MadisonRafah.org

The Madison-Rafah Sister City Project (MRSCP)

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Apr 9, 2025

❝Random Quotes❞

The Israeli government limits building permits in Palestinian Israeli communities more than Jewish, and omits Palestinian Israeli towns from some government social and economic plans. Buildings without permits are illegal, and this is a commonly cited reason for demolishing Palestinian buildings. ― Second Class Citizens, 2016

  • The Spoils of War

    Illustration by Lynne Foster Israeli companies are making a killing off technology perfected over 50 years of occupation Alex Kane, The Indypendent, Jun 3, 2017 On March 5, Gov. Andrew Cuomo flew to Israel to show solidarity with Jews amidst an uptick in anti-Semitism in New York. But the trip also doubled as the kick-off…

  • 2 Million Palestinians Denied due to Closure of Gaza Border Crossing

    The Palestinian Center for Human Rights, June 19, 2017 The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) follows up with concern and sorrow the deterioration of humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing Israeli closure imposed on the movement of persons from and to the Gaza Strip, in addition to the additional restrictions…

  • #ObliteratedFamilies – Al-Louh Family

    During the 2014 Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, 142 Palestinian families lost three or more members. Some of the families were wiped out entirely. The #ObliteratedFamilies project tells the stories of some of these families, their loved ones who were killed and those left behind. I will meet my fate Al-Louh Family, Deir al-Balah…

  • Condemn, don’t celebrate, 50 years of occupation of Palestine

    Barbara Olson, The Cap Times, Jun 11, 2017 Palestinian workers wait to cross the Israeli checkpoint of Al-Jalameh, south of the West Bank city of Jenin, on their way to work in Israel May 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ballas) June 2017 marks 50 years of Israeli military occupation of Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza…

  • Bernie Sanders: 50 years of occupation must end

    Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz, June 05, 2017 Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks on Saturday, May 20, 2017, at the Adams Center on the University of Montana campus, in Missoula, Montana (Tommy Martino/AP) Senator Bernie Sanders’ bid for the U.S. presidency may be history, but the progressive politician is still making his voice heard when it comes…

  • Israel’s Everlasting Occupation

    Palestinians were never presented with what Israel offered every neighboring country: full withdrawal from occupied territory NATHAN THRALL, The New York Times, June 2, 2017 An Israeli soldier praying at the Western Wall during the Six-Day War, in June 1967 (Micha Bar Am/Magnum Photos) JERUSALEM — Three months after the 1967 war, Israel’s ruling Mapai…

  • BREAKING: Trump Signs Waiver, But Senate Wants Embassy in Jerusalem

    Josh Ruebner, U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, 1 June 2017 Breaking news: Donald Trump has backed off one of his major campaign pledges and signed a waiver to the Jerusalem Embassy Act to keep the US Embassy to Israel in Tel Aviv for another six months. For the time being, Trump is upholding a long-standing,…

  • Tell Radiohead: “You Don’t Belong” in Apartheid Israel

    Stand up for Palestinian rights and cancel your concert in Tel Aviv   The British rock group Radiohead is planning to entertain Israeli apartheid with a concert in Tel Aviv on July 19, 2017. Help us get the message to Radiohead: “You don’t belong there!” Palestinians, thousands of Radiohead fans, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Ken Loach,…

  • #ObliteratedFamilies – Maadi Family

    During the 2014 Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, 142 Palestinian families lost three or more members. Some of the families were wiped out entirely. The #ObliteratedFamilies project tells the stories of some of these families, their loved ones who were killed and those left behind. Screw that house Maadi family, Rafah 6 people killed…

  • #ObliteratedFamilies – Balata Family

    During the 2014 Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, 142 Palestinian families lost three or more members. Some of the families were wiped out entirely. The #ObliteratedFamilies project tells the stories of some of these families, their loved ones who were killed and those left behind. I renewed everything Balata Family, Jabaliya refugee camp 11…

  • May 26 – June 25, 2017
    Sponsor an Orphan this Ramadan

    Palestine Children’s Relief Fund This Ramadan, Give Hope to Orphans in Gaza Make a difference during the month of Ramadan by supporting the PCRF’s Gaza Orphan Sponsorship Program. Throughout this month, millions of people all over the world will fast from sunrise to sunset and provide charity to those in need. Please consider making the…

  • May 26 – June 25, 2017
    Feed Families in Gaza This Ramadan

    From our friend Anees in Rafah: Donate to send food packages to needy families. The project has raised more than half of its $5,000 goal; please help them over the top in this Ramadan Challenge. Hello from Gaza Ramadan is just a few weeks away – and we need your help to provide support and care…

  • May 21, 2017
    Clearing Misconceptions about Islam

    Sunday, May 21 Madison Marriot West 1313 John Q. Hammons Drive, Middleton WI 2:00-5:00 pm Cost: Free Contact: Masood Akhtar, 608-332-0189 For more info see: Madinah Community Center or Facebook.com

  • May 21, 2017
    Open Doors For Refugees Second Annual Community Picnic

    Olin Park Shelter, Madison 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm Celebrate and support Madison’s cultural and ethnic diversity. Connect with refugees who are making their home here. Free and open to the public. Food: A potluck with a great array of international foods. Eating utensils and beverages provided. Fun: Art activities for all ages, games for…

  • #ObliteratedFamilies – Al-Khalili Family

    During the 2014 Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, 142 Palestinian families lost three or more members. Some of the families were wiped out entirely. The #ObliteratedFamilies project tells the stories of some of these families, their loved ones who were killed and those left behind.

  • #ObliteratedFamilies – Al-Hashash Family

    During the 2014 Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, 142 Palestinian families lost three or more members. Some of the families were wiped out entirely. The #ObliteratedFamilies project tells the stories of some of these families, their loved ones who were killed and those left behind. Eid of martyrs Al-Hashash family, Rafah, in the al-Hashasheen…

  • Israeli police kill 16-year old Palestinian girl in Jerusalem

    International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC) News, May 8, 2017 Updated: On Sunday afternoon, Israeli police shot and killed a 16-year old Palestinian girl near the Damascus gate in Jerusalem. Although the Israeli police spokesperson claimed that the teen attempted to stab a security officer, that account has been disputed. The child has been identified…

  • Israeli Soldiers Execute Palestinian Girl in Occupied Jerusalem

    Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), May 8, 2017 As part of the Israeli policy to use excessive and lethal force against Palestinian civilians, who are suspected by Israeli soldiers of intending to carry out stab attacks against the soldiers, on Sunday, 07 May 2017, Israeli forces killed a girl at the southern entrance to…

  • MRSCP Supports the UW Associated Students of Madison

    MRSCP asks you to contact University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank and Vice Provost Patrick Sims in support of the recent resolution by the Associated Students of Madison (ASM) calling for divestment and investment transparency. Because this broad social justice resolution included support for Palestinian lives affected by the Israeli occupation, it was immediately repudiated…

  • #ObliteratedFamilies – Al-Najjar Family

    During the 2014 Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, 142 Palestinian families lost three or more members. Some of the families were wiped out entirely. The #ObliteratedFamilies project tells the stories of some of these families, their loved ones who were killed and those left behind. I don’t want to remember that day Al-Najjar family,…

  • Is It True That Not a Single Senator – Including Progressive Dems – Cares About Palestine?

    The pro-Israel letter 100 U.S. senators sent to the U.N. fails to mention Israel's illegal occupation or settlements Ben Norton & Adam Johnson, AlterNet, May 2, 2017 Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr All 100 members of the U.S. Senate sent a letter to the United Nations on April 27 that spread misleading pro-Israel myths.…

  • June 2 – 3, 2017
    Havens Center FORWARD 2017:
    Where Do We Go from Here?

    Understanding the Current Crisis & Building Social Justice in the Midwest   FORWARD is an annual gathering of community activists, students, and educators committed to social justice. This year’s gathering, which will take place on the weekend of June 2-3 at Edgewood College on the shores of Lake Wingra in Madison, WI, will focus on…

  • May 6, 2017
    Amy Goodman Talk and Book Signing

    1:30 PM – 3:30 PM Madison College – Downtown 211 N Carroll St, Room 240 The Madison College Journalism Program, WORT-FM Community Radio, and The Progressive magazine present a live talk and book signing with Amy Goodman from Democracy NOW. The free event celebrates the paperback release of Democracy NOW – 20 Years Covering the…

  • May 6, 2017
    WNPJ’s Spring Assembly – La Farge

      9 AM – 4:30 PM Kickapoo Valley Reserve 3661 State Hwy 131 La Farge, WI 54639 Join the CONVERSATION Build COMMUNITY Take ACTION Join the Wisconsin Network for Peace & Justice (WNPJ) and WNPJ member groups for our annual Spring Assembly Meeting. This year’s meeting will focus on Divesting & Investing on core issues…

  • May 4, 2017
    Film: “Tickling Giants”

    Free speech is not settled law, and democracy is not easily won   Elvehjem Building L150 455 N Park St University of Wisconsin-Madison 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM CDT Please join the University of Wisconsin-Madison Middle East Studies Program for a showing of Tickling Giants, a powerful story of the “Jon Stewart of Egypt” and…

  • ASM unanimously approves contentious divestment proposal to mixed reactions from campus

    Student council also approved resolution calling for community control of police Peyton David, The Badger Herald, Apr 27, 2017 Peyton David/The Badger Herald After five hours of debate and nearly 50 people appearing before open forum, the University of Wisconsin Associated Students of Madison unanimously approved the contentious divestment proposal. The heated resolution resulted in…

  • University of Wisconsin – Madison Divestment Resolution

    [pdf-embedder height=600 url=”http://madisonrafah.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PressRelease.04.26-1.pdf” title=”PressRelease.04.26 (1)”] [pdf-embedder url=”http://madisonrafah.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/03-Resolution-for-Divestment-04-30-17-AMENDED.pdf” title=”03 Resolution for Divestment 04-30-17 AMENDED”]

  • Leaked report highlights Israel lobby’s failures

    No such thing as a “Jewish and democratic state” without violations of Palestinian rights Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 28 April 2017 The Reut Institute, founded by former government advisor Gidi Grinstein, has conceded in a secret report jointly prepared with the ADL that Israel’s efforts to thwart the Palestine solidarity movement have failed. (via…

  • #ObliteratedFamilies – Siyam Family

    During the 2014 Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, 142 Palestinian families lost three or more members. Some of the families were wiped out entirely. The #ObliteratedFamilies project tells the stories of some of these families, their loved ones who were killed and those left behind. “She carried me in her arms from al-Abbasiyye” Siyam…

  • Netanyahu Cancels Meeting After German Official Visits Protest Group

    Israel has come under increasing criticism for seeking to silence groups that are critical of the 50-year military occupation of the West Bank. The Israeli Parliament passed a law in March barring entry to Israel for foreigners supporting a boycott of the country. IAN FISHER, The New York Times, APRIL 25, 2017 Sigmar Gabriel, the…

  • #ObliteratedFamilies – Al-Kilani Family

    During the 2014 Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, 142 Palestinian families lost three or more members. Some of the families were wiped out entirely. The #ObliteratedFamilies project tells the stories of some of these families, their loved ones who were killed and those left behind. “Don’t worry. This is routine for us.” Al-Kilani family,…

  • Update April 21-24, 2017
    Juan Cole Programs

    April 21, 2017 WORT 89.9 FM A Public Affair: Juan Cole On The Middle East 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Listen to the program Professor Juan Cole will be Esty Dinur’s guest on A Public Affair, WORT’s daily hour-long talk program, for a wide-ranging discussion of issues, wars and prospects in the Middle East. April…

  • #ObliteratedFamilies – Shuheibar Family

    During the 2014 Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, 142 Palestinian families lost three or more members. Some of the families were wiped out entirely. The #ObliteratedFamilies project tells the stories of some of these families, their loved ones who were killed and those left behind. “She was called Fulla” Shuheibar family, Gaza City 3…

  • April 26, 2017
    Film Benefit for Open Doors for Refugees

    Barrymore Theater Atwood Avenue, Madison 7:00 pm [Map] Discussion following the film Open Doors For Refugees presents Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Feature FIRE AT SEA, Gianfranco Rosi’s award-winning documentary about the heavy toll of the migrant crisis, and the price of freedom. This fundraising event is sponsored by Open Doors for Refugees, a…

  • April 22, 2017
    Peace Contingent in the Madison Climate March

    Saturday, April 22 1 pm Lisa Link Peace Park, 452 State St, Madison 2 pm State Capitol Building Join the Peace Contingent in the Madison Climate March Please join with MRSCP and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in a Peace Contingent as part of Madison’s Climate March. We will assemble at 1 pm…

  • Update: Feds Drop Charges against AMP staffers

    American Muslims for Palestine, April 22, 2017 (WASHINGTON DC 04.21.2017) — The federal government has dropped the charges against AMP staffers Taher Herzallah and Kareem El-Hosseiny. Stephen Rickard, Deputy Chief of the misdemeanors section in the U.S. Attorney’s office notified the men’s attorney Ann Wilcox on Friday evening. Filing what is called a “nolle prosequi,”…

  • #ObliteratedFamilies – Foreword by Rajah Shehadeh

    During the 2014 Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, 142 Palestinian families lost three or more members. Some of the families were wiped out entirely. The #ObliteratedFamilies project tells the stories of some of these families, their loved ones who were killed and those left behind. Don Paterson, the prize winning Scottish poet, has never…

  • April 27, 2017
    One Book, Many Communities: “Returning to Haifa”

    Thursday, April 27 Alicia Ashman Library [Map] 733 N. High Point Road, Madison 7:00 – 9:00 pm “Returning to Haifa” by Ghassan Kanafani (in the collection Palestine’s Children) “Returning to Haifa” tells the story of a Palestinian couple forced to flee Haifa in 1948 without their infant son. Returning to Haifa for a visit for…

  • Israel sunk in ‘incremental tyranny’, say former Shin Bet chiefs

    “You live in a democracy, and suddenly you understand it is not a democracy any more” Peter Beaumont, The Guardian, 6 April 2017 Ami Ayalon, ex-head of the Shin Bet intelligence services, suggests Israel has a dynamic ‘of ongoing war’ and ‘like 1984, there’s always an enemy’. (Photograph: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) Two former heads of…

  • #ObliteratedFamilies – Introduction by Amira Hass

    Rubble of the Maadi house During the 2014 Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, 142 Palestinian families lost three or more members. Some of the families were wiped out entirely. The #ObliteratedFamilies project tells the stories of some of these families, their loved ones who were killed and those left behind. Behind every erased Gazan…

  • Update: April 2, 2017
    Rachel Corrie Commemoration: Intimate Portraits of Gaza’s Lost

      St. James Church 1128 St. James Ct, Madison 2:00 pm [Map] Please RSVP to Michele Bahl at mibahl02 at yahoo.com by Friday, March 31. Intimate Portraits of Gaza’s Lost is based on the #ObliteratedFamilies project by French photographer Anne Paq and Palestinian-Polish journalist Ala Qandil. The project profiles Gaza families partially or entirely annihilated…

  • March 29, 2017
    Islamophobia in America with Reza Aslan

    Wednesday, March 29th, 2017 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm Location: Wisconsin Union Theater Cost: Free Reza Aslan is an internationally renowned writer, commentator, professor, producer, and scholar of religions. His books, including his #1 New York Times Bestseller, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, have been translated into dozens of languages around…

  • March 27, 2017
    Confronting Antisemitism and Islamophobia : From the Middle Ages to Today

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://madisonrafah.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/news_confronting_antiseminim_islamophobia2017.pdf”]

  • Palestinian teen killed by Israeli fire in Gaza

    The Israeli army said it detected three people near the security fence and fired at them. A cousin said the 18-year-old was on the farming land that his family owns. Al Jazeera, 22 March 2017 A Palestinian teen has been killed and two other men wounded by Israeli fire in southern Gaza, according to health…

  • Free Issa Amro

    We, the undersigned individuals and organizations, call on you to strongly oppose David Friedman’s nomination as US Ambassador to Israel. Dear United Nations Secretary General António Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, Palestinian activist Issa Amro, who has been recognized as a Human Rights Defender by the European Union…

  • UN official resigns after pressure to withdraw Israel apartheid report

    Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 17 March 2017 Rima Khalaf (via Facebook) A senior United Nations official has resigned, following pressure from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to withdraw the landmark report published earlier this week finding Israel guilty of apartheid. Rima Khalaf, the head of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) which published…

  • A message from Cindy & Craig Corrie

    Painting by Malak Mattar; read more about her painting at We Are Not Numbers. March 16th, marks the 14th anniversary of the day our daughter Rachel stood in Gaza with other international activists and challenged the Israeli military’s illegal confiscation of Palestinian land and the demolition of Palestinian homes. Rachel’s life was stolen that day,…

  • U.N. Report: Israel Imposes ‘Apartheid Regime’ on Palestinians

    Reuters, Newsweek, 3/15/17 A U.N. agency published a report on Wednesday accusing Israel of imposing an “apartheid regime” of racial discrimination on the Palestinian people, and said it was the first time a U.N. body had clearly made the charge. Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman likened the report, which was published by the U.N. Economic and…

  • Israel lashes out at Palestine activists

    “This is what happens to Palestinians every day. You can’t be a democracy while you keep millions of people under siege and military occupation.” Charlotte Silver, The Electronic Intifada, 15 March 2017 Hugh Lanning, chair of the UK’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign, was denied entry by Israel. (Palestine Solidarity Campaign) Less than a week after Israel’s…

  • Amira Hass: Introduction to #Obliterated Families

    Gaza: A gaping wound #ObliteratedFamilies Behind every erased Gazan family is an Israeli pilot. Behind every orphaned child who has lost his brothers and sisters in the bombing is an Israeli commander who gave the order and a soldier who pulled the trigger. Behind every demolished house are the Israeli physicist and hi-tech specialist who…