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Saturday, January 30, 2010

For Cultural Purposes Only.... Movies » Animating the lost Palestinian Film Archive

http://www.animateprojects.org/films/by_date/2009/for_cultural

Synopses

An experimental film essay investigating the cultural importance of cinema.

In an age dominated by the moving image what would it feel like to never see an image of the place that you came from?

The Palestinian Film Archive contained over 100 films showing the daily life and struggle of the Palestinian people. It was lost in the Israeli siege of Beirut in 1982. Here interviewees describe from memory key moments from the history of Palestinian cinema. These scenes are drawn and animated. Where film survives, the artist’s impressions are corroborated. This is a film about reconstruction and the idea that cinema is an expression of cultural identity - that cinema fuels memory.

With dedication, commitment, and persistent drive, the young generation of leaders can make a difference... Summer Congressional Internship Program

To Create A Better Future
PACE and ADCRI Announce a New Joint Summer Congressional Internship Program
Washington, D.C. | January 29, 2010 | www.adc.org | The Project for American Civic Engagement (PACE) and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Research Institute (ADCRI) are happy to announce a Summer Congressional Internship Program. This is an exciting opportunity for college students and recent graduates to gain a better understanding of the workings of the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Government. Many Members of Congress and their staff began their careers as interns in U.S. Congressional Offices.

This program is designed to mentor and train youth from underrepresented communities so that they can develop the right skills to launch their careers in government. ADCRI will help match the candidates’ skills with available internships on Capitol Hill.

Candidates must be at least a senior in College or higher with an interest in government, law, public administration, or public policy. They must be in good standing at the Institution at which they study and show a commitment to a rigorous work schedule that will include reading assignments, reports, research and fieldwork. Candidates must also show a long term commitment to working on Capitol Hill. Positions are open to Arab-Americans as well as all Americans with an interest in Middle East politics. Deadline for all applications is March 15, 2010.

PACE was founded by the late Mr. Marwan Burgan to encourage the youth of our communities to be more active and involved in Government. He believed in the power of the American Democratic System, and how it could be a force of good, if people participate in it. Marwan was a Palestinian born in Jordan and later became a U.S. Citizen. After receiving his Masters in Sociology from American University, Marwan worked in Congress from June 1985 - January 1993, first as a foreign policy Legislative Assistant, then Legislative Director, and finally Administrative Assistant (Chief of Staff) in the Washington, DC Office of Congressman Marvyn M. Dymally, a ranking Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee.
PACE’s internship program was inspired by Marwan’s journey which proved that by dedication, commitment, and persistent drive, the young generation of leaders can make a difference. As a staffer on Capitol Hill, Marwan contributed to amending the Hate Crimes Act so as to extend prison sentences to cover attacks on mosques & Islamic centers as well as Hindu and Buddhist shrines. He was also able to advocate for an increase in aid to the West Bank & Gaza by over $ 32 million dollars between 1992 and1994. Marwan’s career in Congress demonstrates the important role that a Congressional staffer makes in affecting public policy. Marwan made a difference then! Do you want to make a difference next summer?

If you are interested in applying for the PACE/ADCRI Summer Internship Program, visit the ADC Website www.adc.org. All necessary information as well as the application is posted on the website. For more information or inquiries please contact ADC’s Director of Government Relations Tom Albert albert@adc.org

###

NOTE TO EDITORS: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), which is non sectarian and non partisan, is the largest Arab-American civil rights organization in the United States. It was founded in 1980, by former Senator James Abourezk to protect the civil rights of people of Arab descent in the United States and to promote the cultural heritage of the Arabs. ADC has 38 chapters nationwide, including chapters in every major city in the country, and members in all 50 states.

The ADC Research Institute (ADC-RI), which was founded in 1981, is a Section 501(c)(3) educational organization that sponsors a wide range of programs on behalf of Arab Americans and of importance to all Americans.
__________________________________________
Contact:Haythem Khalil, media@adc.org, 202-244-2990

Friday, January 29, 2010

My letter to the LA Times RE ISRAEL: 'Avatar' and the Palestinian blues

RE: ISRAEL: 'Avatar' and the Palestinian blues blueshttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/01/israel-avatar-and-the-palestinian-blues.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BabylonBeyond+%28Babylon+%26+Beyond+Blog%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo
Dear Editor,

"ISRAEL: 'Avatar' and the Palestinian blues"... Good headline! And what a fascinating story. Obviously the Israel/Palestine conflict left unresolved will continue to create its own conflicts within conflicts within conflicts.

Face the facts- Israel, with many loyal citizens, is already on the path towards progress. Palestine needs to be too.... Big picture is there needs to be a Palestinian state, and the Palestinian state that needs to be needs to be its own separate fully functioning, sovereign viable state with its own state building citizens inspired to empower Palestine, progress and peace for Palestine's sake.

In hoping for the best I can not help but visualize the perfect balance of an I-Ching symbol: Within Arab Palestine there will be some Jews, and within Jewish Israel there will be some Arabs. This I-Ching visual is a gentle metaphor, not a call for forced transfer, injustice and even more bigotry: The actual numbers of which are where do not matter- what matters is full respect for the rule of fair and just laws- and full respect for basic human rights, for everyone's sake.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
Growing Gardens for Palestine

My letter to the NYTimes RE Israel Signals Tougher Line on West Bank Protests


RE: Israel Signals Tougher Line on West Bank Protests
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/world/middleeast/29palestine.html?ref=world

Dear Editor,

A two state solution can and should remove Israel's illegal settlements, its occupation, and its ability to build barriers and conflict within Palestine.

Two popular relevant albeit brief and easy to watch videos are making the rounds right now. The first one is very serious. It begins with a bright young American college student attending a town hall meeting, as she politely but firmly asks President Obama why the US doesn't condemn Israeli human rights violations (VIDEO). Carefully Obama answers, concluding that ".... we are working to strengthen the ability of both parties to sit down across the table and begin serious negotiations. And I think that it's important when we're talking about this issue to make sure that we don't just knee-jerk, use language that is inflammatory or in some fashion discourages the possibility of negotiation. We've got to recognize that both the Palestinian people and Israelis have legitimate aspirations and they can be best served if the United States is helping them understand each other as opposed to demonizing each other." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/28/obama-asked-why-us-doesnt_n_440816.html

The second one is a very funny- it is an Israeli parody of Zionist propaganda:
Eretz Nehederet in Haiti. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kqZ-GtNaM8

It is very easy and tempting to become totally enraged by the situation in "The Holy Land" but it is crucial to try to be calm- rational- reasonable.... and to realize that there are signs of hope we need to notice: There are many people here there and everywhere working tirelessly to bring awareness, justice and peace to the region.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
"Almost any scenario that does not involve the realization of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement and an end to the occupation instead promises the likelihood of a lose-lose outcome with no winners and horrifying consequences for all parties." Hussein Ibish

"
I need not tell you how difficult this period is for the Palestinian people. We are all painfully aware of the counterproductive policies collectively punishing the people of the Gaza Strip; conscious decisions that have caused untold suffering and a dramatic deterioration in the lives of the population, in contravention of international law. One of my key priorities will be to continue to advocate strongly on behalf of the 1.5 million Gazans, and to do so not only until the end of the blockade and the occupation, but also until a just and lasting solution to the plight of the refugees is achieved." unwra's new Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi’s inaugural letter to staff

"Perhaps the biggest failure of the politicians was that they were unable to provide hope to their people and were unable to stand up to those who tried to take violent shortcuts to resolve the conflict." Daoud Kuttab

"The Assembly considered that the conflict in the Middle East above all concerns two equaly legitimate aspirations - Israel's right to be recognised and to exist in safety and the Palestinians' right to have an independent, viable and contiguous state."
Council of Europe (COE): Middle East: a negotiated solution agreed by both parties is the only way forward

"The people of Gaza, along with all the peoples of the region, must see that the United States is dedicated to addressing the legitimate security needs of the State of Israel and to ensuring that the legitimate needs of the Palestinian population are met." ATFP supports letter sent by 54 members of [America's] Congress to the administration urging immediate action to ease humanitarian suffering in Gaza.

Palestine:
Moving Forward

Priority Interventions for 2010


A Palestine to Return to

Obama Asked Why US Doesn't Condemn Israeli Human Rights Abuses (VIDEO)

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Rawabi, the First Palestinian Planned City, Newsletter Winter 2010

Rawabi, the First Palestinian Planned City, Newsletter Winter 2010
The newsletter outlining construction and development of the first planned Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank, Rawabi, has been issued by Bayti Real Estate Company. The newsletter explains the state of construction, the model for the development of the city, what it will bring to the community, its environmental impact and economic significance.

To find out more about Rawabi and download the newsletter in PDF click here.

unwra's new Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi’s inaugural letter to staff

"The challenge before us is enormous and complex, however the priorities are clear. We shall strive to provide the best possible services to the refugees in accordance with the four human development goals outlined in our Medium Term Strategy. We shall continue to advocate forcefully for the rights, plights, aspirations and hopes of Palestine refugees. We shall be resolute in our call to listen to, and include, refugees in the context of the peace process, to ensure that their unique interests and rights, as set forth in UN resolutions, are fully understood. We shall further advance the reform of the organisation, to make it better, more modern, and more efficient in delivering improved services to refugees. It is also urgent and imperative that we address the Agency’s chronic shortage of resources by working with host and donor governments to ensure that funding is sufficient and predictable, so that the quality of services we provide to refugees can significantly improve and our staff are adequately remunerated.

Colleagues,

I need not tell you how difficult this period is for the Palestinian people. We are all painfully aware of the counterproductive policies collectively punishing the people of the Gaza Strip; conscious decisions that have caused untold suffering and a dramatic deterioration in the lives of the population, in contravention of international law. One of my key priorities will be to continue to advocate strongly on behalf of the 1.5 million Gazans, and to do so not only until the end of the blockade and the occupation, but also until a just and lasting solution to the plight of the refugees is achieved."

http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=548

Commissioner-General’s inaugural letter to staff



One Year After the End of the Gaza War: ATFP's grim predictions proved accurate

One Year After the End of the Gaza War

One year after the end of the war in Gaza, alarming reports, reminiscent of the buildup war in 2008, are emerging from the region. Beginning in March 2008, ATFP repeatedly expressed concern that the behavior of both the Israeli government and the Hamas leadership were on a trajectory towards war. In numerous comments and publications, ATFP urged both parties to change course in order to avoid the inevitable and disastrous human and political consequence of a war in Gaza. Tragically, both parties persisted in their mutually-reinforcing policies and ATFP's grim predictions proved accurate.

After the end of the war, in testimony before the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, ATFP President Ziad Asali examined the causes and consequences of the conflict, and suggested ways in which the reconstruction of Gaza can be carried out.

Now, a year on, tensions around the Gaza Strip are again intensifying. It would appear that many of the lessons that should have been learned from the build-up to that eruption have not been internalized by many groups and individuals. Unfortunately, much of ATFP's analysis and many of its concerns from 2008 remain and are becoming increasingly relevant today. Equally, the essential reconstruction of Gaza, which is a humanitarian imperative above and beyond political considerations, is yet to start in earnest, and many of ATFP’s recommendations on this process continue to be both applicable and more urgently required than ever.

On this month’s one-year anniversary of the end of the Gaza war, we are re-issuing some of these analyses, as well as the text of Dr. Asali’s congressional the testimony, with the hope that both our continued concerns and the obvious lessons of the war will this time be heeded.

What Lies Ahead for Gaza?
Policy Focus by ATFP - March 5, 2008
http://www.americantaskforce.org/policy_and_analysis/policy_focus/2008/0...

ATFP Op-ed: Miscalculation
Ziad Asali The Washington Times (Opinion)
http://www.americantaskforce.org/in_media/in_print/2009/02/25/1235593339

ORAL TESTIMONY OF DR. ZIAD J. ASALI
President and Founder, American Task Force on Palestine
House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia
Chairman Gary L. Ackerman (D-NY)
February 12, 2009
http://www.americantaskforce.org/oral_testimony_dr_ziad_j_asali_february...

FULL TESTIMONY OF DR. ZIAD J. ASALI
President, American Task Force on Palestine
House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia
Chairman Gary L. Ackerman (D-NY)
February 12, 2009
http://www.americantaskforce.org/atfp_testimony_congressional_hearing_ga...

Gaza's top students take trip of a lifetime

Gaza's top students take trip of a lifetime

27 January 2010

Gaza

Students in Times Square, New York

Fifteen young female students from the Gaza Strip capped off a trip of a lifetime at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the final stop on a week-long visit to the United States they received for their achievements in a human rights education programme run by the world body.

The trip to the US is the first time these girls have ever been outside Gaza in their lives. Tasneem Al-Ashquar, who wants to be a doctor, said she was very proud to be able to come to the US. "There are a lot of other students, especially college students, who wish to come to the US for studying but the siege is stopping them," the 15-year-old said.

Asked what she liked best about the human rights programme, she said: "I liked that I could speak my mind and give a voice to the suffering of the people of Gaza."

The visit to New York, including yesterday's meeting with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, followed stops in Atlanta, where they met with former US President Jimmy Carter at the Carter Center, as well as Washington DC, for visits to the White House and other national monuments.

The group, which included 15 Palestinian eighth graders and three of their teachers, are the top achievers in the human rights, conflict resolution and tolerance programme taught in Gaza by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Girls ice-skating

Student Tasneem Al-Lulu said that as well as learning about her basic human rights, she learned a lot about how African-Americans were able to achieve their rights in a peaceful and non-violent way.

"The most interesting thing for me was respect... here all people respect each other," she stated.

Meeting the Secretary-General was the highlight of the trip for Bara Abu Shawish, who described the UN chief as "a very important man and very nice. I want to thank him for all he is doing to help us."

An identical group of boys will be following the same itinerary this week, ending up in New York next Monday.

UNRWA operates one of the largest school systems in the Middle East, with nearly 700 schools, and has been the main provider of primary education to Palestine refugees for 60 years.

Education is UNRWA's largest programme, accounting for more than half of the Agency's regular budget, and one of its key projects promotes non-violent communication skills, conflict resolution, human rights and tolerance.

Source: UN News Centre

BBC Panorama: A Walk in the Park Part 1/3

BBC Panorama: A Walk in the Park Part 2/3

BBC Panorama: A Walk in the Park Part 3/3

Council of Europe (COE): Middle East: a negotiated solution agreed by both parties is the only way forward

http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/NewsManager/EMB_NewsManagerView.asp?ID=5223&L=2

Winter session: 25-29 January 2010
Middle East: a negotiated solution agreed by both parties is the only way forward

The Middle East peace process is in the doldrums and the slow progress is causing frustration and bitterness, the Parliamentary Assembly today stated at the end of a debate on the situation in the Middle East.


All parties must overcome distrust to get it back on track, the parliamentarians said, and recalled that neither military action nor terrorism will achieve peace.


A negotiated solution agreed by both parties is the only way forward, they underlined during a debate in which participated Daniel Ayalon, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel, and Mohammad Shtayyeh, Minister of Public Works and Housing of the Palestinian National Authority.


The Assembly considered that the conflict in the Middle East above all concerns two equaly legitimate aspirations - Israel's right to be recognised and to exist in safety and the Palestinians' right to have an independent, viable and contiguous state".


Following the proposals of the rapporteur (Piero Fassino, Italy, SOC), the adopted resolution calls on Israel to freeze any new settlements beyond its borders, remove so-called “illegal outposts”, and restart negotiations in good faith towards the creation of a Palestinian state. It should also thoroughly investigate whether Israeli soldiers were involved in human rights violations.


All Palestinian forces, under President Abbas’s authority, the text says, should refrain from violence, recognise Israel’s right to exist and abide by all existing agreements. Hamas in particular should free the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, stop smuggling weapons and cease feuding with opposing factions.


The Assembly welcomed President Obama’s direct personal intervention, it said it could help, and considered it deserved full support.

Resolution 1700 (2010)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Jordan Times: At the centre of peace efforts By Daoud Kuttab


At the centre of peace efforts

By Daoud Kuttab

As negotiators and politicians wonder who needs to do what before moving, it is clear that all good minds and good people should focus on one issue: how to resolve the conflict over Jerusalem.

If the 1980s and 1990s witnessed a relatively nonviolent first Palestinian uprising and a breakthrough mutual recognition between the PLO and Israel, the first 10 years of the third millennium were violent and destructive. The decades-long hard work and sacrifice of Palestinians, Israelis and international supporters of peace evaporated almost overnight.

A year after the first Intifada broke out, on November 15, 1988, PLO delegates at the 19th session of the Palestine National Council supported Yasser Arafat’s declaration of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. Five years later, Arafat shook hands with hardline Israeli prime minister Yitzhaq Rabin, in a gesture that many thought was the beginning of a serious peace process.

Instead, however, US President Bill Clinton, who witnessed that handshake, spent the last days of his two-term presidency fruitlessly pushing for an agreement at Camp David. A final effort to reach an agreement in the Red Sea resort of Taba brought the parties closer than they have ever been, again with no results. Violent confrontations had erupted by then, and since then, talks and negotiations have been replaced by failed attempts to resolve the conflict through violence.

Perhaps the biggest failure of the politicians was that they were unable to provide hope to their people and were unable to stand up to those who tried to take violent shortcuts to resolve the conflict.

The reasons for the breakdown of the Camp David II talks have been talked about ad nauseam during this past decade. But contrary to the oft-repeated Israeli spin, Jerusalem, and not the right of return, was the reason for the summit’s failure. Indeed, if there is one issue that has permeated and defeated all efforts to achieve peace, it is Jerusalem.

It was because of Jerusalem that Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon made his provocative visit to Al Aqsa Mosque in 2000. The visit was met with angry protests. Unlike the prevailing Israeli narrative, the Intifada did not start because of this visit; it broke out because of the brutality the Israeli security personnel used to quash angry demonstrators.

Seven years after the famous White House handshake and 13 years after the eruption of the first Intifada, Palestinians were angry at the absence of a clear path towards an end to occupation and an ever-expanding Israeli settlement effort. Then, scores of Palestinian demonstrators were gunned down simply because they protested the Sharon visit.

Jerusalem continues to be a stumbling block. As the first decade of the 21st century comes to an end, the eastern part of the city has been surrounded by an 8-metre-high concrete wall. The number of demolitions of Palestinian houses in the city has increased sharply. Over 4,000 Palestinian Jerusalemites have been denied their birthright to reside in the holy city.

Meanwhile, Israel is attempting to Judaise East Jerusalem, especially the Sheikh Jarrah area, moving Jews in and non-Jews out. The settlements have become the major impediment to the return to peace talks. Israel still refuses to accept a settlement freeze in occupied East Jerusalem.

These past 10 years has certainly been bad for the Palestinians, and violence, the absence of negotiations and the special focus on East Jerusalem are likely to create many more problems. This is especially unavoidable if the issue of Jerusalem is going to be swept under the carpet.

Ironically, while the issue has been the major obstacle to a breakthrough in this intractable conflict, a number of efforts were and continue to be exerted to find solutions. A more recent effort is led by a number of veteran Canadian diplomats and researchers who have correctly zoomed in on the need to resolve the status of the one-square-kilometre Old City.

Whether their hard work bears any fruit depends on the political will to find nonviolent solutions to the conflict. Because whether it is borders, Jerusalem, the right of return, settlements or security arrangements, all parties to the conflict must know that there are no military or violent solutions. If we have learned anything from this past bloody decade in Palestine and Israel, it is that violence only begets violence.


28 January 2010

My note to the Washington Post RE Palestine must be a secular state By Hussein Ibish


RE: Palestine must be a secular state By Hussein Ibish
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2010/01/palestine_must_be_a_secular_state.html

Dear Editor,

Delighted to see this excellent op-ed "Palestine must be a secular state" By Hussein Ibish !

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab



Welcoming & Supporting the recent Congressional Letter to Administration on Gaza

ATFP Welcomes, Supports Congressional Letter to Administration on Gaza
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Information: Hussein Ibish
January 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Jan. 27, 2010, Washington DC -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) formally supported and welcomes a letter sent by 54 members of Congress to the administration urging immediate action to ease humanitarian suffering in Gaza. The dear colleague letter was circulated in Congress by Reps. Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) and supported by ATFP along with numerous other organizations. The full text of the letter follows and it can also be viewed in its original form here.

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama,

Thank you for your ongoing work to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for your commitment of $300 million in U.S. aid to rebuild the Gaza Strip. We write to you with great concern about the ongoing crisis in Gaza.

The people of Gaza have suffered enormously since the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt following Hamas' coup, and particularly following Operation Cast Lead. We also sympathize deeply with the people of southern Israel who have suffered from abhorrent rocket and mortar attacks. We recognize that the Israeli government has imposed restrictions on Gaza out of a legitimate and keenly felt fear of continued terrorist action by Hamas and other militant groups. This concern must be addressed without resulting in the de facto collective punishment of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip. Truly, fulfilling the needs of civilians in Israel and Gaza are mutually reinforcing goals.

The unabated suffering of Gazan civilians highlights the urgency of reaching a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and we ask you to press for immediate relief for the citizens of Gaza as an urgent component of your broader Middle East peace efforts. The current blockade has severely impeded the ability of aid agencies to do their work to relieve suffering, and we ask that you advocate for immediate improvements for Gaza in the following areas:

  • Movement of people, especially students, the ill, aid workers, journalists, and those with family concerns, into and out of Gaza;
  • Access to clean water, including water infrastructure materials,
  • Access to plentiful and varied food and agricultural materials;
  • Access to medicine and health care products and suppliers;
  • Access to sanitation supplies, including sanitation infrastructure materials;
  • Access to construction materials for repairs and rebuilding;
  • Access to fuel;
  • Access to spare parts;
  • Prompt passage into and out of Gaza for commercial and agricultural goods; and
  • Publication and review of the list of items prohibited to the people of Gaza.

Winter is arriving and the needs of the people grow ever more pressing. For example, the ban on building materials is preventing the reconstruction of thousands of innocent families' damaged homes. There is also a concern that unrepaired sewage treatment plants will overflow and damage surrounding property and water resources.

Despite ad hoc easing of the blockade, there has been no significant improvement in the quantity and scope of goods allowed into Gaza. Both the number of trucks entering Gaza per month and the number of days the crossings have been open have declined since March. This crisis has devastated livelihoods, entrenched a poverty rate of over 70%, increased dependence on erratic international aid, allowed the deterioration of public infrastructure, and led to the marked decline of the accessibility of essential services.

The humanitarian and political consequences of a continued near-blockade would be disastrous. Easing the blockade on Gaza will not only improve the conditions on the ground for Gaza's civilian population, but will also undermine the tunnel economy which has strengthened Hamas. Under current conditions, our aid remains little more than an unrealized pledge. Most importantly, lifting these restrictions will give civilians in Gaza a tangible sense that diplomacy can be an effective tool for bettering their conditions.

Your Administration's overarching Middle East peace efforts will benefit Israel, the Palestinians, and the entire region. The people of Gaza, along with all the peoples of the region, must see that the United States is dedicated to addressing the legitimate security needs of the State of Israel and to ensuring that the legitimate needs of the Palestinian population are met.

Sincerely,

Members of Congress

Raul Grijalva
Lois Capps
Sam Farr
Bob Filner
Barbara Lee
Loretta Sanchez
Pete Stark
Michael Honda
Lynn Woolsey
Jackie Speier
Diane Watson
George Miller
Jim Himes
Andre Carson
Bruce Braley
John Yarmuth
Elijah Cummings
Donna Edwards
Michael Capuano
William Delahunt
Jim McGovern
John Tierney
John Olver
Stephen Lynch J
ohn Conyers
John Dingell
Carolyn Kilpatrick
Keith Ellison
Betty McCollum
James Oberstar
Donald Payne
Rush Holt
Bill Pascrell
Yvette Clarke
Maurice Hinchey
Paul Tonko
Eric Massa
David Price
Mary Jo Kilroy
Marcy Kaptur
Earl Blumenauer
Peter DeFazio
Chaka Fattah
Joe Sestak
Peter Welch
Jim Moran
Jim McDermott
Adam Smith
Jay Inslee
Brian Baird
Nick Rahall
Tammy Baldwin
Gwen Moore
Glenn Nye

http://www.americantaskforce.org/in_media/pr/2010/01/27/1264568400


Palestine: Moving Forward: Priority Interventions for 2010

"Palestine: Moving Forward: Priority Interventions for 2010, issued this week by the Palestinian Authority finance and planning ministries, is a Palestinian state and institution building program that complements the diplomatic process the Obama administration is trying to revive, the American Task Force for Palestine's Hussein Ibish told POLITICO.

"It provides a parallel, complimentary, bottom-up track to the top-down diplomatic process, will bolster leaders and constituencies that want to achieve a peace agreement, and is an alternative source of political momentum when diplomacy is gridlocked," Ibish said.

"It's been endorsed by the Obama administration, the Middle East Quartet, the Arab states, and Israel has not opposed it," he continued. "It is constructive, serious, not in contradiction to any legitimate Israeli interest whatsoever, and has immediate political benefits and in the long-term can change the strategic environment in which peace is being sought." "

PA issues 2010 state-building budget

Palestine: Moving Forward

Palestinian National Authority

Palestine:
Moving Forward

Priority Interventions for 2010

January 2010

Table of Contents

Background

Guiding Principles

Approach

Summary of Priority Interventions

Next Steps

Palestine:
Ending the Occupation,
Establishing the State
Palestine: Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State
HTML | PDF (ENGLISH) | PDF (ARABIC)

Palestine:
Moving Forward,
Priority Interventions for 2010

Palestine: Moving Forward, Priority Interventions for 2010
HTML | PDF (ENGLISH)

The Arab Peace Initiative


The Arab Peace Initiative

The Council of the League of Arab States at the Summit Level, at its 14th Ordinary Session,

  • Reaffirms the resolution taken in June 1996 at the Cairo extraordinary Arab summit that a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East is the strategic option of the Arab countries, to be achieved in accordance with international legality, and which would require a comparable commitment on the part of the Israeli government.
  • Having listened to the statement made by his royal highness Prince Abdullah Bin Abdullaziz, the crown prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in which his highness presented his initiative, calling for full Israeli withdrawal from all the Arab territories occupied since June 1967, in implementation of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, reaffirmed by the Madrid Conference of 1991 and the land for peace principle, and Israel's acceptance of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in return for the establishment of normal relations in the context of a comprehensive peace with Israel.
  • Emanating from the conviction of the Arab countries that a military solution to the conflict will not achieve peace or provide security for the parties, the council:

1. Requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well.

2. Further calls upon Israel to affirm:

a. Full Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied since 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights to the lines of June 4, 1967 as well as the remaining occupied Lebanese territories in the south of Lebanon.

b. Achievement of a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194.

c. The acceptance of the establishment of a Sovereign Independent Palestinian State on the Palestinian territories occupied since the 4th of June 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza strip, with east Jerusalem as its capital.

3. Consequently, the Arab countries affirm the following:

a. Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region.

b. Establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace.

4. Assures the rejection of all forms of Palestinian patriation which conflict with the special circumstances of the Arab host countries.

5. Calls upon the government of Israel and all Israelis to accept this initiative in order to safeguard the prospects for peace and stop the further shedding of blood, enabling the Arab Countries and Israel to live in peace and good neighborliness and provide future generations with security, stability, and prosperity.

6. Invites the international community and all countries and organizations to support this initiative.

7. Requests the chairman of the summit to form a special committee composed of some of its concerned member states and the secretary general of the League of Arab States to pursue the necessary contacts to gain support for this initiative at all levels, particularly from the United Nations, the security council, the United States of America, the Russian Federation, the Muslim States and the European Union.


Tuesday, January 26, 2010

CXCIV.... poem by Anne Selden Annab

.

I

Broken away
from carefully chosen
chiseled stone
some ancient
some new-
all home...
every street
every shadow
and dirt path
every tree
and bush
and blooms
come spring
every herb
grown and dried
brewed and stewed
every sip of tea
every all
in a time
before time stopped
for Palestine.

II

From stone to tarps to tents
to concrete and cinder blocks
to too many children to feed
and too many lies about why not...

III

CXCIV




poem copyright ©2010 Anne Selden Annab

Monday, January 25, 2010

Unveiling Festival for Palestine’s Largest Mural Today

Palestine Mural Unveiling Ceremony (Jan, 2010) by wlp_partnership.
WLP partner in Palestine, Women's Affairs Technical Committee (WATC), held a mural unveiling ceremony for the public art project "Outside the Gallery: Celebrating Women in Culture" in Ramallah on January 12, 2010.

http://www.learningpartnership.org/blog/2010/01/palestine-mural/

Unveiling Festival for Palestine’s Largest Mural Today

Posted on 12 January 2010 by wlp

Press Release
Women’s Affairs Technical Committee (WATC), Ramallah
Jan 12, 2010

Under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad, Palestine’s largest mural is unveiled. Created jointly by Women’s Affairs Technical Committee (WATC) and the Open Workshop for Culture and Arts (OWCA) to honor Palestinian women, it is the culmination of year-long activities centered on celebrating the contributions of women in culture. This project was supported by the EU which has provided almost 70% of the project budget that reached €72000.

Palestine Mural © WATC

Palestine Mural © WATC

Celebrating Jerusalem as the 2009 Arab Capital of Culture, the 20-meter-long mural has been split between Ramallah and Jerusalem University-Abu Dis to reflect Jerusalem’s unity with the whole of Palestine in spite of the artificial separation created by Israel’s military occupation. Many local and international parties have also supported the project.

The festival will begin beside Ramallah’s location and continue inside nearby Ashtar Theater. Participants will enjoy music, art exhibitions, literary reading and a documentary film featuring the artists and the mural’s theme. WATC and OWCA’s devotion to this project reflects their strong belief in women’s crucial role in creating a healthy society, while at once honoring the contributions they’ve made in the field of art, culture and Palestinian heritage.

The artists’ sculpted imagery was inspired by the literature of female Palestinian authors: Laila Al Atrash, Rose Shomali, Dalia Taha, Hala Shrouf, Mai Sayyeg, Randa Jarrar, Rania Rsheid, and Aisheh Owdeh, an old Canaan script. Accordingly, their words have been carved into the mural.

The project included cultural exchange with European artists to enhance local artists’ skills and increase their knowledge of alternative techniques applied in modern and international arts. Austrian sculptor Christian Peintner, French artist and expert in “arts for all” Frank Loret, and Spanish environmental artist Christina Ferrandez led workshops along with local artists Jamal Afgahani, Mazen Saadeh, and American Palestinian artist Julia Bailey.

The nine-month workshop kept its doors open to the public as interested amateurs spent time forming small shapes which have been included in the Mural as flowers, houses, trees, waves, and other beautiful and reflective images. Among the aspiring artists, the workshop was visited by the Minister of culture, Siham Bargouti, a Swedish delegation, and many Palestinians from all walks of life.

The mural’s artists are: Bassam Abu Al Hayyat from Nablus, Mirna Bamiyeh from Jerusalem, Ruba Hamdan from Haifa, Ibrahim Jawabeh from Bethlehem, Randa Maddah from Golan, Lara Abu Sharkh, Afaf Dar Omar, and Maxim Zaqtan from Ramallah. They were carefully selected from a larger group of competitors by a specialized committee.

For more information, you may call the project’s media coordinator Ms. Amal Juma at amalwehda [at] yahoo [dot] com, amalwedha [at] gmail [dot] com or Office:02298849, Fax: 022964746

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Middle East -> PALESTINE... UN: Gaza in State of Physical, Psychological Collapse (Voice of America News)

Middle East

UN: Gaza in State of Physical, Psychological Collapse

A Palestinian boy sits next to bags of flour at a UN food aid distribution center in Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, 24 Jan 2010
Photo: AP

A Palestinian boy sits next to bags of flour at a UN food aid distribution center in Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, 24 Jan 2010

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency says Gaza is in a state of physical and psychological collapse.

The Israeli blockade of Gaza has been going on for 30 months. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which cares for one million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, says the territory is receiving only 20 percent of the goods it got before the blockade was imposed.

UNRWA says the ongoing blockade of Gaza's borders has caused the private sector to collapse and unemployment and poverty to rise to unprecedented levels.

The agency is renewing its appeal for $323 million to assist Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the West Bank throughout 2010. UNRWA Director of Operations in Gaza, John Ging, says $250 million of the appeal will be used to sustain basic subsistence levels in Gaza.

"Access to those billions that have been pledged, $4.5 billion were pledged in Sharm El-Sheik, will replace the need for much of the aid, the humanitarian assistance we now are appealing for because the recovery and reconstruction will generate tens of thousands of jobs," said Ging. "It will put the private sector back to work. Remember 100,000 have been made unemployed in this past two and a half years. And, the money will be, as I say, put to productive use," he said.

A Palestinian boy sits on rubble in an area destroyed during Israel's January 2009 Gaza offensive, 16 Jan 2010
AP
A Palestinian boy sits on rubble in an area destroyed during Israel's January 2009 Gaza offensive, 16 Jan 2010
The United Nations reports the houses of 325,000 people were destroyed or damaged during the war that erupted between Israel and Hamas militants more than a year ago. An estimated 20,000 people continue to live in temporary housing.

Ging says Israel refuses to let cement, steel rods and other reconstruction material enter the Gaza Strip because it fears they would be used by Hamas to build bunkers.

He says the United Nations has presented a plan to the Israeli authorities to oversee the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza. He says U.N. agencies have the technical expertise and the capacity to get the work done and to make sure that none of the materials fall into the wrong hands.

"There is no point in just continuously saying hypothetically this might happen or that might happen or it might fall into the wrong hands or whatever. The bottom line is we have put forward our plans. We are ready to go," he declared. "Let us go on with it and the cement that comes to the United Nations to build a school, there will be a physical school at the end of this process or there will not. If there is a physical school, then we have done out job properly. If there is not, then we should be held accountable for that. That is what we now need to do," he said.

Ging says attitudes among the Palestinians will continue to harden and become more hostile if reconstruction cannot get underway. He warns this will be counterproductive to Israel's objective of achieving stability and security.

He appeals to the Israeli authorities to open the crossing points and allow essential supplies of food, water and medicines as well as shelter materials to flow freely into Gaza. He says this will greatly improve conditions for the Palestinians and ease tensions between them and the Israelis.

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