NGO Action News – 18 November 2013

This newsletter informs about recent and upcoming activities of Civil Society Organizations affiliated with the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. The Committee and the Division for Palestinian Rights of the UN Secretariat provide the information “as is” without warranty of any kind, and do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, or reliability of the information contained in the websites linked in the newsletter.

NGO Action News
18 November 2013

ASIA-PACIFIC

• The Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalize War will organize a War Crimes Tribunal on Palestine, Sabra & Shatila in Kuala Lumpur from 20 to 25 November 2013.

EUROPE

• Action for Palestinian Children, in partnership with Defence for Children International-Palestine,is touring the UK until 20 November 2013 with a presentation entitled Palestinian Child Prisoners: How the Israeli military criminalises a generation?

• L’Association belgo-palestinienne (ABP) Section de Liege will be holding a conference to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on 30 November 2013 at the Centre Culturel Jacques Frank in Brussels. Two presentations will be made: Colonies, Colons, Colonisés, featuring speakers Jawad Siyam (Wadi Hilweh Information Centre), Nada Kiswanson (Al Haq) and Eness Elias (Who Profits); and Syrie, Liban, Tunisie Egypte…Et la Palestine Dans Tout ca?, featuring speakers Roger Heacock (Birzeit University, University of Denver) and Jean-Francois Legrain (National Center for Scientific Research). Simultaneous translation in French and English will be provided.

• Le Comité pour une Paix Juste au Proche-Orient is organizing several different artistic events and conferences throughout the month of November 2013, and held a special conference-debate Should we Boycott Israel? with Michael Deas (European Coordinator for the National Committee for the Palestinian BDS Campaign against Israeli Policies) on 8 November 2013 in Luxembourg.

• The Palestine Solidarity Campaign is planning a National Lobby of Parliament for Palestine on 27 November 2013 to be followed by an evening rally.

• War on Want, School of Law at SOAS and the Russell Tribunal on Palestine are hosting on 13 December 2013 at SOAS University eminent feminist scholar-activists Angela Davies and Gina Dent for a discussion on Justice for Palestine and the Stop G4S campaign.

NORTH AMERICA

• Adalah-NY will hold its 7th annual Anti-Apartheid Holdiay Carolling Choir on 14 December 2013 in front of Lev Leviev’s jewellery store in NYC. This event is to protest against Mr. Leviev’s companies’ involvement with on-going Israeli settlement construction and expansion in Palestine.

• The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) released on 11 November 2013 a video of its 10th Anniversary Gala held on 29 October 2013.

• Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign, Canada Palestine Association, Gaza’s Ark and Independent Jewish Voices are organizing a lecture under the title Gaza in Crisis: Eyewitness Reports to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on 29 November 2013 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Speakers will include activist Kevin Neish and journalist Eva Bartlett.

• Churches for Middle East Peace is running an ongoing campaign to support the current peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Find out more here.

• The JCC in Manhattan is presenting the 7th Annual Other Israel Film Festival taking place in New York City from 14 to 21 November 2013.

• Jews Say No! and Jewish Voice for Peace organized on 17 November 2013 a protest entitled The Israeli Settler movement is Not Welcome in New York City! in response to the Israel Advocacy Conference.

• Middle East Children’s Alliance is organizing its 11th Annual Holiday Crafts Bazaar in Berkeley on 7 and 8 December 2013, featuring handmade products by a Bedouin women’s cooperative in the West Bank, pottery from Hebron, and ceramic Handala magnets.

• Sacramento BDS is calling on its supporters to sign a petition asking stores in the US not to buy or sell SodaStream products, which are made in an Israeli settlement.

• The Students for Justice in Palestine at Brooklyn College hosted British author Ben White, who presented Israel: Apartheid Not Democracy on 14 November 2013.

• The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is calling on supporters to help in their 2013 Boycott SodaStream Days of Action. Demonstrations against SodaStream are being planned to focus on Target retail stores and will be held on 29 November, 2 December, and 10 December 2013.

• The Voice of Palestine presented on 11 November 2013 an interview with Alan Hart, British author and Journalist, on the 9th anniversary of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

• We Divest issued on 14 November 2013 a press release to congratulate pension fund giant TIAA-CREF for removing Veolia Environment SA stock from its Social Choice Funds portfolio.

ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

• The Alternative Information Center (AIC) will organize its 21st international political camp from 22 to 27 December 2013. AIC also issued on 14 November 2013 a new opinion piece entitled What is Normalization?

• Al Shabaka – The Palestinian Policy Network shared on 12 November 2013 a new commentary from his contributor Sam Bahour under the title Transforming Our Vision of Palestine Into Reality.

• Breaking The Silence is currently on a month-long US book tour (West Coast) ending 25 November 2013 in Tacoma, WA, to present Our Harsh Logic: Israeli Soldiers’ Testimonies from the Occupied Territories, 2000 – 2010. Yehuda Shaul, Co-founder and Co-director of Breaking The Silence, will take part in the tour.

• Mossawa Center, the Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel held a study day on Palestinian culture in Israel entitled “Our Culture in the World of Cultural Pluralities” on 15 November 2013 in Nazareth. This event was attended by experts in performance and visual arts, literature and culture.

• The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), on 13 November 2013, released its weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory covering the period from 7 November to 13 November 2013. The PCHR also issued a press release on 8 November 2013 expressing concern over the excessive force displayed in recent killings of two Palestinian civilians by Israeli military forces.

• The Palestinian Peace Coalition will hold a Conference on Negotiations: Prospects and Challenges on 5 December 2013 at the Grand Park Hotel in Ramallah.

• The Prawer Won’t Pass Campaign issued a global call to action on 30 November 2013 to oppose the Prawer-Begin Plan which aims at the displacement of 40,000 Bedouins living in the Negev.

GLOBAL

• Amnesty International issued on 14 November 2013 a new piece entitled A year on from deadly Israel/Gaza conflict, the nightmare continues marking the first anniversary of Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense on the Gaza Strip.

• The Russell Tribunal on Palestine issued a new video on 14 November 2013 summarizing the five Tribunal sessions, from 2009 till 2013.

UNITED NATIONS

• The Bureau of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People issued a statement after its meeting on 7 November 2013 condemning the continuing expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and urging the Security Council to take decisive action against the continuing disrespect by Israel for its resolutions and their obstruction of the peace process.

• The Fourth Committee met on 11 November 2013 to conclude its debate on the Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories . The report places particular focus on Israeli practices relating to the situation of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons and detention facilities, and the detention of Palestinian children.

• The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (29 November) will be observed on 25 November 2013 in New York. The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People encourages all civil society organizations (CSOs) to demonstrate their solidarity with the Palestinian people on this occasion. CSOs are also invited to submit written statements on the Day to be published in the Special Bulletin. For more information please contact: dpr-meeting@un.org.

• OCHA oPt released its Weekly Report on the Protection of Civilians on 8 November 2013. Humanitarian Coordinator James Rawley also expressed his concern on 1 November 2013 at the shut-down of the Gaza Power Plant (GPP) due to a critical fuel shortage.

• The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, issued a statement on 12 November 2013 expressing growing concern vis-à-vis the series of recent Israeli settlement announcements.

• UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi issued a statement to the UNGA Fourth Committee on 7 November 2013, outlining his fears that funding shortfalls in UNRWA humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip will have significant negative impacts in the coming year.