film is based on the experiences of a friend of writer and director Darin Sallam’s mother, and shows events tragically familiar to Palestinians around the world. Farha is…
Farha Vividly Depicts Palestinian History Through The Eyes Of A Teenager
Toronto International Film Festival Review FARHA_Trailer_English subtitle from Picture Tree International on Vimeo. Jared Mobarak, The Film Stage, September 11, 2021 The text reads: Palestine, 1948. That’s all you need to know to understand what’s coming. A year earlier marked the start of the Palestinian Civil War between Jewish and Arab residents after the United…
Farha ‘Smear Campaign’ Targets Netflix Film Depicting Nakba
Activists say hundreds of spam accounts are giving low ratings and bad reviews for the film on rating platforms Many of the accounts giving Farha low ratings on IMDb were newly created (TaleBox) Nadda Osman, Middle East Eye, 2 December 2022 Hundreds of spam accounts have left negative reviews of the film Farha on the…
December 11, 2022
Film: Come and See; Go and TellOnline Film & Panel Discussion 2:00 pm Central So many people travel, take tours, and make pilgrimages to the “Holy Land” each year. What are the ethical, political, and personal implications of a journey to holy sites surrounded by 30-foot-high concrete walls, where soldiers patrol the streets and residents live under military occupation? Three recent,…
