The Madison-Rafah Sister City Project (MRSCP)
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It is Nazism, yes, but before they were its victims, they were its accomplices; they tolerated that Nazism before it was inflicted on them, they absolved it, shut their eyes to it, legitimized it, because, until then, it had been applied only to non-European peoples. ― Aimé Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism, 1950, pg 36
UN has stopped emergency food aid in Gaza
UNRWA Press Release 1 April 2004 UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Headquarters Gaza website: www.unrwa.org Press Release No. HQ/G/06/2004 The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced Thursday it stopped distributing emergency food aid to some 600,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip. UNRWA said…
How Israel promotes terror in the occupied territories
Tanya Reinhart, Yediot Ahronot, 31 March 2004 — An extensive discussion has already taken place in Israel regarding the cost-benefit ratio of [Hamas leader Ahmad] Yassin’s assassination. But the question of justice has hardly been raised. According to international law, the execution of any person in an occupied territory is not allowed. The Geneva convention,…
Reflections on the killing of Shaikh Ahmad Yasin
William R. Polk, March 28, 2004 Before a few days ago, few people in the West had ever heard of Shaikh Ahmad Yasin, but among Muslim Arabs he had long been a major figure. Who was he, why was he important, why was he killed and what can be predicted as the aftermath of…
Victory of Brutality
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, Mar 14, 2004 A new species of officer is achieving greatness in the Israel Defense Forces. These people did most of their service as occupation officers, and their excellence is a function of the degree of violence and brutality they exercise against the Palestinians. The most striking example of this trend is…
March 9, 2004
Madison Premiere of The Killing ZoneTuesday, March 9 The Crossing 1127 University Avenue (University and Charter) 7:00 pm Wednesday, March 10 Grainger Hall Morgridge Auditorium (University and Park) 7:00 pm The Madison-Rafah Sister City Project is hosting the Madison premiere of The Killing Zone, a 45-minute British documentary about conditions in Rafah and the murders of International Solidarity Movement workers…
Sharon is not the Problem
Ghadi Karmi, CounterPunch, February 20, 2004 The Sharon government is widely regarded, even by Israel’s friends, as a negative force in the current politics of the Middle East. Its brutal repression of the Palestinians, its intransigence over engaging in the peace process and its defiance of world opinion on such matters as settlement expansion and…
Return to Rafah: Journey to a land out of bounds
Jennifer Loewenstein, The Electronic Intifada, 17 February 2004
Checking On The Checkpoints
They’re all women, all Israeli and every day they go to West Bank checkpoints to try to stop soldiers harassing Palestinians. Linda Grant went with them. Linda Grant, The Guardian, 1 February 2004 When I came to Tel Aviv last July to find an apartment to rent for a few months, an estate agent…
Diagnosing Benny Morris: the mind of a European settler
Gabriel Ash, The Electronic Intifada, 27 January 2004
In Gaza, Israeli brutality on display daily
Rana El-Khatib, Arizona Republic, January 25, 2004 “Israel good!” were the last words my husband and I heard as we left the final checkpoint within Erez, the border crossing maintained by Israel to control all entries and exits to and from Gaza. I turned back to get a closer look at the soldier. I saw…
Moral decay and Benny Morris
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 24 January 2004
Where day to day living has had its heart cut out
Chris McGreal, The Guardian, 19 January 2004 Abu Dis — Fatina Zen stayed until the end, peering down her street through the lashing rain as towering concrete slabs were slotted into place one by one across the middle of the road. She wondered if her son might suddenly appear on the other side to wave…
Getting the hell into Gaza
Laura Gordon, The Electronic Intifada, 15 January 2004
A Contrast in Media Coverage
MRSCP, Jan 13, 2004
19 Left Dead in Failed Hunt for Master Bomber
This article states that the accused shooter of Tom Hurndall has also been charged with smoking pot on duty. For another report of marijuana use by Israeli Occupation Forces, see Kelly Bornshlegel’s Resistance under Occupation. Chris McGreal in Nablus Friday, January 9, 2004 The Guardian In a three-week occupation of the biggest Palestinian city the…
And the twins died
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 1/9/04 The twin girls died one after the other. The first to die was the one who was born first, at the checkpoint. Several hours later came the death of her sister, who was born a few minutes after they finally left the checkpoint, and who managed to reach the hospital alive.…
The hope of Shatila
The Geneva accord won’t bring peace because it signs away the rights of Palestinian refugees Karma Nabulsi, The Guardian, 7 January 2004 This year is the 250th anniversary of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s legendary Discourse on the Origins and Foundations of Inequality. In its dedicatory epistle to the Republic of Geneva, Rousseau, citizen of that virtuous city,…
Sharon must be stopped
Mustafa Barghouthi, Palestine Monitor, December 2003 Last week, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon declared that if the Palestinians did not soon take significant steps to curb “violence”, he would begin a unilateral “separation plan” to disengage entirely from any negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. This ultimatum represents the summation of the Israeli government’s skillful media…
Resistance Under Occupation
Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2004 07:48:29 -0800 (PST) From: Kelly Bornshlegel Subject: Resistance Under Occupation Ringing In The New Year In the midst of an already month-long invasion, the Sheiks announced over the mosques for everyone to yell from their windows and their roofs “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) together for an hour. It began…
The Reality of the “Geneva Accord”
Al-Awda, 5 December 2003
The killing fields of Rafah
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, Nov 30, 2003 Quietly, far from the public eye, Israeli soldiers continue killing Palestinians. Hardly a day goes by without casualties, some innocent civilians, and the stories of their violent deaths never reach the Israeli consciousness or awareness. If there is one consistent piece of data in the current intifada, it…
Wisconsin Bookstore’s Fight for Free Speech Victorious
David Grogan, American Booksellers Association, Nov 12, 2003
Israeli chainsaw massacre
Palestinian farmers seek protection against settlers The Globe and Mail, 12 November 2003 Einabus, West Bank – Men with chainsaws turned Fawzi Hussein’s olive into a wasteland overnight – 255 trees cut down at the trunks, fruit-laden branches wilting on a West Bank slope, at the height of the harvest season. The suspected culprits: militant…
Israeli Roulette
Uri Avnery, CounterPunch, November 7, 2003 In the Six-Day War, hundreds of Israeli soldiers were murdered while storming the Sinai desert, the West Bank and the Golan heights. In the Yom-Kippur War, more than 2000 Israeli soldiers were murdered in the defense of the conquered territories. In the 18 year long Lebanon War, more than…
EU poll labels Israel world’s biggest threat to world peace
AFP, 04 Nov 2003 BRUSSELS (AFP) – The European Union scrambled to contain the fallout from a public opinion poll that — to Israel’s fury — labelled the Jewish state the biggest threat to world peace. The United States was just behind Israel in the global danger league, in joint second place with North Korea…
World Food Programme on the Occupied Palestinian Territories
World Food Programme Report, 28 October 2003 . . . Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food Programme said that she had been in the occupied Palestinian territories last week. The situation in that region continued to deteriorate. A WFP study showed that more than 50 per cent of the inhabitants of the occupied territories lived…
Settlers Attack Rabbis
Rabbis for Human Rights delegation physically attacked by settlers while documenting cut trees Rabbis for Human Rights, 27 Oct 2003 This morning a RHR delegation was attacked by settlers while documenting cut trees. Well known journalist John Ross, age 66, is on his way to Beilinson Hospital. RHR executive director Rabbi Arik Ascherman was also…
Letter from Emad Sha’at in Rafah
October 25, 2003 Thank you for your continuous support and committment towards Rafah City and Rafah People. From the start of the Intifadah, Rafah has suffered more than any other Palestinian city, Since the start of the Intifadah to date, Rafh has suffered ofthe follwing: 271 Martyrs were killed by the Israelis, 75 of…
THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF AMERICAN JEWS
“My People are American. My Time is Today.” Lenni Brenner, CounterPunch, October 24, 2003 A friend once got a bit of a reputation by pointing out that “you don’t need the weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing.” But you do need a demographer to know which way the Jews are going. Some…
Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land: U.S. Media & The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Saturday, Nov 8, 2003 4:45-6:45 pm Red Gym Media Room Campus Information and Visitor Center 617 Langdon St UW-Madison This pivotal video exposes how the foreign policy interests of American political elites ó working in combination with Israeli public relations strategies ó exercise a powerful influence over news reporting about the Middle East conflict. Combining…
Al Mezan Condemns Israel’s War Crimes in Rafah
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Reference: 45/2003, October 16, 2003 At 11:30pm Wednesday 15 October 2003, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacked the Al Nakhla (Brazil) neighborhood in Rafah. Eyewitnesses said that about 60 Israeli tanks and armored vehicles invaded the neighborhood under helicopter cover and imposed a curfew on it. Initial…
Eyewitness account of the invasion of Rafah
Laura Gordon, The Electronic Intifada, 14 Oct 2003
Al Mezan Condemns Israel’s Crimes in Rafah and Calls for International Intervention
Reference: 43/2003 Date: October 13, 2003 Al Mezan Center For Human Rights On Monday 12 October 2003 Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) redeployed their forces around the town and refugee camp of Rafah. Mezan’s fieldworkers visited the area, under direct occupation since Friday 10 October, to collect information and meet with victims and their families. According…
Israeli Occupation Forces Withdraw from Rafah Leaving Behind Devastation
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, October 12, 2003 In the early morning hours of Monday 13 October 2003, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) withdrew from the refugee camp of Rafah after a three-day incursion. Initial reports from the camp revealed massive home demolitions and damage to the city’s infrastructure. Israeli soldiers killed eight…
Amira Hass: Explaining the occupation to the occupier
Allen Ruff, Palestine-Israel Peace and Justice Alliance (PIPAJA), 12 Oct 2003 Amira Hass, the author of the article below, will be appearing in Madison on October 30th as the second speaker in the “Reporting the Middle East” speakers’ series produced by the Palestine-Israel Peace and Justice Alliance (PIPAJA). Hass will appear at the Morgridge Auditorium,…
The mirror of fire and tears
Laura Gordon, The Electronic Intifada, 10 October 2003
September 19-21, 2003
Toward a Peaceful WorldNONVIOLENCE EVENT WEEKEND How to Spread Nonviolence, Globally and Locally September 19-21, 2003 Hosted by Edgewood College, Madison, WI Madison-Rafah Sister City Project is looking for volunteers to help staff our table at this event. If you are interested, please contact RafahSisterCity at Yahoo.com. Brochures with registration information will be available the first week of…
Israel’s Assassination Policy Triggers Latest Suicide Bombings
Steve Niva, The Electronic Intifada, 2 September 2003
Eight-year-old Aya Fayad shot dead as she rode her bicycle
The Palestine Monitor, 2 Sep 2003 Aya Fayad was one little girl out of one million eighty-five thousand Palestinian children, who should be having their first day back at school today. Aya is not having hers because she was murdered; thousands of others will not have theirs, because of some 400 Israeli checkpoints and road…
September 14-16, 2003
Palestinian Labor TourSouth Central Federation of Labor Meeting Monday, September 15 7 pm Madison Labor Temple, 1602 S. Park St. Contact: Ron Blascoe, c/o RafahSisterCity at Yahoo.com Multicultural Student Coalition Meeting Tuesday, September 16 7:00 pm See “Today in the Union” for room location. There will also be a display on library mall the day of the…
Children’s author faces Jewish wrath
Tale of boy’s life in West Bank prompts pressure groups to call for withdrawal Fiachra Gibbons, The Guardian, August 23, 2003 Jewish pressure groups are calling on a publisher to withdraw a children’s book about a Palestinian boy growing up amid the intifada on the West Bank. A Little Piece of Ground, by the multi-award-winning…
September 9, 2003
Working MeetingMG&E Innovation Center, 505 S. Rosa Rd., Madison 7:00pm This is a meeting to gear up for our fall plans, which are extensive and growing. SUMMARY OF MRSCP STATUS (Please review prior to the meeting; these will all be discussed) MRSCP has four working committees at the moment: The Delegation Committee, the City Council Committee, the…
Fragments of Rafah
Laura Gordon, The Electronic Intifada, 21 August 2003
Cycle of Bloodshed Resumes
Gush Shalom, August 20, 2003 The horrifying suicide bombing in Jerusalem, in which dozens of innocent civians were killed and wounded, deserves to be condemned in the sharpest terms. We offer our condolences to all the bereaved families. But it is imposible to avoid also considering how did this come to happen. The renewed cyce…
Israel’s New Citizenship Law
Jewish Peace News, 10 Aug 2003 [Israel’s new citizenship law, passed recently by a wide margin in the Knesset, denies any Palestinian who is married to an Israeli citizen the right to reside in Israel or acquire Israeli citizenship. Only Palestinians — who in the overwhelming majority of cases are married to ethnically Palestinian Israeli…
Torturing innocent children and women
Mohammed Omer, Rafah Today, 8 Aug 2003 Everyone in Palestine tastes the Occupation crimes, this occupation which wasn’t kind to children, women, old men, old women, and youth also, every day. Thousands of crimes I saw at the checkpoints, many immoral crimes which are impossible to describe; yes, hard things, you don’t know what they…
Removing the witnesses
Israel’s crackdown on international peace activists raises grave concerns. Muna Hamzeh, Al-Ahram Weekly, 29 May – 4 June 2003 At a time when world attention is focussed on the Israeli government’s acceptance of the "the steps" set out in the roadmap and its complete rejection of the Palestinian right of return, the Israeli authorities have…
