The Madison-Rafah Sister City Project (MRSCP)
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May 15, 2025
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The ICC is preparing to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, Israel nearly started a war with Iran, and the IDF is preparing to commit a horrifying massacre in Rafah, so naturally the mainstream press is very, very interested in “anti-semitism” on college campuses again. — Caitlin Johnstone, 2024
An eviction in East Jerusalem lies at the center of a conflict that led to war between Israel and Hamas. But for millions of Palestinians, the routine indignities of occupation are part of daily life.
Palestinian citizens of Israel protesting the passage of the Jewish nation-state law. Tel Aviv, August 2018. (Photo: Reuters) Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), March 17, 2021 Basic facts & figures There are 1.9 million Palestinian citizens of Israel (as of December 2019), comprising 21% of Israel’s population. 83% of Palestinian citizens of Israel are…
Lee Matz for the Wiscosin Muslim Journal Sandra Whitehead, Wisconsin Muslim Journal, May 21, 2021 A crowd gathered Thursday evening at “The Calling,” the orange sunburst artwork on the east end of Wisconsin Avenue, for a “Free Palestine” rally planned by a coalition of organizations. A post on the Wisconsin Chapter of Bail Out the…
Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) is a non-profit organization that offers journalists facts, analysis, experts, and digital resources about Palestine and Palestinians.
A ceasefire is a crucial first step to end the current violence. But this didn't just start 12 days ago. This is about decades of Israel's home demolitions, illegal settlement expansion, blockades in Gaza + Hamas' rocket fire. The US must do more to promote peace & justice. https://t.co/5FqiAmLz1Z — Rep. Mark Pocan (@repmarkpocan) May…
Follows days of violence in the Middle East Fatoumata Ceesay, Madison365, May 17, 2021 More than 100 people gathered at the Capitol building Saturday morning to peacefully protest and stand in solidarity with Palestine, leading to a brief confrontation with an Israel supporter. Continued at Madison365 >>
Jason Breslow, NPR, May 19, 2021 Crowds gather Tuesday at the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles, in solidarity with a general strike by Palestinians in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Justin L. Stewart/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images In cities across the U.S., overwhelmingly pro-Palestinian protesters have taken to the streets in solidarity…
Names of Palestinian Casualties as of May 16, 2021 [pdf-embedder url=”http://madisonrafah.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/names-of-casualties-as-of-may-16.pdf” title=”Names of Palestinian Casualties as of May 16″] Plaza at Trader Joes Monroe and Spooner Streets Madison, Wisconsin 8 — 9 pm The devastation and loss of life caused by Israel’s unrelenting bombardment of Gaza is drastically escalating, with no end in sight. Today,…
We need an immediate cease-fire @POTUS. I joined @hereandnow to explain why this isn't a conflict that started this month. This is about decades of mistreatment of Palestinians, the continued expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, & U.S. complicity. pic.twitter.com/fvmHYuVL6t — Rep. Mark Pocan (@repmarkpocan) May 18, 2021
This is the right decision. Over 200 Palestinians are dead—including 61 children. 10 people in Israel—2 kids—are dead. Homes, roads & news offices have been destroyed in Gaza. Another blank check for Israel is not going to end this violence. The US must demand a cease-fire. https://t.co/ZPd0uW6RGo — Rep. Mark Pocan (@repmarkpocan) May 18, 2021
In Arabic a kite and plane are the same thing, Tayaara, which means a thing that flies. So when the title says “The Child and the Kite” it could be also “The Child and the Plane” and both would be appropriate for this poem. In other words, there is an ambiguity in Arabic that is…
Al Jazeera, May 15, 2021 Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies, joins us for the latest updates and analysis.
American Muslims for Palestine — Milwaukee Rally to Defend Jerusalem and Palestine, May 12, 2021 “Over 1,000 people showed up for Wednesday’s AMP-Milwaukee Rally. Milwaukeeans sent a loud message they will not stand for the continued violent occupation of Palestinian lands by Israeli forces.” All photos: Joe Brusky. More information: AMP-Milwaukee
First of all, thanks to those who turned out for yesterday’s banner drop and today’s demonstration at the Capitol covered by Channel 27 News. Demonstrations were held all over the world yesterday and today, even in France where they were prohibited by the Macron government at the last minute. As I write this, live media…
Running Orders BY LENA KHALAF TUFFAHA They call us now, before they drop the bombs. The phone rings and someone who knows my first name calls and says in perfect Arabic “This is David.” And in my stupor of sonic booms and glass-shattering symphonies still smashing around in my head I think, Do I know…
A Letter from Gaza as Israel’s bombs fall Gaza, 2018 Photo: AFSC Dr. Yasser Abu Jamei, American Friends Service Committee, May 13, 2021 I am writing this letter looking at my terrified 6-year old son, who keeps putting his hands over his ears trying block the sounds of Israel’s bombardment, my two daughters, aged 13…
And a Facebook video Reshaping Madison Together Event Occupation is a CRIME! Right now, near the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba and during Ramadan (Muslims’ most sacred time of the year), the Palestinian village of Sheikh Jarrah is being forcefully “evicted” by Israel as settlers try to STEAL the Palestinian homes. The government-sanctioned theft-in-progress…
Smoke rises following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City, Thursday, May 13, 2021. Weary Palestinians are somberly marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as Hamas and Israel traded more rockets and airstrikes and Jewish-Arab violence raged across Israel. (AP Photo – Adel Hana) TSELA BARR AND BARB OLSON, The Cap Times, May…
Protests by Palestinian citizens are being greeted with a mix of police violence and vigilante-style attacks from Jewish fascists The more the Palestinian minority protests against the structural discrimination it faces, the more it risks inflaming the passions of the Jewish far-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meeting with Israeli border police…
by Haim Bresheeth-Zabner NOW AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD AS A FREE EBOOK The Israeli army, officially named the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), was established in 1948 by David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, who believed that “the whole nation is the army.” In his mind, the IDF was to be an army like no other. It…
Your Friday reminder to listen to our only Palestinian member of Congress, @RashidaTlaib, and remember that even if some folks don’t want to acknowledge Palestinians—they do exist and their human rights do matter.pic.twitter.com/fxWmRX0FGp — Rep. Mark Pocan (@repmarkpocan) May 14, 2021
On A Public Affair Friday, May 14 at 12:30 pm, Esty Dinur will be speaking with Mazin Qumsiyeh about conditions in Palestine and Israel. Qumsiyeh is a Professor and Director of the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity & Sustainability and the Palestine Museum of Natural History at Bethlehem University. He previously served on the faculties of…
In support of Palestinians under attack from the Israeli military and right-wing Jewish extremists. There are now more than 100 dead and 600 injured in Gaza. See In Pictures: Ruins and devastation as Israeli attacks pummel Gaza, Al Jazeera, 13 May 2021. Campus Drive Pedestrian Overpass (Parking Lot 41 at University & N. Prospect Ave.)…
Israeli forces respond to a Palestinian man protesting in Jerusalem by placing him in a choke hold. (Photo by Menahem Kahana / AFP via Getty Images) Yousef Munayyer, The Nation, 5/13/21 I have been trying to think of a moment since 1948 when so broad a range of Palestinians have been exposed to as great…
Note: The start time has changed to 3:30 pm. In light of the recent events in Jerusalem and the escalating fight to stop the forced expulsions of Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, MRSCP will be holding a banner drop tomorrow, Monday May 10, beginning at 3:30 on the Campus Drive pedestrian overpass.…
Palestinian factions threaten to target capital Tel Aviv in response Smoke rises from buildings as Israeli fighter jets continue to pound a Palestinian building called "Hanady" at Al-Rimal neighbourhood in the Gaza Strip, on May 11, 2021. The death toll in Israel’s deadly ongoing air offensive increased to 28 by Tuesday evening, including one woman…
Agreed. We cannot just condemn rockets fired by Hamas and ignore Israel's state-sanctioned police violence against Palestinians—including unlawful evictions, violent attacks on protestors & the murder of Palestinian children. U.S. aid should not be funding this violence. https://t.co/5ObpNIzMMg — Rep. Mark Pocan (@repmarkpocan) May 11, 2021
Middle East Eye Follow MEE's updates from Jerusalem and beyond as tensions soar over the threatened eviction of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah Key Points Al-Aqsa stormed for the third time in three days 20 Palestinians killed by bombing in Gaza, including 9 children One Palestinian shot dead during protests in Lod, Israel Live Updates Palestinian…
The past and present of East Jerusalem Middle East Eye explains the history of Israel’s push to evict Palestinian families from the East Jerusalem community Mustafa Abu Sneineh, Middle East Eye, 6 May 2021 Sheikh Jarrah, the Palestinian neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem facing imminent Israeli eviction, was once a breezy orchard lying less than…
Eyewitness Palestine Join us for a Virtual Delegation to the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip with We Are Not Numbers, Palestinian youth telling the human stories behind the numbers in the news. The camp was established in 1949 and is now home to more than 125,304 refugees according to United Nations Relief and…
Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) Virtual Book Launch for Silwan! “Determined to Stay: Palestinian Youth Fight for Their Village” May 23 @ 1-2 pm Central Silwan is a Palestinian village just outside the ancient walls of Jerusalem’s Old City. Determined to Stay is the moving story of its people in the face of occupation. As…
7 pm Central Richard Forer will discuss his unique understanding of the hidden factors at the heart of the Israel-Palestine tragedy, especially the factors that lead people who ordinarily believe in decency and justice to support indecency and injustice. For readers who’d like to learn about these factors beforehand, Wake Up and Reclaim Your Humanity…
Understand how two people are treated differently by the Israeli government based solely on their identity. This is one visual in a four-part series Visualizing Palestine created in partnership with Human Rights Watch to communicate the report “A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution.” Visualizing Palestine Source: Human Rights Watch…
Israeli bulldozers expand the West Bank Jewish-only settlement of Nofei Nehemia in the Salfit District on private Palestinian land, which was expropriated by Israel and declared “state” (public) land, according to the owners. ActiveStills Ahmad Al-Bazz, 13 Aug 2020 Methodist Sabeel-Kairos Group (UK), 5th May 2021 The Methodist Church has sold its shares in the…
Credit: UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees Thalif Deen, IPS-Inter Press Service UNITED NATIONS, Apr 30 2021 (IPS) – When the UN’s Beirut-based Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) released a landmark 2017 report on “apartheid” in Israel, the United Nations disassociated itself with the study and left it to…
Justice for All: To build a world where there is healthcare for all, we must denounce medical apartheid wherever it manifests.
Ban Killer Drones: Proliferation, Border Surveillance and Persecution of Whistleblower Daniel Hale 10:00 AM Central Featuring a panel with Chris Cole, longtime peace activist and founder of Drone Wars UK; Maya Evans, anti-Afghanistan war activist and coordinator of Voices for Creative Violence-UK; and William Neuheisel, human rights and civil liberties advocate with the Whistleblower &…
With your guide Umar al-Ghubari Eyewitness Palestine To commemorate Nakba Day this year, we will be traveling virtually to Lifta to discuss the wider historical context of the Nakba. The story of Lifta is one example of about 600 Palestinian localities that were captured, and their indigenous residents expelled, during the Nakba (the Catastrophe) in…
With your guide Yuval Gal Cohen and our co-sponsors: Refuser Solidarity Network and OBJECTOR Impact Project Eyewitness Palestine Mesarvot is a network of Israeli activists that supports conscientious objectors in their refusal to become soldiers and take part in the occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people. Our goal is to promote a platform for…
The Israeli police violence against Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah is completely unacceptable. The Israeli military is forcing hundreds of Palestinians out of their homes. US taxpayer dollars should not fund annexation of Palestinian land or destruction of Palestinian homes. https://t.co/PTxcLEoZY4 — Rep. Mark Pocan (@repmarkpocan) May 6, 2021 Israeli forces detain a man after storming…
“The United States cannot turn its back on the atrocities, including war crimes, enabled by U.S. policies, particularly its decades long policy of shielding Israel from accountability.” “It has long been obvious to anyone paying attention that U.S. policy on Palestine and Israel does not match its rhetoric nor the ideals that it claims to…
Useful Idiots, Apr 30, 2021 Friend-of-show Dr. Cornel West has been in the news a lot of late, and not always in a happy way. At the end of February, the brilliant professor of Philosophy, Divinity, and African-American studies announced he was leaving his longtime employers at Harvard University, and moving back to Union Theological…
These past weeks have brought along a sea of change. Rep. Betty McCollum introduced the most progressive piece of legislation to date on the protection of Palestinian lives, ensuring that US taxpayer funds are not used to further the systems of violence and separation that Israel uses to displace and dispossess Palestinians of their rights,…
Palestine Advocacy Project has partnered with Anemoia Projects to bring you Ancestors of Palestinian Liberation: an educational resource spotlighting the lives and legacies of Palestinian social, cultural, and political icons who helped propel the struggle for Palestinian liberation forward. Though Palestinian history features countless such individuals, Ancestors of Palestinian Liberation highlights seven, one person for…
Deterioration of Living Condition For 4860 Fishermen and Workers in Associated Professions Ref: 45/2021 Date: 26 April 2021 Time: 10:30 GMT On Monday, 26 April 2021, Israeli authorities closed Gaza Sea completely and prevented fishermen from sailing and fishing. These Israeli measures are part of the Israeli collective punishment policy practiced against Palestinian civilians in…
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), April 27, 2021 For the past week, the world watched as Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians living in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Over 1500 Palestinians, mostly children, are facing threats of forced displacement and home demolitions by Israeli authorities. For nearly 75 years, this has been the devastating reality for…
Josie Shields-Stromsness, Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) Update for Madison Rafah Sister City Project BACKGROUND The economic situation in the Gaza Strip is deteriorating dramatically as a result of the continuation of the Israeli occupation and the Israeli blockade. The precautions taken to limit the spread of coronavirus including imposing of lockdowns and curfews have…
RE: BDS Victory: ASPC To Divest Funds From Occupation of Palestine Contact: Claremont Students for Justice in Palestine claremontcollegesjp@gmail.com We are pleased to announce that the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) unanimously passed a resolution on Thursday, April 22, 2021 divesting all ASPC funds from companies complicit in the occupation of Palestine, and banning future use…
Middle East Eye, YouTube, Apr 23, 2021 Hundreds of far-right Israeli activists took to the streets of Jerusalem’s Old City on Thursday night chanting “death to Arabs” and “Arabs get out.” A counter-protest by Palestinians resulted in violent clashes between protesters and Israeli security forces leaving more than 100 Palestinians injured.
There was the Palestinian father who tried to save his daughter from the police, the young Kahanists chanting ‘death to Arabs’ in the streets, the fear I felt when asked if I am a leftist. I write to remember it all. Orly Noy, +972 Magazine, April 24, 2021 Medics treat a Palestinian wounded by Israeli…