On Saturday March 6th please join us in our protest to stop the Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem.

At 7:00 PM we will be holding a mass rally in Sheikh Jarrah against:

· The forced eviction of the Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah

· The Jewish settlement of East Jerusalem

· The undemocratic attack on political protest

50 Palestinians have already been evicted from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. Another 500 are threatened. If the settlers and their government allies succeed, all Palestinians in East Jerusalem are threatened. If we stop them in Sheikh Jarrah, we can stop them elsewhere.

We call on all groups who support the struggle for Palestinian rights and for a just and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinian, to hold solidarity protest vigils on March 6 near Israeli consulates and embassies abroad.

The Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood Committee

Just Jerusalem – the Israeli Coalition for a just solution in Jerusalem

For Transportation to the demonstration:

http://www.justjlm.org/?page_id=87

For more information on the struggle see our blog:

http://www.en.justjlm.org/

What’s the Deal in Sheikh Jarrah

To make contact please write to:
justjerusalem@gmail.com

לא נעצרים!

עוצרים את ההתנחלות במזרח ירושלים!

עצרת נגד גירוש משפחות פלסטיניות משייח ג’ראח

נגד “ייהוד” מזרח ירושלים ונגד דיכוי פוליטי

מוצ”ש, 6.3.10, בשעה 19:00, שכונת שייח ג’ראח בירושלים

לפרטים ומידע על הסעות מרחבי הארץ:

http://www.justjlm.org/?page_id=87

justjerusalem@gmail.com

www.justjlm.org

facebook

דוברים ומופיעים: עמיר לב, עינת ויצמן, מתופפי היסמבה, ד”ר דפנה גולן, סמיח ג’עברין נציגי השכונה ונציגי הפעילים

لن نتوقف!
لنوقف الأستيطان في القدس الشرقيّة!

تظاهرة ضد اقتلاع العائلات الفلسطينية من الشيخ جراح
لا لتهويد القدس الشرقيّة ولا للقمع السياسي

يوم السبت، 6.3.10، الساعة 19:00، حي الشيخ جراح

للاستفسار وتفاصيل السفر من انحاء البلاد:

http://www.justjlm.org/?page_id=87

justjerusalem@gmail.com
www.justjlm.org

facebook

Ezra Nawi

Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 3, at 13.30, the Jerusalem District Court will hear Ezra Nawi’s appeal.

We will stand there, outside and inside the court, to show our support to Ezra and protest against the continual attempt by the Israeli authorities to silence legitimate protest by spurious accusations.

In March 2009, the judge Eilata Ziskind of the Jerusalem Magistrate’s (Peace) Court found Ezra Nawi guilty of assaulting a police officer and participation in a riot during a house demolition of a tin shack in the West Bank Palestinian village of Um el-Hir in the south Hebron hills, back in 2007. Nawi protested against the demolition by lying in front of a bulldozer, and later running into the shack before its demolition. Although throughout the whole incident Ezra kept to his principle of non-violent protest, in the end, he found himself arrested and charged with the aforementioned accusations that eventually led to his conviction based on the sole testimonies of two police officers who claimed that Nawi attacked them inside the shack. In addition, the judge Ziskind ruled that Ezra’s behaviour exceeded the limits of legitimate protest and therefore convicted him of rioting.

The District Court will hear Ezra’s appeal and will decide whether or not Ezra indeed participate in a riot, and peruse the reasons that led Ziskind to believe the police testimonies and not Ezra’s.

The Committee Supporting Ezra added, “Ezra’s trial is a stark example of the Police’s and the DA’s depraved use of severe charges such as assaulting a police officer and participating in a riot in order to silence and punish activists who take part in demonstrations inside the boundaries of legitimate protest. We hope that the district court tomorrow will perceive and rectify the series of shortcomings that are alarmingly apparent in Ezra’s conviction. Ziskind’s interpretation of the right to protest might serve as a dangerous precedent that will cripple and paralyze this vital right in a democratic society.”

The hearing will take place tomorrow, March 3, in the Jerusalem District Court, Salah Ed-din Street, at 13.30.

For more information please see: http://www.supportezra.net

Please come to show your support at 13.00.

Protest

Instead of the march, we will gather in Sheikh Jarrah at 15:00 to hold a legal protest watch without a permit

Maya 0547423044 or Sahar 0545683419

נתכנס בשייח ג’ארח בשעה 15:00 ונקיים משמרת מחאה חוקית ללא רישיון

להרשמה להסעות מתל אביב שיצאו ממסוף אל על ב- 13:30- ליהי 0504880969 לפרטים נוספים- justjerusalem@gmail.com מאיה 0547423044

או סהר0545683419

What’s the Deal?

Q: What’s the deal? Why are you people protesting in Sheikh Jarrah?

A: On the most basic level it is a protest against the eviction of 28 families comprising over 500 human beings, Palestinian refugees who fled to East Jerusalem during the 1948 war and were resettled in the so-called “Shimon Hatzadiq” compound in the Sheik Jarrah neighbourhood of Jerusalem by UNRWA (the UN agency for the Palestinian refugees) and the Jordanian government in 1956. Four of these families, over 50 people have already been thrown out into the streets, and their houses have been occupied by Jewish settlers.

Q: That sounds pretty serious. But surely there’s more to it than that?

A: Roger that one! The unjust and immoral displacement of human beings, who were already refugees, would be enough of a reason to carry out this struggle. However, the actions that Israeli settlers, with the cooperation of the police, the courts, the Jerusalem municipality and the Israeli government are part of something a much bigger plan.

It’s all about what they call “establishing Jewish continuity” around the Old City of Jerusalem. The occupation of Sheik Jarrah is part of a series of Jewish settlements in the Palestinian neighbourhoods that encircle the Old City; this includes Sheik Jarrah to the north, the Mount of Olives to the east and Silwan (the so-called “City of David”) to the south. The intention is to move Israelis into the area and to move the Palestinians out. It’s not about Jews and Arabs living together, and it’s not a really great way to make peace. 

Q: But I heard that the settlers were legally entitled to the buildings. Even the Israeli Supreme Court vetted that. If that’s true it’s just a case of property rights, right?

A: Well that’s one way of looking at it. The settlers claim that they bought the property from a Jewish fund that bought the property back in the 19^th century. In the case of the families already evicted, the Israeli courts agree. Regarding the other houses the courts haven’t yet decided whether the documents that the settlers submitted are authentic.  But that’s only one way of looking at it.

The fact is that Sheikh Jarrah is part of occupied Palestinian East Jerusalem. There isn’t a single country in the world, aside from Israel (alright, and maybe Micronesia), that accepts Israeli sovereignty there. This calls into question whether an Israeli court decision is legitimate.

But that’s not all. In order to make it work the Israelis stacked the legal deck. You might remember that the families here are 1948 refugees. That means that before the 1948 war they lived in what is now Israel. According to Israeli law they forfeited their former houses (in West Jerusalem, for instance) because they weren’t living there on September 1, 1948 according to the Israeli “Absentees’ Properties Law”. However,  the Jews that owned the property in Sheikh Jarrah were absent as well on September 1, 1948. East Jerusalem was under Jordanian control then.

Q: So under the “Absentees’ Properties Law” the Jews with claims on property in Sheikh Jarrah also forfeited their property in 1948, right?

A: Wrong!  It is true that Israeli-owned properties were placed under Jordanian custody following the 1949 armistice. However, following the conquest and annexation of East Jerusalem by Israel in 1967, Israelis were allowed to reclaim these properties, or alternatively were given generous compensation by the Israeli government in case their properties were expropriated for public purposes. On the other hand, properties in Israel according to the 1949 armistice (inside the “Green Line”) by Palestinian refugees remained under the auspices of the Absentees’ Properties Law. Thus, the Israeli law applies a double standard, one which gives rights to Israeli Jews and denies them the Palestinians.

Q: This all sound pretty serious. So who are you people and what are you doing?

A: We’re a group of mostly young activists, mainly from Jerusalem who began to come to Sheikh Jarrah a few months ago to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian families. When we saw that settlers use their Friday afternoon prayers to heckle and attack the residents, we began showing up ourselves. Soon, we began staging weekly demonstration in cooperation with the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood committee. Despite the fact that the police tried to silence the protests by declaring them illegal and arresting over a hundred demonstrators,   Hundreds of activists now take part in these demos which have rapidly grown into one of the main focal-points of the Israeli dissent movement.

Q: What can I do?

A: If you’re in Israel, come join us. We hold tours of the neighborhood, and demonstrate each Friday. We also need volunteers to maintain a constant presence with the Palestinian residents, in order to discourage attacks by settlers and the police.

Q: Well actually, I’m not in Israel. So what can I do to help abroad?

A: Well here are a couple of ideas:

Sheikh Jarrah is full of foreign consulates. The American and British Consulates are in walking distance of the compound. So send e-mail/faxes etc. to your political representatives to encourage them to send protests to Israel about what’s going on. Oh yeah, and try to get those people from the consulates to be more active about what’s going on in their very backyard.

Second, if you’re in a city that has an Israeli consulate or embassy, help organize a demo in front of the mission to raise the issue. Even better, do it on Friday, at the same time that we demonstrate in Sheikh Jarrah.

In order to make the protest more personal, we urge you, or better yet, the group that you’re part of to adopt one of the families. Send them letters of support for their struggle. Publicize their situation with your local press and political representatives. Get the message out that these are real people who are being screwed over.

Finally, we are all volunteers and the legal work and resources for this struggle cost money. Please donate.

(Thanks)

Looking for a few odds and ends for refugee families from Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia living in Jerusalem

+ An opportunity to get rid of some of your “stuff”…

Please!! stick to the lists (that’s all), and contact the right person for the right odd or end, Thanks.

• A refrigerator- for an Eritrean guy, living alone.-Nir050-8784284  nir.yanovsky@gmail.com.

• For a Sudanese Family-3 children: a bed for a baby, clothes and whites for boys 4+6, small kitchen table, chairs. Abdul (the father)-052-6438771, Ruthy- 054-4234607
• For an Ethiopian couple/ Eritrean with 3 girls+pregnant mother: Beds, kitchen table, sofa,baby stuff (diapers Materna)Clothes and shoes for girls ages 2+4+6 and large womens clothing
• If you have a vehicle for moving Benayim (father)054-3940632, If not: 052-8728216  ssarra@gmail.com

Thank you!!

A project of Ir Amim, a non-governmental organization that seeks to render Jerusalem a more viable and equitable city, while generating and promoting an agreed political future.

Seven documentary films by seven young directors reflecting the complexity of life in Jerusalem in the context of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These directors—Israelis and Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem—courageously confront
delicate and charged issues and present personal and political points of view about the realities in the city, from East and West.

Artistic Director: Yael Perlov
Producers: Yael Perlov & Yariv Mozer – Mozer Films Ltd.
After the screening there will be the conversation with the directors Daniel Gal and Avi Goldstein and Maya de Vries, Ir Amim Public Outreach Coordinator.

Organization Name: Madaa Silwan Community Center
(the official name as an NGO in Israel is
“The Association for the Dialogue and Education for the Prevention of Violence in the Society”)

Main Office Location: Wadi Hilwah, Silwan

Mission & Context:
Madaa Silwan Community Center’s mission is to build a strong, knowledgeable and involved Arab community in Silwan, and to provide educational and recreational activities and courses mainly for children and teenagers.

Neighborhoods working in: Silwan

Director: Jawad Siyam

Contact (email): info@madaasilwan.org

website: www.madaasilwan.org

Projects already up-and-running:
-Courses: Music, Art, Theater, Dance (Dabke), Languages
-Activities: Summer Camps, Daily Trips, Non-violence training program
-Other: Library, Ou’rouba (coalition of women of Silwan)

(Planned) Future Projects:
-Bilhana Silwan (cooking project with realization of a book collecting the recipes)
-Courses in creative writing and in journalism

Wishlist:
- To keep growing: many more children, many more classes, more space.
- To increase the size of the library (if possible building another floor on top of the center)
- To realize a playground which is completely missing in Silwan.
- To spread the culture of non-violence in the village.
- To serve as an example for the village.
- To see the overall quality of the village improving.

Organization Name: Emek Shaveh
(an israeli NGO)

Main Office Location: No physical office

Mission & Context:

We believe that archaeological findings should not function as a means to prove ownership by one people or one religion over a given tract of land. The archaeological finding is an integral part of local culture. Archaeology teaches us about the cultures of the past and belongs to all peoples and faiths. The development of an archaeological site located within a built-up area cannot be justified if it ignores the local community. On the contrary, because they represent the most recent layer in a long history of cultures and societies, the current residents are a crucial part of the place, its story and its archaeology.

Our goal is to undermine the perspective which sees the past as a possession of a particular religion or nation and a justification for hostile and immoral actions aimed against minorities.  On the contrary, we see archeological activity as a means to initiating positive processes.  Archeology within a community, working together with the residents in a variety of ways – joint excavation, preservation and development of the site, tours which include visiting the community as well as the site – can enlarge the environmental vision of the residents, increase social commitment and a initiate a local process of social change.

Neighborhoods working in: East Jerusalem, especially City of David/Silwan

Founder and Executive Director: Yonathan Mizrachi

Contact (email): eshaveh@gmail.com

website: www.alt-arch.org

Projects already up-and-running:
-Alternative Archeological Tour in City of David/Silwan

(Planned) Future Projects:
-Publishing a booklet about archaeology, community and politics:
Ancient Jerusalem (City of David) as a case study.

Wishlist:

To increase (local and international) public awareness concerning the role of archaeology in the Israeli-Palestinan conflict.

Workshops and lectures:

In order to increase the understanding of the shared past of two peoples in this land we aim to establish a comprehensive workshop which will include a film about the situation in the “City of David” site, a lecture and a following discussion led by Emek Shaveh and Madaa activists in different locations in Israel. This way we aim to reach out to a large number of different groups in Israeli-Palestinian society, who otherwise might not be able or unwilling to take part in the tours in Silwan. The workshop can also be held as a complement to the tours for groups who are interested in deepening their knowledge and understanding.

Seven documentary films by seven young directors reflecting the complexity of life in Jerusalem in the context of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These directors—Israelis and Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem—courageously confront
delicate and charged issues and present personal and political points of view about the realities in the city, from East and West.

Artistic Director: Yael Perlov
Producers: Yael Perlov & Yariv Mozer – Mozer Films Ltd.
After the screening there will be the conversation with the directors Daniel Gal and Avi Goldstein and Maya de Vries, Ir Amim Public Outreach Coordinator.

Bring your Friends.

אחרי ההפגנה בשישי

יום שישי ה-5.2 החל מ-22:30

פאב הקצה > שושן 4 > ירושלים

Dj:

LMקרב (ג’נדר בלנדר)

בלקדן (בלקן ביט)

המנדט (אינדי, ניו רייב)

האמסטר (דאב אל וואד)

ואן דר ווה (דאב אל וואד)

(uk) Steaz

לייב סאונד:

Dj Guvibusch & MC Casper (Political Freestyle HipHop)

שקדי (No Coast)

יסמבה + קסמבה – rythyms of resistance

ויז’ואל:

(No Coast) PlanktOn

דני ז’ורז’בסקי – מכונת מילים

حفلة تبرعات للشيخ جراح

بعد مظاهرة الجمعة

يوم الجمعة 5/2 ابتداء من الساعة  22:30

في باب هكاتسة  شارع شوشان 4  القدس

DJ’s-

LM Krav

Balkadan

Hamandat

Bit8

Hamster

Van Der Vova

Steaz

صوت مباشر-

We From Here

Guvibosch

Shakedi

: Yasamba + Kasambaايقاعات الصراع مرئي

مرئي

PlanktON

Dani Zarzevsky

Fundraising Party for the struggle in Sheikh Jarrah

After the demonstration on Friday

Friday the 5.2 after 22:30

Hakatze Pub > 4 Shushan st.>Jerusalem

DJ’s-

LM Krav (Gender- Blender)

Balkadan (Balkan Rave)

Hamandat

8 Bit (Dab El Wad)

Hamster (Dab El Wad)

Van Der Vova (Dab El Wad)

Steaz (UK(

LIVE SOUND -

We From Here (East Jerusalem(

Guvibosch (Dab El Wad(

Shakedi (No Coast)

Yasamba + Kasamba: Rhythms of resistance

VISUAL -

PlanktON (No Coast)

Dani Zarzevsky- Words Machine