NGO Action News – 20 December 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
20 December 2013

EUROPE

• L’Association Belgo-Palestinienne (ABP) is organizing its next Café Palestine on 9 January 2013 at the Monk café in Brussels. ABP also published on 18 December 2013 a letter from Salma Ahmed Elamassie, a professor at the Gaza French Institute.

• The Heinrich Böll Stiftung issued on 16 December 2013 a new publication entitled 20 Years Since Oslo: Palestinian Perspectives featuring articles from Nabil Shaath (Former Acting Prime Minister of the PA), Mouin Rabbani (Martti Ahtisaari Centre), Nora Lester Murad (Founder of the Dalia Association) and many more. The full document is available here.

• Mediapart published on 20 December 2013 a new portfolio entitled La Terre sainte, au temps d’un autre siècle , including photographs extracted from the book Jérusalem et la Palestine by Elias Sanbar.

• Le Mur a des Oreilles presented on 18 December 2013 an exclusive interview with the Israeli historian and activist Ilan Pappé discussing his positions concerning the State of Israel.

• Norwegian People’s Aid announced on 20 December 2013 that the company Staples Norway decided to stop selling SodaStream products. SodaStream’s main production facility is located in an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank.

• Oxfam International published on 19 December 2013 a series of photos on the December 2013 Gaza Strip floods that displaced thousands of families.

• Palestina Solidariteit published on 20 December 2013 a short film for its campaign on child arrests in Palestine and the complicity of the company G4S. Another video including a mix of arrests of Palestinian children by Israeli soldiers is also available here.

• The Palestine Solidarity Campaign is organizing a protest on 18 January 2013 outside the Israeli Embassy in London to mark the 5th anniversary of the end of the Israeli “Operation Cast Lead” on the Gaza Strip.

• War on Want posted on 20 December 2013 on its YouTube channel video extracts of the recent event organized with the School of Law at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) and the Russell Tribunal on Palestine featuring the eminent feminist scholar-activists Angela Davis, Gina Dent (University of California – Santa Cruz) and Rafeef Ziadah (spoken word artist and activist).

NORTH AMERICA

• The American Studies Association’s national council on 15 December 2013 voted for an academic boycott of Israeli institutions.

• Churches for Middle East Peace launched on 18 December 2013 an online petition calling on the Obama Administration to increase US relief and development efforts to Palestinians and to actively explore ways to end Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip.

• The Foundation for Middle East Peace issued on 17 December 2013 its bi-monthly publication (November-December 2013) on Israeli settlements in the OPT.

• J Street is continuing to mobilize for its 2 Campaign to support the Obama Administration’s efforts to reach a two-State solution. A video introducing the campaign can be seen here.

• The Middle East Children’s Alliance is calling on its supporters to respond to the recent heavy rainfall that flooded areas of the Gaza Strip. Click here for more information.

• The Native American and Indigenous Studies Association’s council declared on 15 December 2013 its support for the boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

• The New York Times published on 19 December 2013 a video focusing on Mohammed Assaf, the Palestinian pop sensation and recent winner of the TV programme Arab Idol.

• The Voice of Palestine presented on 19 December 2013 a new interview with Ramah Kudaimi, Membership and Outreach Coordinator for the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, about the US Campaign’s objectives, their BDS work and the Boycott SodaStream campaign.

ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

• The Alternative Information Center (AIC) is organizing its 21st international political camp from 22 to 27 December 2013. Also, the next AICafè, a political and cultural café, will take place on 21 December 2013 at Rock to Bethlehem 2013 music festival in Bethlehem’s Manger Square.

• Al-Shabaka – The Palestinian Policy Network published on 13 December 2013 an interview with Gazan scholar Haidar Eid on the link between struggles against apartheid in South Africa and Palestine, following Nelson Mandela’s passing.

• The YWCA-YMCA Joint Advocacy Initiative and the Alternative Tourism Group will organize their 7th Olive Planting Program from 8 to 17 February 2014. Besides olive planting, the programme features introductory presentations about the current situation in Palestine and the effects of the Wall, tours in the old city of Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, as well as Ramallah, in addition to cultural events and social gatherings.

• The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), on 19 December 2013, released its weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory covering the period from 12 December to 18 December 2013.

EUROPEAN UNION

• The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah expressed their serious concern in a statement issued on 19 December 2013 about the demolitions of 30 Palestinian-owned structures in the Jordan valley on 10 December and the displacement of 41 people, including 24 children, some of whom were uprooted for the second time this month.

UNITED NATIONS

• OCHA oPt published on 19 December 2013 a new photo gallery on the impact of the winter storm in the OPT.

• The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry issued a statement on 18 December 2013 on the passing of Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj, “an exceptional and dedicated personality, working tirelessly to improve the lives especially of his fellow Gazans, and someone who persistently stood on the side of human rights, peace, and justice”. On 16 December 2013 Mr. Serry briefed the Security Council about the situation in the Middle East, putting a particular emphasis on the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.