The Madison-Rafah Sister City Project (MRSCP)
Posts
Apr 29, 2025
❝Random Quotes❞
There is a law in Israel that empowers hundreds of local Jewish communities to exclude applicants based on ethnicity or religion. Israel’s Supreme Court upheld this law in September 2014. Palestinian Israeli citizens are barred from living in 68% of all towns in Israel by admissions committees. ― Second Class Citizens, 2016
Source: Pro-Israel: Money to Congress, The Center for Responsive Politics
Israeli Forces Kill 3 Palestinian Civilians and Wound 364 Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Ref: 50/2019, March 30, 2019 On Saturday, 30 March 2019, in excessive use of force against the peaceful protesters in the 1st anniversary of the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege, Israeli forces killed 3 Palestinian civilians, including…
The growing prominence of the B.D.S. movement — and the backlash to it — is widening fault lines from college campuses to Capitol Hill. Nathan Thrall, New York Times, March 28, 2019 On June 9, 2016, the committee tasked with drafting the new Democratic Party platform held its second day of hearings at the Omni…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights, March 28, 2019 On Friday 30 March 2018, the commemoration of Land Day, Palestinians launched a massive wave of peaceful weekly demonstrations known as the Great Return March along the security fence separating Gaza from Israel. The demonstrations call for the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes…
UW-Madison Campus (time & location to follow) MRSCP and UW Students for Justice in Palestine will be co-sponsoring a Madison appearance of the 2019 North America Nakba Tour featuring Um Akram (Mariam Fathalla), an 89-year-old Palestinian refugee, and Amena ElAshkar, a fourth-generation refugee, both from Lebanon. 2019 North America Nakba Tour 71 Years Without a…
Edo Konrad, +972, March 4, 2019 Osama Iliwat was supposed to speak to synagogues, churches, and universities across the United States about the power of nonviolence and bringing an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead he was sent back to Palestine. A Palestinian peace activist was denied entry to the United States last week after…
Many of those killed in the Christchurch, New Zealand mosque attack were, in fact, Palestinians. Rifat Audeh is a Palestinian-Canadian who participated in the Freedom Flotilla when the activists on the Mavi Marmara were murdered; he later produced a documentary about that experience: The Truth: LOST AT SEA. Rifat Audeh, Scoop Media, 19 March 2019…
CODEPINK, March 21, 2019 You did it! Just moments after we emailed you that Sen. Elizabeth Warren would not be attending AIPAC’s annual conference this weekend, we got the GREAT NEWS that Sen. Kamala Harris and Beto O’Rourke will be skipping AIPAC as well. Send a message now to the rest of the 2020 election…
Israeli Forces Kill 3 Palestinian Civilians in Nablus and Bethlehem and Wound Another Ref: 44/2019, 21 March 2019 In two separate crimes of killing in cold blood, the Israeli forces killed 3 Palestinian civilians in Nablus and Bethlehem and seriously wounded a fourth one in the afternoon of yesterday and the day before. Those two…
The Palestine Center Washington, DC 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm CT Livestream Online Videos & Transcripts with Ben White, Author and Journalist After decades of occupation and creeping annexation, Israel has created an apartheid system in historic Palestine. Peace efforts have failed because of one hard truth: the best Israeli offers do not meet the…
The Palestine Center Washington, DC 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm CT Livestream Online Videos & Transcripts with Dr. Sunaina Maira, Professor of Asian American Studies, University of California – Davis The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS) has expanded rapidly though controversially in the United States in the last five years. The academic boycott of…
Pictured Here: Palestinian killed at random by an Israeli soldier Christian Peacemaker Teams, March 13, 2019 On March 12, a Palestinian man came to deliver documents on behalf of the Palestinian court in the neighbourhood of Al-Jabari or Wad Al Hussein. His name was Yasser Fawzi Shweki and he was 27 years old. He was…
An Antiwar Story from the Embattled Middle East He is a rarity in his own land, one of only a handful of refuseniks living in Israel. “Let us fight together for human rights, for a country that is democratic for all its citizens, and for Israelis and Palestinians to live together based on citizenship and…
On Wisconsin Public Television’s Women, War & Peace Tuesday, March 26 8:00 pm on WPT 26-1 Wednesday, March 27 2:00 am on WPT 26-1 Sunday, April 14 9:00 pm on The Wisconsin Channel 26-2 Discover the story of a courageous, non-violent women’s movement that formed the heart of the Palestinian struggle for freedom during the…
Online from the Palestine Center Washington, DC 12 noon – 1 pm Central Time Listen live “Gaza is eviscerated. Apartheid is entrenched in the West Bank. Inside official Israel, the ruling party openly promotes racial hatred towards Arabs and Africans. How popular are these belligerent policies among Israeli Jews? And how can we make sense…
Wil-Mar Community Center 953 Jenifer St, Madison Workshop 3:00 pm The Role of Music in Social Movements And Popular Education – Workshop / Teach-In / Discussion – with radical folksingers and labor activists, David Rovics and Anne Feeney! Free with pizza! Concert 7:00 pm David Rovics Live! – a night of lefty folk music with…
Story/Backstory, episode 1: The longer arc of U.S.-Palestine relations Helena Cobban, February 22, 2019 This is the first episode in our new “Story/Backstory” miniseries, which combines both the reading by JWE president Helena Cobban of her most recent 1,300-word op-ed on U.S. policies in the Middle East, with a slightly longer segment in which she…
UW-Madison Students for Justice in Palestine Memorial Union UW-Madison 800 Langdon St 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM Register here Despite decades of facing oppression and appropriation, Palestinians continue to resist the attempted erasure of their identity. Palestinian Culture continues to thrive, both in Palestine and in the diaspora. We wish to recognize that resilience. Join…
7amleh, March 11, 2019 In 2018, 474,250 inciting posts against Palestinians were written. Legislation about the Nation-State Law was the main engine of racism for hate speech via Facebook. Palestinian politicians and Palestinians Citizens of Israel are most vulnerable to incitement. The results of the Index of Racism and Incitement in Israeli social media, released…
Ted Rall, March 11, 2019 New Congressman Ilhan Omar is catching flak from establishment pro-Israel Democrats over remarks that pointed out that Israel’s lobbying prowess in Washington is formidable. The ironic part is, those saying Israel doesn’t have that much power are proving that it does by trying to crush her.
“Israel is not a state for all its citizens. According to the nation-state law that we passed, Israel is the state of the Jewish people — and belongs to them alone,” Netanyahu wrote. F. Brinley Bruton and Yael Factor, NBC News, March 11, 2019 “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot waded into the debate over what…
Dear Rep. Engel and Rep. Lowey, We, members of the Westchester chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, are your constituents. And we proudly #StandWithIlhan. Many of our colleagues and allies have already robustly and eloquently called out the dishonesty, Islamophobia, and anti-Black racism evident in Democratic leaders’ swarming attack on Rep. Omar. We echo those…
The children were burned to death at their home Middle East Monitor, March 6, 2019 Two Palestinian children have been killed in a blaze at their home in occupied Hebron after the Israeli authorities prevented the fire brigade from reaching them in time. The two children – one of whom is believed to have been…
#StandWithllhan Please consider calling or emailing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and your own Representative: Speaker Pelosi: 202-225-0100, press “1” to leave a message, or email form Rep. Mark Pocan: 202-225-2906 in DC, or email form The vote is now scheduled for Thursday, 3/7/19. The Democratic Party Attacks on Ilhan Omar Are a Travesty I’m Jewish…
Hashtag to Headlines: The Gaza Great March of Return The 2019 tribute to Rachel Corrie on March 3, 2019, with Ahmed Abu Artema and Jehad Abusalim. Photos courtesy of Amy Atalla Hill.
Latest Maia Water Filters in Rafah (28 Feb 2019) from Josie Shields-Stromsness, Middle East Children’s Alliance [pdf-embedder url=”http://madisonrafah.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/maia-bro-for-online590.pdf” title=”maia bro for online”] Contribute online at MECAforPeace.org/Madison For more information, contact • Congregation Shaarei Shamayim: Shamayim.org • First Unitarian Society/Madison: FUSMadison.org • Jewish Voice for Peace/Madison: Facebook.com/JVPMadison
American nonprofits have funneled money to Meir Kahane’s followers, who now have a chance to enter the Knesset Benzion Gopstein (left), leader of the far-right Israeli group Lehava, gathers with fellow activists in Jerusalem on December 25, 2014. (Reuters/Nir Elias) Mairav Zonszein, The Nation, 2/26/19 As Israel’s April 9 election approaches, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…
UW Multicultural Center 716 Langdon Street Madison 8:15 pm – 9:15 pm General meeting of UW-Madison Students for Justice in Palestine discusses the history of Black and Palestinian oppression and the roles that both have played in fighting it. Other topics will include recognizing interconnections, co-opting struggles, and avoiding the conflation of these struggles. Free…
Goodman Public Library 2222 S Park St, Madison 6:30 pm Peace and Justice Book Club discusses Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood by Ibtisam Barakat. In this memoir set in Ramallah following the 1967 Six-Day War, Barakat captures what it is like to be a child whose world is shattered by war – fear and…
An AIPAC and Capitol Hill veteran explains the lobby’s tactics of reward and retribution. M.J. Rosenberg, February 14, 2019 US. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) (right) join hands as they take the stage to address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, on March 1, 2015. (Reuters/Jonathan…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights Ref: 16/2019, February 7, 2019 Yesterday, 06 February 2019, a Palestinian detainee who spent 28 years in Israeli jails, Fares Mohammed Baroud (51), from al-Shati’ refugee camp in western Gaza City, died only hours after transfer from “Ramon” Prison to “Soroka” Hospital in circumstances raising suspicions of deliberate medical…
This February, join USCPR and the Dream Defenders by showing solidarity with all the radical voices that continue to be silenced for speaking up against injustice, from the US to Palestine. On January 4, 2019, bowing to pressure from Zionist members of the Birmingham community, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) voted to rescind its…
Friday, March 1 12 noon to 1 pm The speakers for Madison’s 2019 tribute to Rachel Corrie, Ahmed Abu Artema and Jehad Abusalim, will be interviewed live on A Public Affair with host Esty Dinur. Listen to the WORT interview on 89.9 FM or live online. Their talk at the Rachel Corrie tribute will be…
Operation Dove, 2/13/19 Facebook video: Israel Destroys South Hebron Hills Water Piping Today Israeli forces destroyed and confiscated underground pipes in the Palestinian villages of Jinba, Khallet Athaba, Ar Rakeez and Al-Mufaqarah. Soldiers detained the mayor of the Palestinian village of Tuwani and the head of the council of Masaffer Yatta. The confiscation has disrupted…
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), February 12, 2019 The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) unequivocally condemns all attacks and mischaracterizations against Representative Ilhan Omar for her outspoken position in support of Palestinian human rights. It is absurd that Representative Omar is being targeted for exercising her legal right to question the influence of AIPAC, one of the…
201 State Street Madison 10 am – 5 pm Once again Overture celebrates the rich cultural heritage within our community with more than 30 FREE performances by artists who call Dane County home. Indulge in cuisines from around the world, browse stunning arts and crafts available for purchase and learn about the many local businesses…
Join us for the 2019 tribute to Rachel Corrie with Ahmed Abu Artema Writer, refugee and peace activist from Rafah First Unitarian Society 900 University Bay Drive Madison 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM Ahmed Abu Artema wrote a Facebook post on January 7, 2018 from his home in Rafah, Gaza that echoed an…
Ahmad Al-Bazz and Anne Paq, Mondoweiss, February 11, 2019 Anne Paq presented Intimate Portraits of Gaza’s Lost at the 2017 Madison-Rafah Rachel Corrie Commemoration. Based on the #ObliteratedFamilies project by Paq and Palestinian-Polish journalist Ala Qandil, the project profiled the annihilation of Gaza families during the Israeli bombardment in 2014.
Expulsion by a thousand cuts Dear Friends, The last weeks have been busy and challenging in the South Hebron Hills. Young Palestinians, with international and Israeli peace activists, have planted hundreds of trees. But this is also a difficult time. Soldiers and settlers have repeatedly forced shepherds off of Palestinian grazing land located near settlements…
Israel’s right-wing government has remained silent, wary of alienating settlers in an election year The funeral last Sunday for Hamdy Naasan, who was killed in a melee involving Jewish settlers. The Israeli government has been reluctant to address a rise in attacks by settlers. (Mohamad Torokman/Reuters) Isabel Kershner, New York Times, Feb. 2, 2019 AL…
Rashida Tlaib, elected to 13th Congressional District of Michigan, stands in front of US Capitol Building Daily Kos, January 31, 2019 Every year, the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC sponsors an all-expense paid trip for Congressional members, seeking to bolster support for Israel. In most recent years, the Democratic trip has been led by Majority Leader Rep.…
DIGITAL TOURISM AND ISRAEL’S ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES Allowing some properties and attractions to be listed as being in “Israel”, as Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor do, not only deceives users, but also helps conceal information that can help reveal the illegal nature of the settlements. In this report Amnesty International exposes…
Fady Hanona and Ali Aby Yaseen desperately trying to make it to the U.S. premiere Fady Hanouna has been trying to get to the Sundance Film Festival from his home in Gaza. (Courtesy Fady Hanouna) Ashleigh Stewart and Kaleem Aftab, The National, January 28, 2019 Two “honest, hard-working family men” from Gaza have helped bring…
In this January 16, 2019 photo Palestinian artist Ahmed Humaid, 29, works on one of his origami sculptures in his house in Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip. Origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, is an unlikely pursuit for an artist living in the Gaza Strip, which has been largely cut off from the…
Palestinians block Israel’s new ‘Apartheid Road’ Yumna Patel, Mondoweiss, January 23, 2019 Over a dozen Palestinian activists, along with Israeli and international supporters, blockaded the entrance to Israel’s new ‘Apartheid Road’ in the central occupied West Bank district of Jerusalem on Wednesday morning. The group of activists closed the gates to the newly opened road…
First and Bipartisan Bill in the Midst of the Shutdown Chuck Schumer speaking at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., on March 5, 2018. (Sipa USA via AP) Ryan Grim and Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept, January 5 2019 When each new Congress is gaveled into session, the chambers attach symbolic importance to the first…
Just World Educational, January 6, 2019 A “FaceBook Live” session on Operation Cast Lead and its legacies, featuring the talented Gaza-Palestinian activist Yousef Al-Jamal, will be held Saturday, January 12, at 11 am Central Time (7 pm Palestine.) Yousef was in Gaza during Cast Lead. He was a contributor to the Gaza Writes Back short-story…
[pdf-embedder url=”http://madisonrafah.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Flyer-for-Ed-Kinane.pdf” title=”Flyer for Ed Kinane”]
CODEPINK, December 31, 2018 Huge News! Last week HSBC Bank in the UK announced it will be divesting from Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons company, citing international law and human rights concerns. The exciting news comes on the heels of several victories for Palestinian rights in just the past couple of month — NYU ending…