NGO Action News – 22 May 2014

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
22 May 2014

EUROPE

• L’Association Belgo-Palestinienne (ABP) together with any other organizations, NGOs, unions and UNRWA, are organizing a major solidarity event entitled Yalla Palestina to highlight the important challenges and issues of Palestine on 25 May 2014 in Brussels. The event is a contribution to the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Additional information can be found here.

• The Guardian published on 2 May 2014 an interactive map of the Arab villages lost since Israel’s war of independence in 1948.

• The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) is organizing a youth journey for justice on 2-10 August 2014.

• Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is organizing the event Cycle for MAP to raise money to support Palestinians, on 7 September 2014. MAP also posted new Notes from the Fieldon 9 May 2014 under the title The human cost of de-development in Gaza.

• Le Mur a des Oreilles – Conversations for Palestine posted on 29 April 2014 an interview with Josh Ruebner, National Advocacy Director of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, about the peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

• Nederlands Palestina Komitee organized on 3 May 2014 the event Is Israel an Apartheid State? with Adri Nieuwhof (Electronic Intifada), Ben White (author and activist) andHanine Hassan (Columbia University).

• Palestina Solidariteit (Belgium) is proposing an international summer camp to explore different parts of Palestine on 1-10 August 2014.

ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

• B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories issued on 20 May 2014 a press release refuting the IDF’s claim that no live ammunition was used during the Ofer prison incident which led to the killing of two Palestinian teenagers on 15 May.

• Defence for Children International Palestine (DCI-P) posted on 17 May 2014 a video footage documenting the shooting of two Palestinian youths during the 15 May Nakba Day protest. The video indicates the victims were far away from the clashes and not in a direct confrontation with soldiers, DCI-P said. DCI-P also released on 15 May 2014 a reportexamining the increasing use of solitary confinement against Palestinian child detainees for interrogation purposes.

• The Israeli Committee Against House Demolition (ICAHD) published its latest newsletter on 17 April 2014. ICAHD’s rebuilding camp will take place 3-18 August 2014 near Jerusalem.

• The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) released its latest Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory covering the period 8 to 14 May 2014.

• Peace Now published on 29 April 2014 the fact sheet entitled 9 Months of Talks, 9 Months of Settlement Development.

• Tent of Nations – People Building Bridges announced on 19 May 2014 that Israeli forces destroyed an estimated 1,500 fruit trees belonging to the organization’s farm in the Bethlehem region. Photographs of the incident are available on the organization’s Facebook page.

• Zochrot published on 9 May 2014 iNakba, a trilingual mobile app (Arabic, English and Hebrew) based on GPS technology which allows users to locate and learn about Palestinian localities destroyed during, and after 1948.

MIDDLE EAST

• Visualizing Palestine issued a new infographic on 15 May 2014 entitled Identity Crisis: The Israeli ID System.

NORTH AMERICA

• Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation attempted to deliver apetition addressed to Cory Shields, Executive VP Communications of NBC Universal, at NBC’s office in New York on 6 May 2014. NBC refused to accept the petition which was signed by 5,000 people calling on the network to end its involvement in the action series DIG, which will be set and shot in Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem.

• The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is preparing for its 34th National Convention. The Convention will be held on 12-15 June 2014 in Arlington, Virginia.Jeff Halper (ICADH co-founder), Johnathan Kuttab (Al-Haq co-founcer) and Delinda C. Hanley (Washington Report on Middle East Affairs) will speak at the event.

• American Muslims for Palestine, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Jewish Voice for Peace, National Lawyers Guild – Palestine Subcommittee and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation organized a briefing on 21 May 2014 on Capitol Hill about Israel’s discrimination against US citizens of Palestinian descent.

• Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) organized on 20 May 2014 a briefing with Daoud Nassar to talk about the Tent of Nations Project which became a center for peace and local education. Post-event links are available here. Also, CMEP’s Board of Director’s Study Tour to Palestine and Israel will take place 8 November – 15 November 2014. Custom-created by CMEP this dual narrative travel experience offers a unique vantage point on peace building efforts in Israel and Palestine. Brochure is available here as well as theregistration form.

• Foundation for Middle East Peace published on 14 April 2014 its March/April 2014 Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories. It is available online or downloadable in PDF format.

• J Street is convening its National Summit in San Francisco on 7-8 June 2014. Registration will close on 3 June. The opening night (free event) will begin with a behind-the-scenes look at Mideast diplomacy with Salam Fayyad (former Palestinian Prime Minister), Gabriela Shalev (Former Israeli Ambassador to the UN) and Daniel Kurtzer (Former US Ambassador to Israel and Egypt).

• Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice announced on its website that Rachel’s family appeal will be heard before the Israeli Supreme Court on 21 May 2014 in Jerusalem to challenge the Haifa District Court’s August 2012 ruling concluding that the death of the activist crushed by an IDF bulldozer was accidental.

• Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) is convening an event in Walnut Creek, California with the author Miko Peled on 29 May 2014. Click here for more information.

• The Voice of Palestine posted on 23 April 2014 an interview with Alison Weir, journalist and founder of the group If Americans Knew and president of The Council for the National Interest.

• The Washington Institute organized an event on 8 May 2014 during which Martin Indyk, US Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations briefed on the latest round of talks.

GLOBAL

• Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Al-Haq, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH),Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) issued a statement on 21 May 2014 urging Israel to end the impunity for the killing of Rachel Corrie who was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in 2003.

• Amnesty International released a statement on 15 May 2014 declaring that Israeli forces displayed recklessness in killing two youths protesting outside the Ofer military camp in the West Bank on 15 May.

UNITED NATIONS

• The UN Palestinian Rights Committee held the International Meeting on the Question of Jerusalem Strengthening international support for a just and lasting solution of the question of Jerusalem in Ankara on 12-13 May 2014, in cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Government of Turkey. A Public Forum on the Question of Jerusalem took place on 14 May 2014 at TOBB University of Economics and Technology in Ankara. Mohammad Shtayyeh (Senior Advisor to President Abbas) and Fady Khoury(Adalah-The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel) took part in the forum during which the Oscar-nominated movie Omar by Hany Abu-Assad was screened.

• The International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People has a Twitter account and an official hashtag #2014forPalestine. Share the word and let us know about your International Year plans at 2014forPalestine@un.org!

• OCHA OPT issued its protection of civilians weekly report covering the period 6-12 May 2014.

• The Working Group of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People hosted the screening of the documentary film Flying Paper on Gaza children on 21 May 2014. Nitin Sawhney, film co-director, and Robert Turner, Director of UNRWA Gaza Operations spoke at the event held at UN Headquarters. The video of the event is available here.