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The Madison-Rafah Sister City Project (MRSCP)

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Apr 29, 2025

❝Random Quotes❞

There is a law in Israel that bans any political party that denies the existence of Israel as a “Jewish” state. A party advocating equal rights for all Israeli citizens regardless of ethnicity is illegal. ― Second Class Citizens, 2016

  • On the 39th Friday

    The Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege Israeli Forces Kill 3 and Wound 115 Other Civilians Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Ref: 138/2018, 21 December 2018 On Friday evening, 21 December 2018, Israeli forces Killed 3 Palestinian civilians, including a child and a person with a mobility impairment, and wounded 115 other civilians,…

  • Israeli military edited video of fatal strike

    ‘Warning strike’ killed two Palestinian teenagers B’Tselem, 19 December 2018 The case On 14 July 2018, around 6 P.M., the partially constructed al-Katibah Building in Gaza City was the target of an Israeli airstrike, consisting of four initial missiles, followed by four larger strikes. The first missile killed two Palestinian teenagers, Amir a-Nimrah and Luai…

  • Keep Hope Alive

    Bethlehem, Palestine20 December 2018 Joint Advocacy Initiative, The East Jerusalem YMCA and YWCA of Palestine

  • Lawmakers Consider Adding Measure Protecting Israel

    Senator Richard C. Shelby, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, has objected to unrelated bills clinging to his panel’s work. (Erin Schaff for The New York Times) Emily Cochrane, New York Times, December 17, 2018 WASHINGTON — Just days away from a partial government shutdown, lawmakers are weighing adding a contentious measure to a stymied spending…

  • Curbing Speech in the Name of Helping Israel

    A Senate bill aims to punish those who boycott Israel over its settlement policy. There are better solutions.

  • Collective Punishment Against Families

    Israeli Forces Blow up Building Belonging to Abu Hmeid Family for the Third Time Ref:135-2018, December 15, 2018 As part of the collective punishment policy adopted by the Israeli forces against the families of Palestinians accused of carrying out attacks against Israeli soldiers or/and settlers, on Tuesday early morning, 15 December 2018, the Israeli forces…

  • Green Riding Hood . . . Pain Dwells within Her Ribs

    A Non-violent Woman is Eventually Targeted by the Israel Defense Forces Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), December 4, 2018 Around a month and a half after being injured by the Israeli forces, pain so far dwells in the body of Palestinian woman Malinah al-Hendi (34) and hinders her responsibility of taking care of her…

  • Winning Essay “Dear Blockade”

    Gaza writer Tarneem Hammad receives award at the Gaza AFSC office. Gaza Unlocked Blog Team, American Friends Service Committee, December 3, 2018 Tarneem Hammad, 24, was born in Saudi Arabia, but now lives in Gaza and is an English literature graduate from Al-Azhar University. For part-time work, she is an English language trainer. Tarneem loves…

  • Winning Essay “30 Minutes . . . A Thousand Times Over”

    Nadya Siyam receives award at AFSC office in Gaza. Gaza Unlocked Blog Team, American Friends Service Committee, December 3, 2018 Nadya Siyam lives in Gaza city and studies English Language and Literature at the Islamic University. She is a writer for the “We are Not Numbers” project where she writes in a narrative style about…

  • Winning Essay “The Party”

    Rahf Hallaq receives her award at the Gaza AFSC office. Gaza Unlocked Blog Team, American Friends Service Committee, December 3, 2018 Rahf Hallaq is a 19-year-old sophomore student at the Islamic university of Gaza studying English Literature. She aspires to complete her higher education in Literature and become a professor. Reading is her favourite hobby…

  • U.S.-Mexico Border: An Israeli Tech Laboratory

    Migrants running from tear gas fired by American border agents near the fence at Tijuana. (Credit: Hannah Mckay/Reuters) Brittany Dawson, PALESTINE SQUARE, December 6, 2018 When hundreds of Central American migrants arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, in late November, planning to claim asylum in the United States, U.S. Customs and Border Protection closed the San Ysidro…

  • December 6, 2018
    Film: 5 Broken Cameras

    The Marquee Cinema, Union South 1308 West Dayton Street , Madison 7:00 pm Join UW Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the UW Middle East Studies Program, and the Wisconsin Union Directorate Film and Society & Politics Committees for a screening of the documentary Five Broken Cameras. The documentary will be followed by a moderated…

  • Solidarity Shields Human Rights Workers from Bombs

    Chris Morrill, Grassroots International, November 20, 2018 al-Amal Hotel, destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, November 13, 2018. (Photo by PCHR Field Workers) On Tuesday November 13, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed two Palestinian civilians and wounded 20 others. The airstrikes destroyed a number of buildings and followed a botched raid by Israeli special forces. Some are…

  • The Palestinian Right of Return

    November 29, 2018 Today is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Over 7 million Palestinians are refugees – scattered around the globe. In the face of incredible hardship and oppression, Palestinians continue to demand the implementation of their rights – including the right to return to their homes from which they were…

  • ADC is Proud to Stand with Marc Lamont Hill

    for Defending the Rights of the Palestinian People November 30, 2018 ADC is proud to stand with Dr. Marc Lamont Hill for defending equal rights for the Palestinian people. ADC condemns in the strongest terms the abhorrent decision by CNN to fire Dr. Hill from his position as a commentator with the network. Dr. Hill…

  • Tell CNN to Reinstate Marc Lamont Hill

    On Thursday, November 29, 2018, CNN announced that it had severed ties with Temple University Professor and CNN contributor Marc Lamont Hill over a speech he gave in support of Palestinian human rights at the United Nations a day earlier. Professor Hill addressed the UN on International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, drawing…

  • Tell CNN: Advocating for Palestinian Rights is not Antisemitic

    On Wednesday, Marc Lamont Hill, a political commentator on CNN, delivered a speech to the United Nations in support of the Palestinian people. He advocated for their human rights, outlined how Israel denies Palestinians their basic liberties, and asked the international community to ‘commit to political action’. The next day — under pressure from right-wing…

  • Airbnb Stops Listing in Illegal West Bank Settlements

    CodePINK, November 19, 2018 This is a huge victory! Moments ago, Airbnb announced they will no longer list vacation rentals in illegal Jewish-only West Bank settlements. It’s been exactly two years since we took the stage at Airbnb Open to confront actor Ashton Kutcher. “Airbnb is profiting off the displacement of Palestinians and human rights…

  • Updates on Gaza’s Water Crisis

    A Public Affair, November 15, 2018 On today’s episode, we take a look at the water crisis in Gaza and its effects on the inhabitants there, particularly the children. The discussion also highlights people-to-people grassroots efforts happening here in the U.S. to respond to the disaster, along with local ecumenical projects for peace in the…

  • Israel kills Gaza fisher despite ceasefire

    Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza City seaport in July 2018. (Ashraf Amra | APA images) Maureen Clare Murphy, The Electronic Intifada, 14 November 2018 Israel killed a fisherman in Gaza less than 24 hours after a ceasefire ended intensive bombing against and rocket fire from the territory. Gaza’s health ministry identified the slain man…

  • The health system in Gaza cannot handle another war

    A new war would lead to the collapse of an already-debilitated medical infrastructure in Gaza, Palestinian health officials warn. A wounded Palestinian protester is evacuated and treated at Al-Awda Hospital in Gaza City, after the Israeli navy tried to block a flotilla that set out to break the decade-long blockade with gunfire and tear gas…

  • Israeli Incursions into Gaza Are the Rule, Not the Exception

    Israeli troops have crossed into Gaza over 70 times this year alone, according to the UN. And those are only the incursions we know about. File photo of Israeli troops deployed along the Gaza border. (Miriam Alster/Flash90) Henriette Chacar, +972 Magazine, November 14, 2018 [Editor’s note: In accordance with our legal obligation, this article was…

  • November 15, 2018
    Gaza Water Crisis on WORT

    Thursday, Nov 15 12 noon – 1 pm A Public Affair with host Allen Ruff will feature guests Zeiad Abbas Shamrouch, Executive Director of the Middle East Children’s Alliance, and Jeff Spitzer-Resnick, President of Congregation Shaarei Shamayim, discussing the water crisis in Gaza in advance of Madison’s November 20 fundraiser for Clean Water for the…

  • Gaza’s drinking water spurs blue baby syndrome, serious illnesses

    Contaminated and scarce water owing to Israel’s brutal siege and bombing of infrastructure leads to death and disease. A Palestinian woman bathes her son with water from a tank filled by a charity inside their dwelling in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip July 3, 2017 [Mohammed Salem/Reuters] Sandy Tolan, Al Jazeera, 29 Oct…

  • How can Gaza’s contaminated water catastrophe be solved?

    Barely three percent of Gaza’s drinking water wells is fit for human consumption, and the crisis is claiming lives. Mousa Hilleh, 48, rebuilt his home after the 2014 Gaza war and says not having access to clean water is a major concern [Abdel Kareem Hana/Al Jazeera] Sandy Tolan, Al Jazeera, 30 Oct 2018 This article…

  • Scars of Freedom

    Addameer, 16 October 2018 “Scars of Freedom” describes the Palestinian experience of arrest, interrogation, and life in captivity that carries great political, economic, and social impact. From the beginning of the occupation to the present day the arrest and incarceration of Palestinians has been used continuously to suppress their aspirations for independence and freedom, to…

  • ADC Condemns Israel’s Attacks on Gaza

      American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) | November 13, 2018 | The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) condemns in the strongest terms Israel’s recent airstrikes against the Gaza Strip. On November 12, 2018, Israeli military aerial attacks killed at least seven Palestinian civilians. Additionally, Israel has bombed and destroyed several civilian buildings in Gaza, including family homes,…

  • Israeli Cabinet decides to continue airstrikes on Gaza ‘as necessary’

    Ma’an News, Nov. 13, 2018 BETHLEHEM — The Israeli Cabinet reportedly decided on Tuesday afternoon to resume the offensive on the besieged Gaza Strip, following a nearly seven-hour meeting. Hebrew-language news sites reported that following a meeting that lasted for nearly seven hours, the Israeli Cabinet decided to continue airstrikes targeting the Gaza Strip “as…

  • Emergency demonstrations throughout Israel

    Stop the war! Move towards peace! Occupation Magazine, Nov. 13, 2018 Hebrew original forwarded by Standing Together media@standing-together.org, translation Adam Keller Today at 20:00 — Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem — The Standing Together movement, along with various peace groups, will demonstrate today (Tuesday, Nov. 13) throughout the country, demanding a complete change of direction. Instead…

  • November 18, 2018
    Orchard Ridge Holiday Fair Trade Fair

    November 18, 2018 Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ 1501 Gilbert Road, Madison 9 am – 2 pm Join MRSCP at this annual sale of unusual and beautiful gifts and holiday items. Help people around the world to be self-sustaining by giving the gift that gives twice: once to the producer, and once to the…

  • November 20, 2018
    Fundraiser: Clean Water for the Children of Gaza

    First Unitarian Society 900 University Bay Drive Madison 7:00 pm Help provide a Maia Project water filter from the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) to serve clean drinking water to 3,250 students of two schools and their families in Rafah. This is a joint project of Congregation Shaarei Shamayim, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Jewish…

  • December 1, 2018
    Monona Terrace Fair Trade Holiday Festival

    Monona Terrace Convention Center 1 John Nolen Drive, Madison 8 am – 3 pm Come visit the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project and dozens of other vendors selling fair trade products from around the world at Madison’s Fair Trade Holiday Festival! FREE! Bring your friends & family to this one-of-a-kind event! More info? Visit http://www.fairtrademadison.org/.

  • In Response to Pittsburgh, We Must Come Together as One

    We stand with the victims of every white-supremacist and racist and anti-Semitic assault back through history. A memorial at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Phyllis Bennis and Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, The Nation, October 28, 2018 Let’s be clear: The attack in Pittsburgh is what real anti-Semitism…

  • Pittsburgh Shooting Is A Reminder: Jews And Muslims Are In This Together

    Alex Kane, The Forward, October 27, 2018 Robert Bowers was angry at Jews. But the 46-year-old alleged killer of at least eleven people in a Pittsburgh synagogue seemed most angry at Jews for one particular reason: They were helping Muslim refugees flee to safety in America. In posts on Gab, the social media network favored…

  • Gaza: Fears of further bloodshed as Israel adopts ‘zero tolerance’ policy

    Amnesty International, 19 October 2018 Fears of escalating bloodshed are rising ahead of planned protests in Gaza later today after Israeli authorities announced a “zero tolerance” policy towards demonstrations along the Israel/Gaza fence, said Amnesty International. The organization is calling on the Israeli government to rein in its armed forces, which have routinely used unnecessary…

  • My grandfather Nelson Mandela fought apartheid

    I see the parallels with Israel It took an international effort to end institutionalised racism in my country – now it must happen again, for the Palestinian people Relatives of 12-year-old Faris Hafez al-Sarasawi at his funeral. He was killed after Israeli soldiers’ intervention in the ‘Great March of Return’ demonstrations in Gaza, October 2018.…

  • Pocan and Moore on Gaza Humanitarian Aid

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://madisonrafah.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Gaza-Humanitarian-Aid-Letter-7-30-18.pdf”]

  • Baldwin Signs Letter on Palestinian Aid Cuts

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://madisonrafah.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/WBG-Letter-9-21-18-Final.pdf” title=”WBG Letter 9-21-18 Final”]

  • Serious Escalation of Lethal Force in Eastern Gaza Strip

    Israeli Forces Kill 7 Civilians, Including a Child 224 Others, Including 42 Children, 3 Women, 3 Journalists and a Paramedic, Are Wounded The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), Ref: 111/2018, October 12, 2018 On Friday afternoon, 12 October 2018, using excessive force against the peaceful protesters in the eastern Gaza Strip for the 29th…

  • October 14, 2018
    Fundraiser for the Maia Project

    Hosted by Jewish Voice for Peace-Madison and Congregation Shaarei Shamayim Sunday, October 14 First Unitarian Society, Main Sanctuary 900 University Bay Drive, Madison 4 – 6 pm Come hear about this important effort to provide clean drinking water to children in Gaza. Light snacks and beverages will be provided. Free and open to the public,…

  • October 7, 2018
    Demystifying Muslims and Islam

    October 7 UW-Madison Union South 1308 West Dayton St 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm Door opens at 1:00 PM 1:30 PM: Welcome Remarks by Masood Akhtar, Founder, We Are Many – United Against Hate 1:40 PM: National News Coverage, Muslim Father Forgives Son’s Murderer 1:45 PM: “Demystifying Muslims and Islam” by Dalia Mogahed, Director of…

  • October 8, 2016
    Indigenous People’s Day & Film: The Eagle & the Condor

      Monday, October 8: First Unitarian Society 900 University Bay Drive Madison Schedule 5:30 pm – Community Potluck 6:30 pm – Drumming and welcoming by Indigenous Leaders 7:00 pm – Showing of The Eagle and The Condor – From Standing Rock with Love 8:00 pm – Panel/Community Discussion about the importance of supporting “Water Protectors”…

  • Israel practices ‘apartheid’ — Representative Betty McCollum

    Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) Phil Weiss and Annie Robbins, Mondoweiss, October 2, 2018 The highlight of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights conference that concluded Sunday in St. Paul was a speech by U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) that was that very rare and brave thing in mainstream US politics: an unapologetic endorsement of Palestinian…

  • States can’t punish businesses for boycotting Israel, federal judge in Arizona says

    Palestinians walk past a sign painted on a wall in Bethlehem, in the West Bank, in 2015 that calls for a boycott of products coming from the Israeli settlements. (Thomas Coex/Agence France-Presse) Isaac Stanley-Becker, The Washington Post, October 1, 2018 Mikkel Jordahl, a lawyer in Sedona, Ariz., can now choose to buy a different brand…

  • Gaza’s economy is not ‘falling.’ It was pushed.

    Palestinian laborers protest against the continued Israeli siege and the spread of unemployment in Gaza City on May 1, 2018. (Photo: Ashram Amra/APA Images) Marilyn Garson, Mondoweiss, September 27, 2018 The economic and social situation in Gaza that has been declining for over a decade, has deteriorated exponentially in recent months. . . The situation…

  • House Democrats Condemn Trump’s Actions Against the Palestinian People

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 13, 2018 House Democrats Condemn Trump Administration’s Actions Harming the Palestinian People WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representatives Mark Pocan (WI-02), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), and Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) today released the following statement condemning the Trump Administration’s recent actions harming the Palestinian…

  • 24th Friday of the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege of the Gaza Strip

    Israeli Forces Kill 1 Child and Wound 137 Civilians, including 26 Children, 4 Paramedics and 1 Journalist Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), September 7, 2018, Ref: 97/2018 On Friday afternoon, 07 September 2018, using excessive force against the peaceful protesters in the eastern Gaza Strip for the 24th Friday in a row, Israeli forces…

  • Sep 11, 2018
    United Nations Association Lecture on Palestine

    Madison Central Library 201 W Mifflin St 7:00 pm, 3rd Floor Since 2006 the speaker has been spending from one to three months per year accompanying Palestinian children to school past Israeli settler checkpoints in the village of Tuwani and the surrounding South Hebron Hills of the West Bank. She initially volunteered with Christian Peacemaking…