[WCUSP] Fwd: [HumanRights] Nakba Global Plans and Actions
yvonne simmons
roweenayvonne at yahoo.com
Mon Oct 29 06:29:24 CDT 2007
Is WCUSP interested in organizing for November 29th,
the beginning of the year long commemoration of Nakba,
working for peace and justice for the Palestinians.
inpeace Yvonne
--- Mazin Qumsiyeh <qumsi001 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> From: Mazin Qumsiyeh <qumsi001 at hotmail.com>
> To: <wheelsofjustice at lists.riseup.net>
> Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2007 18:19:06 -0400
> Subject: [HumanRights] Nakba Global Plans and
> Actions
>
>
>
> (The Sabeel Conference in Boston focusing on Israeli
> Apartheid over the weekend was a huge success with
> nearly 1000 attending. This quote from Bishop
> Desmond Tutu is relevant "From my experience in
> South Africa I know that truth-telling is hard. It
> has grave consequences for one's life and
> reputation. It stretches one's faith, tests one's
> capacity to love, and pushes hope to the limit....
> No one takes up this work on a do-gooder's whim. It
> is not a choice. One feels compelled into it.
> Neither is it work for a little while, but rather
> for a lifetime - and for more than a lifetime. It is
> a project bigger than any one life. This long view
> is a source of encouragement and perseverance. The
> knowledge that the work preceded us and will go on
> after us is a fountain of deep gladness that no
> circumstance can alter." Bono adds a relevant point
> "History will be our judge, but what is written is
> up to us: Who we are, who we've been, what we want
> to be remembered for. We can't say our generation
> didn't know how to do it. We can't say our
> generation couldn't afford to do it. And we can't
> say our generation didn't have reason to do it. It's
> up to us. We can choose to shift the responsibility,
> or we can choose to shift the paradigm." Peace
> rallies over the weekend were successful and it was
> great to see such good turnout. Whether you were
> there or not, it is time to escalate our
> involvement/activism and there is no more relevant
> issue than this item below to bring peace - not only
> in Western Asia.)
> ------------
> Global Nakba Plans and Actions
>
> A number of groups and coalitions have designated
> 2008 (beginning with November 29, 2007) as a year of
> Commemoration for Al-Nakba (the catastrophe of
> Palestinian ethnic cleansing and dispossession) AND
> a year of action for justice (the only route to a
> durable peace). From November 29, 2007 to November
> 29, 2008, we ask you to join groups and individuals
> (or create your own group) to engage in meaningful
> actions that creatively relate the history and the
> consequences of the Nakba and ensure refugees are
> returned for peace with justice. This includes
> educational actions, demonstrations on key dates,
> solidarity trips to Palestine, media work, lobby
> actions, and others. Several local groups began
> planning a central mass mobilization in NYC in May
> 2008 US national event and other events are being
> planned around the world. The gravity of the moment
> demands real collective action from many different
> organizations concerned with justice. Your
> participation and your ideas and leadership are
> needed now more than ever. To facilitate your
> involvement, this message lays out the background,
> statements and actions on this critical year. This
> is just a beginning but it can only work to bring
> peace (and we know it can) if EVERYONE participates
> and creates local actions and/or joins other actions
> to say "60 years of colonial oppression and ethnic
> cleansing are enough: Time for justice/time for
> peace".
>
> In this message:
>
> I) Links and background on Al-Nakba
>
> II) Call to action from Badil, Resource Center for
> Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights.
>
> III) American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
> Resolution on the issue of Nakba (adopted June 2007)
>
> IV) International Coordinating Network on the
> Question of Palestine adopts significant resolutions
> that include among other things a year of Nakba
> commemorations and actions (Aug 2007)
>
> V) Proposal adopted by the US Campaign to End the
> Occupation for a year of Nakba Commemorations
> (adopted September 2007).
>
> VI) Palestinians in the US preparing for a
> conference (Palestinians are called to join in the
> preparatory meeting Nov 9-11, 2007 and the main
> meeting in August 2008)
>
> VII) Wheels of Justice planned actions and call for
> participation in coordination in Nakba year. You and
> your group can join this growing network.
> -------------------------------------
> I) Links to background on Al-Nakba:
>
> http://www.iremember1948.org (Excellent
> Testimonial)
>
http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General/Story2129.html
> (Short video done immediately after the expulsion
> of Palestinian Refugees)
> http://www.acrossborders.ps/portal/Reflecting.cfm
> (Reflections)
> http://www.theunrecognized.org/ (on the continuing
> tragedy of Unrecognized Villages)
> http://www.qumsiyeh.org/chapter4/ (Background
> Chapter on refugees)
> http://www.zochrot.org/index.php?id=582 (Israeli
> statement on Nakba and ROR)
> http://www.jewishsolidarity.info/ (Jews in
> Solidarity)
> http://www.nakbainhebrew.org/index.php?id=228
> (Video of Arab Women testimonies on Nakba)
> http://www.qumsiyeh.org/henrylowi/ (Excellent
> article on Partition emailed 13 October 2007)
> AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE WEBSITES ON THE ISSUES
> http://www.palestineremembered.com
> ---------------------------------------
> II) Badil, Resource Center for Palestinian Residency
> and Refugee Rights. Call to actionIn 2007 the
> Occupation turns 40In 2008 al-Nakba turns 60
> "Let's make 2007 – 2008 into 'the campaign of
> freedom and return'. Not just the return (al-awda)
> of the refugees, but also a return to the rule of
> law and respect for human rights."
> http://www.badil.org/call-en.htm
> ------------------------------------------------
> III) American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
> Resolution
>
> Whereas ADC has adopted the Palestinian Civil
> Society call to action that included calls for
> boycotts, divestment and sanctions (“BDS”) analogous
> to those adopted against apartheid South Africa; and
> whereas ADC emphasizes the importance of the
> struggle for Palestinian freedom, return and
> self-determination; and whereas U.S. policy,
> influenced by a strong Israeli lobby, has deviated
> from principles of human rights and international
> law; and whereas the issue of Palestine/Israel is
> central to U.S. policies in Western Asia which have
> had disastrous consequences (e.g., Iraq); and
> whereas recent discussions were opened in many ways
> as a result of events such as the publication of
> President Jimmy Carter’s book Palestine: Peace not
> Apartheid, the publication by Stephen Walt and John
> Mearsheimer of their research paper entitled “The
> Israel Lobby,” and the growing BDS movements in
> England, South Africa and North America, among
> others; be it resolved that ADC calls on its members
> and supporters to:
>
> a. Plan events for the International Day of
> Solidarity with the Palestinian People (November 29,
> 2007, the thirtieth such day since the UN General
> Assembly declared this day of solidarity in 1977)
> and for the 60th anniversary of the nakba,
> highlighting the inalienable rights of Palestinian
> refugees in these events.
>
> b. Support the Wheels of Justice bus tour, which
> brings eyewitness accounts of the wars and
> occupations currently taking place in the Arab world
> to hundreds of colleges and universities, over 200
> middle and high schools, and hundreds of churches
> and other venues in 48 states.
>
> c. Take practical initiatives to heed the
> Palestinian Civil Society call to action, by taking
> concrete proposals for BDS to governmental and other
> institutions, following the recent examples set in
> England and South Africa.
>
> http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=3124
> -------------------------
> IV) UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF
> CIVIL SOCIETY IN SUPPORT OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE;
> INTERNATIONAL COORDINATING NETWORK ON PALESTINE,
> European Parliament, Brussels August 30-31 2007
> Realizing the inalienable rights of the Palestinian
> People: 60 years is enough! End the dispossession;
> bring the refugees home!
> PLAN OF ACTION ADOPTED
> Relevant section: "We commit ourselves, and call
> on global civil society, to join Palestinian
> communities inside Israel, in exile and the Occupied
> Palestinian Territory in mobilizing for a year of
> educational and campaigning work beginning on
> November 29, 2007. That year will include May 15,
> 2008, as a day of global mobilization to commemorate
> the Nakba, and the continuing dispossession and
> denial of Palestinian rights."
> PDF File of all resolutions:
>
http://www.badil.org/40-60-campaign/UN-Call-to-Action.pdf
> ---------------------------------------------
> V) Proposed by Middle East Crisis Committee,
> Al-Awda-CT, and Wheels of Justice Network and
> amended and adopted at the annual convention of the
> US Campaign to End the Occupation (PDF file at
>
http://endtheoccupation.org/downloads/2007proposal3.pdf
> )
>
> Name of the proposal: A year of commemoration and
> action for Al-Nakba
>
> Category of the proposal (Anti-Apartheid Framework,
> BDS including the CAT Campaign,
> communications/functioning of US Campaign, 60th
> anniversary of al-Nakba, or other): Al-Nakba
>
> Description of the proposed action, event, idea,
> etc.:
>
> We propose organizing a year of collaborative events
> to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Nakba in
> order to educate, support, and advance the
> Internationally recognized rights of Palestinians
> including the rights of refugees to return to their
> homes and lands and to self-determination and
> equality. The events would launch on November 29,
> 2007 on the International Day of Solidarity with the
> Palestinian People and end on November 29, 2008. We
> call for joint actions of all member groups of the
> US Campaign and for sharing of resources and ideas
> especially linking to previously adopted projects
> (Boycotts, Divestments, Sanctions) and adopted
> frameworks (International law, Human rights,
> Apartheid).
>
> Goals of the proposal and how they will be achieved:
>
>
> 1) Awareness raising: A focus on two areas: a)
> Debunking the usual myths used to deny
> implementation of human rights and international
> law (for example, see the beginning of compiling of
> such distortions and factual responses to them at
> http://www.qumsiyeh.org/liesandtruths/ ), and b)
> Educating people about positive plans for peace
> based on human rights and International law
> (especially the Palestinian Civil Society Call to
> Action – see:
>
http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=66_0_1_0_M).
> Both areas obviously also related to U.S. policy.
> Awareness raising is accomplished through several
> events to be planned to coincide with key dates to
> include at least: Saturday November 29, 2007
> (International Day of Solidarity with the
> Palestinian People (see
> http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/palestinian/ ), April 9,
> 2008 (Deir Yassin Massacre), Weekend of May 16-17,
> 2008 (nearest to Nakba Day), June 20, 2008
> (International Refugee Day), and December 10, 2008
> (60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human
> Rights). They could involve film showings, vigils,
> congressional visits etc. and could involve local,
> regional, and/or national events (a committee would
> be created to decide details).
>
> 2) Solidarity: Facilitate trips to Palestine
> including areas on both sides of the Green Line in
> 2008. These trips can include fact-finding
> missions, youth exchange, support for the
> International Solidarity movement and the hundreds
> of organizations and groups that bring delegations
> to Palestine. The goal is to have maximum
> International and diaspora/exile Palestine presence
> in 2008. Facilitate awareness and education about
> individual Palestinian narratives in all forms of
> media. Disseminate Palestinian voices about their
> experiences of the Nakba.
>
> 3) Support for Palestinian steadfastness through
> economic means. This includes helping market
> Palestinian products (e.g. olive wood artifacts,
> olive oil, embroidery) and services (e.g. web
> design, video productions) around the U.S.
>
> 4) Link these activities to previous campaigns and
> projects and frameworks of the US Campaign.
> Examples: a) The Caterpillar Campaign would be
> pushed in the contexts of 60 years of Palestinian
> dispossession and home demolitions, b) The
> Palestinian Civil Society call for BDS was adopted
> by the US Campaign and it does relate to the Nakba
> (i.e. BDS until Israel complies with international
> law and respects the rights of refugees), c) The
> adopted framework that emphasized Apartheid can
> build upon with recognition and education on issues
> like unrecognized villages inside the Green Line,
> unjust laws on land ownership etc.
>
> 5) Use this as an opportunity to link with
> indigenous groups to build solidarity and educate.
>
> 6) Empower Steering Committee to take a leadership
> role in coordinating with other actions/events
> throughout the country. The US Campaign should
> support the concept of organizing a mass
> mobilization in May 2008 in collaboration with
> Palestinian and Arab communities, the international
> community, and the anti-war movement. Such a
> mobilization would be a central event in the year of
> activity and would build upon and give momentum to
> activities throughout the year.
>
> 7) The US Campaign should present its member groups
> with a menu of activities to help guide the days of
> action. For example, calling for and coordinating a
> simultaneous presence outside of all Israeli
> consulates in the United States.
>
> Resources (monetary, staff time, production and
> distribution of materials, etc.) that this proposal
> would require from the US Campaign (please include
> a budget if applicable):
>
> This would require building some limited resources
> by the US Campaign staff, board, and volunteers.
> Much of the text and so on is already available and
> volunteers can be recruited to do it. Printing costs
> of flyers and fact sheets would be similar to costs
> of printing the items done before by the US Campaign
> (e.g. about the refugees or the framework of
> apartheid). But much of these would be recovered
> through donations and mobilization that occur
> around this subject. Some of the four goals listed,
> if/when adopted by our member groups at our annual
> conference, would be carried forward by member
> groups. The US campaign staff would be asked to lead
> on areas consistent with the Campaign focus on U.S.
> policy (e.g. goals 1 and 4 above) but can provide
> some support in the other two areas (goals 2 and 3)
> for example by having groups network with each other
> and publicize ongoing projects as we have done in
> the past.
>
> Work that the proposing group/s are committed to
> doing to advance this proposal:
>
> Elements of this proposal are already in
> consideration and in several cases approved in the
> groups we work with: Wheels of Justice Network,
> Middle East Crisis Committee, Academics For Justice,
> Palestinian American Congress, Al-Awda-CT, and
> others. Some of this work is already being done or
> planned (and have developed some resources for it).
> We are committed to recruiting groups that work on
> this issue or could work on this issue (e.g. dozens
> of refugee advocacy groups, many human rights
> groups, etc).
> ----------------------------------
> VI) U.S. Popular Palestinian National
> ConferencePalestinians in the US: Reclaiming Our
> Voice, Asserting Our NarrativeOrganized by The U.S.
> Palestine Conference Network (USPCN)
>
> Preparatory Meeting
> Washington, DC
> November 9-11, 2007
>
> We call upon Palestinians in the United States to
> join us on November 9-11, 2007, in Washington, DC to
> participate in the third Preparatory Meeting for the
> Popular Palestinian National Conference,
> Palestinians in the US: Reclaiming Our Voice,
> Asserting Our Narrative. The Conference will take
> place in 2008 to coincide with the 60 Year
> Anniversary of Al Nakba.
>
> The U.S. Palestine Conference Network (USPCN) is not
> an organization. It is an open arena and network
> where Palestinian- American organizations,
> associations, village and town-based clubs and
> Palestinian individuals residing in the U.S. can
> come together. The purpose of the Conference is to
> empower us to assume a key role in realizing
> Palestinian national and human rights. We have an
> obligation to become full participants in the
> national struggle by developing a principled,
> inclusive and nonpartisan voice.
>
> We pledge to ensure an inclusive meeting where all
> views are respected. We are aware of the diverse
> outlooks and opinions amongst Palestinians in the
> U.S. and we invite the participation of all
> Palestinian- Americans and Palestinians living in
> the U.S. who are willing to commit to making the
> Popular National Conference a reality. All
> participants must accept and support our three
> points of unity which are adopted from the
> Fundamental Palestinian National Principles:
>
> * Self-determination and equality for the
> Palestinian people
> * The Right of all Palestinian refugees to
> return to their original homes, lands, properties
> and villages (a natural right supported by
> international law and UN Resolution 194)
> * End of Zionist occupation and colonization
> of Palestine
>
> Application Process
>
> Please confirm your interest in attending the
> Washington, DC Preparatory Meeting by filling out
> the application form located on our website at
> http://www.palestineconference.org under the
> “Register for the DC Organizing Meeting” tab or by
> e-mailing the attached application form to
> PalestineConferenceUSA at yahoo.com. Please note that
> preregistration is required and all applications
> must be received no later than November 2, 2007.
>
> You will receive a confirmation letter with your
> registration status within one week of submission.
> The confirmation notice will contain detailed
> logistical information, including meeting location,
> hotel rates, transportation, etc. A registration
> fee of $50 will be collected onsite in order to
> cover meals and material costs. Please do not
> hesitate to contact us at
> PalestineConferenceUSA at yahoo.com if you have any
> questions.
> --------------------------------
> VII) The Wheels of Justice Network is working to
> share innovative ideas for commemorations and
> actions in the year of Nakba. In our last
> conference call, we agreed to publicize these things
> during the October 27, 2007 anti-war events and to
> then work on a number of events starting with local
> events on the International Day of Solidarity with
> the Palestinian People.
>
> Projects that are underway include
> - creating a fund to help activists with limited
> income travel to Palestine on solidarity missions
> (or in the case of Palestinian youth, increasing
> connectedness)
> - support for projects that strengthen steadfastness
> by Palestinians in their lands and of education and
> a dignified living of Palestinians in Refugee Camps
> outside of Palestine.
> - sharing tools and resources for activism
>
> To join the network, please read the following:
>
> The Wheels of Justice Network
> (wojn at lists.riseup.net)
>
> The idea behind this network came about as the bus
> tour (http://www.justicewheels.org) traveled in 48
> states in the US and was hosted by hundreds of
> organizations working for peace and justice.
> Through this activity and other activities by key
> members (talks, conferences, conventions etc.), we
> have collected hundreds of key organizational
> contacts and tens of thousands of individual
> contacts. An important asset we developed is the
> credibility we built for doing actions to reach
> beyond the choir (to middle schools, high schools,
> colleges, churches, mosques, community centers, etc
> and in the media world with hundreds of stories in
> mainstream publications). Bookers, speakers,
> managers, and drivers (all volunteers) made these
> contacts and served by spreading the message. We
> found that a great side benefit is learning from
> host groups’ new skills and new ideas that we did
> not think of before. We transmitted those to our own
> local groups. The reverse was also true (many local
> host groups learned new ideas transmitted verbally
> by those on the bus). But there are limits of this:
> interactions limited to people actually on the bus
> interacting with host groups or individuals
> attending events; the informal and verbal
> communications that is not available to others, etc.
> There was no systematic way for communications
> between groups working for peace and justice. Such
> a communication forum is important in order to:
>
> a) Share lessons learned from mistakes and
> challenges in other places (so that different groups
> do not have to reinvent the wheels so to speak)
>
> b) Share successes and innovative ideas from each
> other. For examples the successes of the Somerville
> Divestment Project, the University of Wisconsin
> Divestment Project, the Olympia-Rafah sister City
> Project, the AFSC Olive Oil sale campaign, the Ibdaa
> cultural tour, the Wheels of Justice, the IMEU media
> project, the Palestine Freedom Project etc.
>
> c) Share resources (expertise, networking ability
> etc). For example, some groups have access to
> excellent and almost free web hosting or web design
> capabilities, some to vast email lists, some to
> graphic designers, some to printing presses, etc.
>
> d) Solicit support from other groups for nation-wide
> or international campaigns (e.g. response to
> articles in a national or international
> publications, response to attacks on academic
> freedom, coordinating global campaigns). The network
> is now planning a series of evens for the 60th
> anniversary of the Nakba to launch at the
> International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian
> People (29 November).
>
> Towards these goals we are setting up a listserve
> that will include representatives from
> organizations. This listserve will be strictly
> limited to the goals listed above (e.g. NO posting
> of news articles, chats or discussions unless action
> oriented along the lines above). To join the list,
> an organization must agree to the following
> conditions:
>
> - Agree to the principles of human rights as
> articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human
> Rights
>
> - Agree to the Palestinian Civil Society Call to
> Action; see:
>
http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=66_0_1_0_M
>
> - Agree that the US army must withdraw from all
> countries in Western Asia and respect the rights of
> self-determination for people in that part of the
> world
>
> - Agree to select/elect two members of the group
> (one and a backup if available) to join the list
> serve and participate by communicating information
> in both directions (from WOJN to his/her group and
> vice versa) to achieve the goals set forth above.
>
> If your group would like to join, please contact
> qumsi001 at hotmail.com with information on the group,
> its agreement to the principles outlined and the
> name and contact information of the liaison
> person/persons.
>
> Wheels of Justice
> Danbury Peace Coalition
> If Americans Knew, Washington DC
> International Solidarity Movement, Italy
> Middle East Children’s Alliance
> Middle East Crisis Committee, New Haven
> Middle East Peace and Justice Alliance, Albuquerque
> Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign,
> Palestine
> Palestine Human Rights Campaign, Auckland, New
> Zealand
> Canada Palestine Association
> Siraj Center, Palestine
> Somerville Divestment Project, Massachusetts
> Boycott Israel Association, Gaza
> Palestinian American Congress
> Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity
> Friends of Sabeel, North America
> Madison Rafah Sister City Project
> Boycott Israel Association, Gaza
> Students for Justice in Palestine, Penn State
>
> ==================
> Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
> http://justicewheels.org
> http://qumsiyeh.org
>
>
>
_________________________________________________________________
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