Mid-day Tuesday the Free Gaza boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, was boarded by the Israeli Navy, and according to Free Gaza’s Tweet, http://twitter.com/freegazaorg, the Israeli military has issued a statement saying they have taken over the boat.
My contact at the U.S. State Department returned my call 40 minutes ago to say that they are in touch with the Israeli government and have been since the boat was surrounded some 6 hours ago. Overall, our State Department seeks to assure the safety of all on board and would like to see the boat get through as it is carrying humanitarian relief and cement to the people of Gaza, specifically aiding non-governmental organizations.
Continue Reading June 30th, 2009
Donna Baranski-Walker
Best way to secure Israel is Justice to Palestine
Israel’s air force launched a major bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip today, killing over two hundred people and injuring many more. Typically, Israel justifies this horrific scale of killing as retaliation against the rocket launching from Gaza. The spate of Israeli bombing continued throughout the day and into the night. I was interrupted several times while trying to finish this note, by the devastating sound of bombing. In the core of the vicious cycle of violence that has engulfed the region for decades and lead to the many wars of the Middle East and beyond, lies the tragedy of the Palestinian uprooting in 1948, the justice denied to their plight and the living under the oppressive Israeli occupation for over forty years. Instead of acknowledging the real issues of justice, mutual security and peace, the region was drowned into mutual hatred, revenge killing and insecurity.
Israeli policies and strategies rested always on the supremacy of its brutal force. Palestinians, in defiance of the Israeli scheme, were drawn into the resistance and some used homemade missiles and suicide missions. Brute force and carnage in Gaza on the scale of today is a dangerous omen. Israel must restrain its military might and face up to the consequences of dragging the region into such a serious and intensified path of violence. Palestinians must stop all forms of violence and unite in the pursuit of peace and justice. We, in the Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace-International, FFIPP-I, call for an immediate halt of the Israeli military attack on Gaza and ending the siege on the deprived strip. The United States of America is the only power that could play a positive role in ending the unending tragedy in the Holy Land. We hope that the new administration of President Obama will make the necessary change; a fresh approach as an honest broker of peace.
Eyad El-Sarraj
Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj is the founder and director of the Gaza Community
Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) and the president of FFIPP-International
December 28th, 2008
admin
“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” — Robert F. Kennedy, in South Africa, June 1966
Now in this desperate moment with Israel bombing Gaza and Hamas vowing retaliation, those who believe in peace and justice, who work through nonviolence, have their greatest challenge ahead. What will we do to stand up for our ideals, what acts will we take to see the bombings stop? Will our small actions be enough to “sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance?”
Innocent people are being killed. The consequences are perilous. Dr. Eyad El Sarraj, President of the Gaza Community Mental Health Centre, “This is incredibly sad. This massacre is not going to bring security for the State of Israel or allow it to be part of the Middle East. Now calls of revenge are everywhere.”
Here are reports filed by our colleagues in the Free Gaza Movement, who remained in Gaza following their arrival by boat from Cypress in a celebrated Gandhi-style journey to break the siege: http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?module=latest_news&id=8e9e8c9caaa5e9 2f6618d2db2f9edf30
December 27th, 2008
Donna Baranski-Walker
Dear Friends,
As 2008 draws to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to you for your support and interest over the last year. We have been able to combine the financial resources you have given us with the commitment and energy of our tiny staff to achieve some remarkable results. Here are just a few of them.
We have rebuilt: In memory of 10-year old Abir Aramin, who was killed by a rubber bullet on the way home from school, the Abir’s Garden project in Anata, East Jerusalem, has provided a safe place for children to play and is the only playground in her neighbourhood. The Ibn Rush’d library within the Al Aqabah kindergarten in the West Bank now offers a vital resource to a community at risk.
Continue Reading December 19th, 2008
admin
This summer, The Rebuilding Alliance (TRA) is excited to have new volunteers join us to advance our mission: rebuilding communities and making them safe! I had the honor of interviewing architect Reem Farhat. She brings her considerable talent and expertise to TRA’s “Rachel Corrie Rebuilding Campaign in Gaza.”
Continue Reading August 5th, 2008
Mona Lisa
Dr. Awwad and I had a conversation about Palestinian independence, U.S. politics, and the Palestinian section of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) she founded in 1988.
Continue Reading June 25th, 2008
Mona Lisa
As the Al Aqabah continues to unfold, you’ll want to get to know Tom Greenwood, filmmaker. He’s there in the village from Great Britain, telling of the ups and downs the village experiences and waits with some 75% of the area under demolition orders. We talked about the urgency that many feel in their daily lives, Israeli policy, and his political view of the Palestinian situation.
Continue Reading June 19th, 2008
Mona Lisa
When the teachers in Al Aqabah heard about the Pinwheels for Peace Project, they immediately took it to heart, buying colored paper, instructing the children to write their vision of peace on one side, drawing images of peace on the other.
Continue Reading June 19th, 2008
Mona Lisa
Your calls worked! We received word late yesterday that the travel permit would most likely be granted in time — and it was. Mayor Haj Sami Sadek and his assistant Ms. Rawhieh El Sabeeh reached Jerusalem for their visa interview. Despite the short notice, at least three senate plus five congressional staffers made calls to the Israeli Embassy and the U.S. State Department. Please thank your senators and representatives, and ask them to schedule time for the week of June 16-20th to meet our delegation on behalf of the village of Al Aqabah.
Continue Reading May 29th, 2008
Mona Lisa
West Bank Palestinians Live in Horror of Losing Their Homes
by Patrick Moser
Agence France-Presse
Continue Reading May 29th, 2008
Mona Lisa
Previous Posts
Rebuilding Alliance
How to Help
Search this blog
Categories
Links
Feeds
TRA Teamblog Policy
The individuals who post here either work for the Rebuilding Alliance, serve on the Board of Directors, or are partners or associates of the Rebuilding Alliance. They are committed to our work and advancing our cause. The opinions expressed here are their own, and are not necessarily reviewed in advance by anyone but the individual author. Sometimes, the author is intrepid and decides to post an opinion without a buddy reviewing it, and at other times, she may seek counsel of a friend. In any case, these opinions does not necessarily reflect the view of the Rebuilding Alliance or any other person, NGO, or company. Although, since these people are insightful, the Rebuilding Alliance might agree with them – or might not.
