Upcoming Events: March 21 – April 1, 2023

Tuesday, March 21: No Way to Treat a Child Webinar
Tuesday, March 21: Another chance to watch film Boycott online
Tuesday, March 21: Ground the F35s Online Capitol Calling Party
Friday, March 24: Film Theaters of War: How the Pentagon & CIA Took Hollywood
Fri-Sun, March 24-26: Anti-Militarism, Ground the F35s Conference
Saturday, March 25: Online World-Wide Rally Against the Yemen War 
Sunday, March 26: Settler Impunity in Hawara Webinar
Thursday, March 30: Land Day Film: 1948 Creation and Catastrophe
Sat-Sun, April 1-2: International Festival at Overture

Recordings of the Week: WORT Radio
The Heartbreak and Defiance of Occupation: World View interviews Ali Awad from Masafer Yatta; (30 minutes); and
A Public Affair interview with Cindy and Craig Corrie on the 20th anniversary of Rachel Corrie’s killing in Rafah (55 minutes) 
(See also this excellent article about the long struggle for justice for Rachel.)

Action of the Week: This Ramadan and always:


UPCOMING EVENTS DETAILS

Tuesday, March 21:
No Way to Treat a Child Webinar
11 AM Central Time
From the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC):

We’re anticipating the introduction of new U.S. legislation advocating for Palestinian children’s rights. This webinar will help advocates prepare. The training will equip you with the skills to understand and explain legislation, the U.S.-Israel relationship, and how the U.S. funds Israeli violations of Palestinian rights. More info and registration here.

Tuesday, March 21:
Online Screening of film Boycott
3 pm Central Time
Fellowship of Reconciliation is offering a free screening of the film Boycott, including a post-film discussion with Julia Bacha, Just Vision’s Creative Director and Boycott Director. Register here for this zoom session.

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Upcoming Events: March 12-16, 2023

Sunday, March 12: WORT interview with Masafer Yatta Activist
Thursday, March 16: Cindy and Craig Corrie on WORT
Thursday, March 16: Tantura Film and Discussion


 
On Sunday March 12 at 5 pm, tune into WORT’s World View program for a taped interview with Masafer Yatta activist Ali, who will discuss the current situation of Israeli army and settler attacks and Palestinian resistance there.  (The interview will be aired after the news.)

Thursday March 16, 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the killing of Rachel Corrie in Rafah. We continue to mourn her loss and celebrate her life. We will never forget her.

Locally, we invite you to tune in to WORT Radio’s A Public Affair with host Allen Ruff at 12 noon on Thursday March 16, 89.9 FM or listen on line for a live conversation with Rachel’s parents Cindy and Craig. 

A Public Affair with host Allen Ruff
WORT 89.9 FM Madison

Live Interview with Cindy & Craig Corrie, parents of Rachel Corrie
Thursday, March 16, 2023 10-11 am PDT; Noon-1pm CDT; 1-2 pm EDT

The Corries will talk with host Allen Ruff about their daughter, 20 years of the Rachel Corrie Foundation, RCF’s kinship with the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, and the foundation’s commitment to Gaza and to Palestinian rights today, as startling events continue to unfold in the region.

The hour-long program can be heard live at the WORT 89.9 FM website here. The program will be archived at the WORT 89.9 website for later listening, as well.

At 9 pm CT on March 16, we also invite you to join a zoom showing and discussion of the new film Tantura, about the 1948 massacre in that village, co-sponsored by the Rachel Corrie Foundation as part of a year-long commemoration. 

Mideast Focus Ministry 10th Annual Film Series
Break the Silence – Stories of Occupation
Tantura: Film & Discussion

Thursday – March 16, 2023, 7 pm PT

Zoom only: Register for a link to this film and discussion by requesting a link at seattlemideastfocus@gmail.com

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Upcoming Events: March 1-4, 2023

Wednesday, March 1: MENA event “Night at the Bazaar”
Thursday, March 2: What’s next for the right to boycott in America?
Saturday, March 4: AFRICaide & 4W International Women’s Day
Saturday, March 4: Senegambia Int’l Women’s Day Dinner & Dance

Mark Your Calendars for a Virtual Workshop to “Write Your Nakba Story”:
To commemorate 75 years of Nakba, The Institute for Palestine Studies is offering a five-part online writing workshop between March 20 and April 15 centering Nakba stories written by descendants of survivors. For complete info, including requirements and deadlines, click here.

Article of the Week: You Can’t Save Democracy in a Jewish State

UPCOMING EVENTS DETAILS

Wednesday, March 1: A Night at the Bazaar
Celebrating Middle Eastern and North African Heritage Month
6-9 pm, Pyle Center and Red Gym

A Night at the Bazaar is an evening long event that will feature performances in the Alumni Lounge at the Pyle Center, as well as community activities in the MSC Lounge of the Red Gym. Get ready for this kick-off event filled with dance, cultural clothing, food, tatreez, henna, and much more!

RSVP is required.

This event is free and open to everyone in the UW-Madison community. For questions or accommodations, contact the MSC at msc@studentsaffairs.wisc.edu or at 608-262-4503. The events for the entire month can be found at MENA Heritage Month at University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Thursday, March 2:
What’s Next for the Right to Boycott in America?
A conversation marking the online premiere of Boycott
12 noon Central Time

The Supreme Court recently announced it will not hear the case of Alan Leveritt, publisher of the Arkansas Times, who challenged the constitutionality of Arkansas’ anti-BDS law. This is not a ruling on the merits of the case, so what does it mean for the right to boycott and where do we go from here?

Join Just Vision, the Institute for Middle East Understanding and Jewish Currents for a timely conversation on what’s next as they mark the worldwide online release of Just Vision’s award-winning documentary, Boycott.

More information and registration here.

Saturday, March 4:
10th Annual AFRICaide & 4W International Women’s Day Celebration
Christ Presbyterian Church, 944 E. Gorham Street, Madison
10 am – 3 pm

You are invited to celebrate women at this International Women’s Day event featuring a program for women from all walks of life, from neighborhoods to cities to the world. For more information and to register for this FREE event click here.

Saturday, March 4:
Senegambia Women’s Association Welcomes All
10th Annual International Women’s Day Celebration
First Congregational Church, 1609 University Ave. Madison
5 – 10 pm

Supported by Madison Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom; Free event
Keynote Speaker: Wi Sen. Melissa Agard
Senegambian cuisine, music, and sharing of culture and traditions. Join in!

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Upcoming Events: February 21 – March 2, 2023

Tuesday, Feb. 21:
Don’t Step on My Feet Again: A Poetic Exploration of Life in Gaza
11 am – 12 Noon CT

This is the second AFSC “Light in Gaza” webinar, where you will have the privilege of listening to Basman al-Dirawi in conversation with poet Tariq Luthun. This event will delve into the richness of poetry, culture, and life in Gaza, as the speakers shed light on the challenges posed by the Israeli blockade and occupation. Info and registration here.

Wednesday, Feb. 22:
Online Film Screening, Q&A of Al Jazeera Film on the Holy Land 5
6 pm CT film, 7:30 Q&A

You can join a special film screening about the Holy Land Foundation, the largest US Muslim charity that was persecuted in the post 9/11 anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hysteria. Produced by Al Jazeera, the film will be followed by a conversation and Q&A with Nida Abu Baker, daughter of Shukri Abu Baker, one of the Holy Land Foundation Five who is still in prison.

This Boston-based screening will also be online via zoom. More information and registration here.

Thursday, Feb. 23:

From Students for Justice in Palestine-UW Madison: We will be starting the book club with a poem a week from Mohammed El-Kurd’s Rifqa to start off slow and we highly recommend you purchase the book itself. Otherwise, we will provide some copies of the poems for each week.

Don’t forget to wear your keffiyehs to show solidarity, and send us pictures of you wearing them around campus! Additionally, to continue supporting our semester-long fundraiser with Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and to hit our goal of $2,000, we will continue selling a few keffiyehs every Thursday.

If you would like to donate to PCRF, you can do so through: https://pcrf1.app.neoncrm.com/sjpuwmadison

Additionally, you can venmo/zelle/cashapp your donation and mention PCRF in the description or communicate your donation with us via email or Instagram.

In solidarity,
SJP at UW-Madison
Linktree | Instagram | Facebook

Tuesday, Feb. 28:
Healthcare in Gaza: Snapshots of Healing in Times of Destruction
11 am – 12 noon CT
Virtual Event on Zoom

From Churches for Middle East Peace: Gaza has been acquainted with unspeakable destruction for decades. Yet throughout its turbulent history, countless individuals have stepped in to offer healing. Doctors and nurses, medical technicians and first responders, international and local, have worked together to mend the wounds of those who suffer. In this seminar, we pose one question—what is it like to offer healing in times of destruction? To answer, we will hear from panelists who provide snapshots of their experiences historically, organizationally, and personally.

 

Wednesday, March 1:
Middle Eastern North African (MENA) Heritage Month Kickoff:
A Night at the Bazaar

6-9 pm, Pyle Center and Multicultural Student Center
Langdon Street, UW-Madison

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Virtual Discussion on Corporate BDS Organizing

I am writing to invite you to join Omar Barghouti and me for a virtual discussion on corporate BDS organizing this Thursday, January 26 at 11 am ET/10 am CT/6 pm Palestine. 

Adalah Justice Project has played a key role in campaigns to compel corporations like Ben & Jerry’s to withdraw their complicity from Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people. This webinar gives us an opportunity to reflect with Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the BDS movement, on what these campaigns have accomplished and what more we can do together to advance BDS wins.

This event is hosted by our friends at Al-Shabaka and will be moderated by Al-Shabaka’s Nadim Bawalsa. 

We hope you will be able to join us this Thursday, January 26.

You can register for the webinar here.

Warmly,

Sandra Tamari
Adalah Justice Project

 

Zoom: Dilemmas of Rebuilding Gaza

A Conversation between Sara Roy and Salem Al Qudwa

Thursday, January 12, 11 a.m. CT

AFSC will host regular webinar conversations with Palestinian writers from our anthology Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire in 2023.

In our first webinar in January, Dr. Sara Roy and Salem Al Qudwa will discuss development and rebuilding in Gaza. The webinar will focus largely on Al Qudwa’s work as an architect, and his chapter “Ethical Implications of Environmental Design on Affected Communities in the Gaza Strip,” in Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire. They will address what recovery and rebuilding has looked like in Gaza after Israeli bombing campaigns. What are the challenges and obstacles rebuilding Gaza? What are the opportunities? 

Salem Al Qudwa is an award-winning architect and university lecturer, exploring everyday architecture as a resource for positive social transformation. He is a Fellow in Conflict and Peace at the Harvard Divinity School, and contributor to the book Open Gaza: Architectures of Hope (American University in Cairo Press, 2021). 

Sara Roy is a senior research scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. A distinguished political economist, she is the author of numerous books on Gaza, including Unsilencing Gaza: Reflections on Resistance (Pluto Press, 2021), and The Gaza Strip: The Political Economy of De-development (1995). 

Accommodations: This webinar will take place on Zoom from 12 to 1 PM EST. To request accommodations such as captioning, please contact our meeting support team at events@afsc.org.
 

Masafer Yatta Instagram Live!

Tune in to learn how you can stand in solidarity with Palestinian people as they defend Masafer Yatta from Israel’s violence. We’ll be joined by Sami Huraini, a Palestinian activist and co-founder of Youth Of Sumud / شباب صمود, based in Masafer Yatta.

Since June of 2022, the Israeli regime has been demolishing multiple homes and an elementary school for Palestinian children in Masafer Yatta. The Palestinian people in Masafer Yatta have existed and tended to their land for generations. Now, within a matter of minutes, Israeli forces could uproot the lives of nearly 1,000 Palestinian people in Masafer Yatta through demolitions, arrests, and constant attacks on their lives.

Please be sure to join us on Monday at 7:00 PM Palestine time/12:00 Noon ET to learn how you can help defend Masafer Yatta. Our collective action can and will make a difference, and it is up to us to show up for Palestinian people now and for future generations.

#DefendMasaferYatta

The Right to Boycott: Resisting the Crackdown on BDS

Join CODEPINK and Meera Shah of Palestine Legal on Zoom December 14th at 2pm ET/11am PT for an important and timely call on recent anti-BDS legislation and its impacts on movements for Palestine solidarity, and various forms of divestment.

Since 2014, U.S. legislators have introduced over 200 bills targeting boycotts for Palestinian rights – and the volume of these bills have only increased, with a huge wave of legislative attacks in recent months. What are the latest developments with these anti-boycott laws, and what do they mean? Join us as we explore the impacts these bills are already having on Palestine advocacy work, on other forms of divestment activism, and what we can do in this critical moment.

Meera Shah joined Palestine Legal in 2019. She supports the organization’s casework and public education and oversees the advocacy work on free speech, academic freedom, and the right to boycott.

Rafah Family Guided Home Construction

A fundraiser by the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project

Our goal is to raise $10,064 to renovate a family apartment in the Tal al Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, where in 2005 we funded a playground for local children.

This family consists of a father, mother and three children. The father has become disabled and the mother works to try to keep the family afloat. Their small apartment is desperately in need of roof repairs, interior renovations to the main living area and bath, and the addition of another room — especially now that the cold and rains of winter have arrived.

The building condition directly affects the family’s health and well being. The family covers the roof panels with cloths to try to keep out the rain, but that’s not enough to keep the rooms dry. They cannot afford to repair the concrete ceiling.

The family was nominated by the Al Amal Society for Rehabilitation, a Palestinian Non-Government Organization in Gaza that has partnered with Rebuilding Alliance since 2017. Our grant will be transferred to and administered by this partner organization. Rebuilding Alliance’s Site Engineer, Heba El Khozondar, will supervise the project to sign-off for each phase.

The project will have three construction phases, each commencing as soon as enough funds have been donated:
▪ Phase 1: $3,080  Poured concrete roof repair
▪ Phase 2: $3,555  Main Living Space
▪ Phase 3: $3,429  Adjacent new room
$10,064  Total

Donate Online

You can also mail a check to MRSCP marked “house repairs” to
MRSCP
P.O. Box 5214
Madison, WI 53705

Mailed contributions will NOT count toward the Global Giving match on November 29.

As always, thank you for your support.

Gaza Background
Israeli raids in Gaza and the humanitarian fallout, December 16, 2022
Gaza archaeologists find ‘complete’ Roman-era cemetery, 12 December 2022
Caged Sparrows: Palestinian Stories from the Gaza Sea, December 12, 2022
Israeli warplanes attack Gaza as EU calls for ‘accountability’, 4 Dec 2022
Photos: Gaza struggles to accommodate the living and the dead, 6 Oct 2022
Fifteen years of the blockade of the Gaza Strip, 03 July 2022