The Madison-Rafah Sister City Project (MRSCP)
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Jun 2, 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
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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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
“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…
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…
Stop conflating anti-Zionism and criticism of the State of Israel with anti-Semitism Rya Inman / Spectator Sophie Edelhart, Eliza Moss-Horwitz, Jack Snyder, Columbia Daily Spectator, March 5, 2017 Nearly two years ago, the three of us arrived on this campus as Jewish teens inoculated with an intense fear of the Israeli/Palestinian debate. We had been…
Jimmy Johnson, THE ELECTRONIC INTIFADA, 22 January 2016 An image posted on A Wider Bridge’s Facebook page highlights the organization’s mission of promoting Israel. Black Lives Matter Chicago has added its voice to protests over the National LGBTQ Task Force’s inclusion of an Israel lobby group in its Creating Change conference in Chicago this weekend.…
“It’s going to be a giant sign up by the door of the Jewish state: ‘Don’t come unless you agree with everything we’re doing here.’ I don’t know what kind of democracy makes that statement.” A banner calling for the boycott, divestment and sanctioning of Israel hanging from the Manhattan Bridge in New York during…
Bill Chappell, NPR, March 3, 2017 A doorman stands at the entrance of The Walled Off Hotel in the West Bank city of Bethlehem Friday. Dusan Vranic/AP There’s no pool, but there is a piano bar that exudes “an air of undeserved authority.” That’s part of the promise at The Walled Off Hotel, the artist…
Krishnadev Calamur, NPR, February 26, 2015 Banksy’s work is now in the Gaza Strip. The artist, who uses public spaces for his often-provocative murals, posted images that he said were of art he created in the Gaza Strip, along with a two-minute video of life in the Palestinian territory, titled “Make this the year YOU…
206 Ingraham Hall UW-Madison [Map] 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. UW Middle East Studies Program presents Nadav Shelef (Professor, department of Political Science, UW-Madison) speaking on “The impact of UN recognition on Palestinian public opinion.” In the fall of 2012, the United Nations General Assembly recognized Palestine as a “nonmember observer state.” His talk will present…
Facebook: Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement Please like, watch and share this video — made in Palestine. Help us get it seen. It’s called “In Their Own Words: Palestinians Champion BDS,” and features Palestinians of different ages, genders and backgrounds expressing why they champion the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and call for…
Bernie Sanders, Common Dreams, February 28, 2017 Speech to this year’s J Street conference Sen. Bernie Sanders delivers a speech during J Street’s 2017 National Conference at the Washington Convention Center on February 27, 2017. (Photo: Mark Wilson/AFP) Thank you for inviting me to address you here today. It’s a pleasure to be here with…
Rafah Children in the Samira Project at the Rachel Corrie Memorial Library. (Photo: Jeff Bright) Please Support the Samira Project for Traumatized Children The Gaza Strip, one of the poorest and most densely populated places on earth, has been described as the world’s largest open-air prison. For nearly eleven years it has been tightly sealed…
Arab Studies Institute Home Film Research & Resources Team Booking/Contact The Full 20-Minute NarrativeRead Script | Credits “I did not think it was possible to examine in 20 minutes what Gaza in Context does with such compelling clarity: Israeli policies toward Gaza and Palestine, which are inseparable; the core problems affecting Gaza and the deliberateness of the policies that have led to Gaza’s disablement; Gaza’s centrality…
Ramah Kudaimi, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, 22 Feb 2017 With the Academy Awards fast approaching this Sunday, it’s been a full year since Israel offered all-expenses-paid trips to 2016 Oscars host Chris Rock and 25 top nominees including Mark Ruffalo, Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Mark Rylance, and Cate Blanchett. The Israeli tourism…
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu give a joint news conference at the White House last Wednesday (Pablo Martinez Monsivais, The Associated Press). Noah Feldman, Bloomberg View, February 20, 2017 For the last several years it has been increasingly common to hear Israelis and Palestinians alike say that the two-state solution to…
Operation Dove, February 12, 2017 More information on Operation Dove This Saturday morning residents of the Palestinian village of At Tuwani were grazing sheep and enjoying a day of outdoor picnics when Israeli soldiers entered the village en masse, turning the peaceful village into a military theatre. The raid appeared to be part of the…
Steve Almasy, CNN, February 12, 2017 Michael Bennett enjoyed his brother’s recent Super Bowl victory along with actor Mark Wahlberg. (CNN) — Michael Bennett, a Pro Bowl defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks, is one of the NFL’s most outspoken players on social issues. And once again he is in the middle of a controversy…
Ma’an News Agency, Feb. 9, 2017 The bodies of Hussam al-Sufi and Muhammad al-Aqraa, two Palestinians killed in an airstrike in southern Gaza on Feb. 9, 2017. GAZA (Ma’an) — Two Palestinians were killed and five were injured during a reported airstrike on a smuggling tunnel between Egypt and Gaza on Wednesday night, official Palestinian…
New video deals another blow to Israeli police version of Umm al-Hiran raid Last month as Israel tried to evict its Arab citizens from the village of Umm Al-Hiran in the Negev, they said that they had killed a “terrorist” (actually a local teacher) who tried to ram them with a car, killing one officer.…
Occupation of the American Mind (2016) Marquee Theater Union South, UW-Madison 7:00 pm Doors open 30 minutes before showtime and will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis. USA | 82 min | NR | DVD | Dir. Loretta Alper The Occupation of the American Mind explores how the Israeli and US governments and the pro-Israel…
Overture Center State Street, Madison 10 am – 5 pm Take a trip around the world in a day! Experience all the cultures that Madison has to offer through food, crafts and free performances. And join MRSCP as we once again present Palestinian fair trade products at the International Festival. We’ll be selling a brand…
UW-Madison Students for Justice in Palestine Thursday, February 23 at 7 PM – 8 PM Location to be announced Have you been interested in learning how to debka? Debka is an Arab folk dance. Debka originated in Palestine where houses were built using stone with roofs made of wood, straw, and dirt. Builders used this…
Madison-Rafah member Samir El-Omari is quoted in the article and appears on camera at 1:03. WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports Hunter Saenz, WKOW.com, February 15, 2017 11:55 PM MADISON (WKOW) — For decades, both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the U.S. have tried forming a peaceful solution involving both nations…
Devorah Manekin and Guy Grossman, The Washington Post, February 13, 2017 An Israeli soldier stands guard in a monitoring cabin in the Israeli settlement of Beit El near the West Bank city of Ramallah on Jan. 25. (Menahem Kahana/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images) Last week, Israel’s parliament passed a law allowing the state to seize…
AYMAN ODEH, The New York Times, February 11, 2017 A Bedouin woman reacts to the destruction of houses by Israeli authorities on January 18, 2017 in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran, which is not recognized by the Israeli government, near the southern city of Beersheba, in the Negev desert. (Menahem Kahana/Agence France-Presse — Getty…
Madison Resistance March on Facebook Channel3000.com Madison-Rafah Sister City Project The Madison-Rafah Sister City Project will be participating as a “Palestine Solidarity contingent” at the upcoming Madison Resistance March. We will be meeting at 11:45 am outside the Boat House in Brittingham Park with our banners. Please wear a kuffiyeh if you have one. Also,…
Israeli police clash with settlers in the West Bank outpost of Amona on Feb. 1, 2017. The Israeli parliament passed legislation to prevent more demolitions. (Oded Balilty/AP) William Booth, The Washington Post, February 6, 2017 JERUSALEM — Israel’s parliament passed a contentious law late Monday that allows the state to seize land privately owned by…
Trump was reportedly blindsided by Israel’s announcement of 5,500 new housing units to be built in the West Bank Jordan Fabian, The Hill, 02/02/17 The White House on Thursday warned Israel to stop settlement announcements that could undermine peace with the Palestinians, according to the Jerusalem Post. The surprising statement comes as President Trump signaled…
From the Isthmus Madison Matrix for Feb. 2, 2017: “More than 2,500 people pack into Monona Terrace for a community forum on protecting immigrant rights and combating Islamophobia. Organizers planned for 500.”
Josh Ruebner, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, 31 Jan 2017 Donald Trump’s first ten days in office have resulted in a whirlwind of policies that have led to major protests, from blocking refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, to ordering a wall built on the US-Mexico border, to moving…
Dear Friends, It is absolutely bizarre to be watching Trump’s policies of hatred unfold from inside Palestine — here where ANY traveler or foreigner finds herself overwhelmed by kindness and hospitality. If we find ourselves at a loss to imagine resisting over the long haul we should take courage from these schoolchildren who for the…
Today President Trump signed an executive order banning all refugees from entering the U.S. for the next four months, prohibiting all people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days, barring all Syrian refugees indefinitely, and, when the refugee program resumes (presumably at half the current rate), giving preferential treatment to non-Muslims.…
The Palestine Center Washington, DC 12-1 pm CST As we begin 2017 with a new presidential administration, so we begin a critical year of major markers in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There are many questions about the foreign policy positions president-elect Donald Trump will assume and take with regard to the Middle East and Palestine. Our…
A Panel Discussion by the UW-Madison Middle East Studies Program and the Center for the Humanities Institute for Discovery, DeLuca Forum University of Wisconsin – Madison 330 N. Orchard Street, Madison WI 53715 4:00-6:00 pm Islamophobia is increasingly rising to the front of national attention, whether through politicians, presidential campaign rhetoric, newspaper headlines, or tweets. In a time…
A Public Affair 12:00 – 1:00 PM No Child Behind Bars: Living Resistance from the U.S. to Palestine national tour speakers will be interviewed live from 12 noon – 1 pm on A Public Affair call-in show with host Esty Dinur. Listen on line at http://www.wortfm.org/.
“United We Stand: A Community Gathering in Support of Our Neighbors Subject to Deportation or Discrimination” Monona Terrace Conference Center 1 John Nolen Dr., Madison 2:00 – 5:00 pm City of Madison Facebook Event David Dahmer, Madison365, January 19, 2017 As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Friday, it has left many people…
Israeli forces suppress weekly marches in Bilin, Kafr Qaddum Ma’an News Agency, January 21, 2017 RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – Israeli forces Friday suppressed weekly marches held in the villages of Billin and Kafr Qaddum in the occupied West Bank districts of Ramallah and Qalqiliya. In Bilin, the weekly march, which occur every Friday to protest the…
Jonathan Cook Blog, January 19, 2017 (copyright: Keren Manor) Here is another image that conveys the situation of Palestinians – these ones Palestinian citizens of Israel – more completely than any words. The man on the ground is Ayman Odeh, a member of the Israeli parliament, the head of the Joint List, the third largest…
In America there is always a domestic political reason for not doing the right thing on Israel-Palestine. It’s ugly, but then ugliness is having its day. ROGER COHEN, The New York Times, January 17, 2017 Elon Moreh, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, seen from the Palestinian village of Azmout, last week. (Credit: Jaafar…
Monday, January 30 Evjue Room, Urban League of Greater Madison 2222 South Park Street, Madison [Map] 7 – 9 pm The No Child Behind Bars: Living Resistance from the U.S. to Palestine tour will be in Madison on Monday, January 30 for a free public community event in the evening. The live speakers will be…
Donations of Furniture and Household Items: Open Doors has stocked and set up apartments for three refugee families in the last three weeks. In the next ten days, four more refugee families will move to Madison, and Open Doors will provide almost all the furniture and household items for three of them, move it all…
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MAY 2017 DELEGATION! May 13 – 26, 2017 Incarceration, Detention, and Political Prisoners Interfaith Peace-Builders Co-Sponsored by Defense for Children International – Palestine This delegation is your chance to explore Palestinian and Israeli efforts to achieve peace with justice and delve deeper into the issues of detention and incarceration, the Israeli military…
Images From Palestine, March 2, 2016
Josh Ruebner, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, 04 January 2017 By now you’ve probably heard that President Obama—after waiting eight years and watching Israel’s settler population increase by more than 100,000—finally did something about Israel’s unrelenting colonization of Palestinian land. On December 23, the United States abstained on UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which reiterated…