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SUMMER NEWSLETTER                                                                                 JUNE – AUGUST 2009

The community of grassroots organizations and NGOs in and around Jerusalem is working tirelessly to better the reality around them, focusing on social justice, environmental issues, education, arts, public awareness, and more. This summer, organizations have endeavored to address local needs through diverse means: organizing community action against home evictions and demolitions in East Jerusalem; gathering provocative testimonies from soldiers regarding the recent conflict in Gaza; planning summer camps to educate, engage and empower Palestinian youth; and undertaking innovative projects to tackle environmental issues.

-HOME DEMOLITIONS & HOUSING EVICTIONS-

The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)

ICAHD is a non-violent, direct-action group established to oppose and resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian houses in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt). Their activities also address other human rights issues including land expropriation, settlement expansion, by-pass road construction, policies of “closure” and “separation,” the uprooting of fruit and olive trees and more.

In response to the systematic demolition of Palestinian homes, resulting from court orders or for “security” purposes, ICAHD’s campaign includes the rebuilding of homes. Their annual summer building camp positions local Palestinian construction workers and community members, alongside Israelis and international volunteers to rebuild an entire house in two weeks. ICAHD’s 2009 camp took place from August 2-15 with more than 60 volunteers working on two homes in the village of Anata, East Jerusalem. In addition to the tasks at the camp, volunteers also have the opportunity to learn from scholars, activists and other guest speakers about human rights issues in the oPt.

Website: http://www.icahd.org/eng/

Collective Action Against Housing Evictions in Sheikh Jarrah

The Hannoun and Ghawi families had been living in their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, since 1956 as per an agreement between the Jordanian Government and the UNRWA. However, after more than a decade of court battles, each family received an eviction order, requiring them to vacate their homes by July 19. Numerous Israeli, Palestinian and international organizations quickly took action, arranging for volunteers to stay with the families in their homes aiming to prevent the eviction. Grassroots organizations like Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR), the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and many others worked tirelessly to publicize the case, involve diplomats and leaders to speak and work for the family’s sake, and organize demonstrations and court presence. Both families were eventually evicted on August 2, and they remain (as of September 2) sleeping on the sidewalk outside their homes. Activists continue to fight, holding weekly demonstrations and candlelight vigils in solidarity with the families.

For more detailed information on other evictions and settlement plans in Sheikh Jarrah, see Ir Amim’s comprehensive report available on their website, http://www.ir-amim.org.il/eng/.

A few of the organizations currently coordinating activities in Sheikh Jarrah:

Coalition for Jerusalem

Website: http://coalitionforjerusalem.blogspot.com/

International Solidarity Movement

Website: http://palsolidarity.org/

Rabbis for Human Rights

Website: http://www.rhr.org.il/index.php?language=en

Stand Up For Jerusalem

Website: http://www.standupforjerusalem.org/

Ta’ayush

Website: http://www.taayush.org/

-RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS-

Breaking the Silence

Breaking the Silence (BTS) is an organization comprised of veteran Israeli soldiers who served in the oPt during and after the Second Intifada. Soldiers who serve in the oPt are witness to, and participate in, military actions that change them immensely. Cases of abuse towards Palestinians, looting, and destruction of property have been the norm for years, but are excused as military necessities, or explained as extreme. The testimonies gathered by BTS portray a different picture, one of questionable orders regarding Palestinian civilians and pervasive corruption. BTS voices the experiences of soldiers in order to force Israeli society to address the reality, which it created.

On July 15, BTS released a booklet containing 54 testimonies from combat soldiers who participated in Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. The report revealed gaps between those given by the army, including the needless destruction of property and using phosphorous in populated areas. The IDF dismissed the report as baseless and the government has since undertaken activity to discredit the organization. Israel’s Prime Minister and other government ministers have sought to repress BTS, pressuring foreign governments to end their funding of BTS. Despite this, their work continues, which in addition to collecting testimonies also includes tours of Hebron and the south Hebron hills.

Website: http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/index_e.asp

Combatants for Peace

The Combatants for Peace movement was started jointly by Palestinians and Israelis who took an active role in the cycle of violence; Israelis as soldiers in the IDF and Palestinians as part of the violent struggle for freedom. After brandishing weapons for so many years, seeing one another only through weapon sights, they have put down their guns, and now fight for peace.

One of the organization’s main goals is to raise consciousness in Israeli and Palestinian society regarding the hopes and suffering of the other side, creating partners in dialogue. Working towards this goal, Combatants engages in a number of bi-national activities like meetings, educational lectures, tours, and non-violent demonstrations.

One such tour was arranged on July 24, in the Palestinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem. More than 50 individuals participated in the tour, aimed at exposing Israelis and internationals to the reality in the eastern part of the city. This weekly event highlights various aspects of Israeli policy in Palestinian neighborhoods and focuses on different forms of institutionalized discrimination, the separation wall, home demolitions, deprivation of residency rights, and the expansion of Jewish settlements. Through the tour, participants explore the consequences of this policy on the lives of the Palestinians inhabitants of East Jerusalem and on the prospects of reaching peace in the region.

Website: http://www.combatantsforpeace.org/default.asp?lng=eng

-CHILDREN & YOUTH-

Madaa – Silwan Community Center

Madaa (“horizon” in Arabic) is a NGO organization founded to create a strong, knowledgeable and involved Arab community in Silwan, East Jerusalem. It’s activities are driven by five central objectives: to promote non-violence by developing a research and learning center and providing training to youth; to empower the community and build community networks by through recreational, educational and social activities; to promote dialogue and the exchange of ideas by organizing events which inform and educate; to build leadership skills by providing leadership courses to youth; and, to encourage young people to connect to and be proud of their heritage, while respecting the heritage of others.

Madaa’s staff members undertake a number of activities, including the Summer Games. This annual camp engages children in the community through music, art and photography workshops; violin, piano and percussion lessons; volleyball, football and other sports activities; movement, dance, circus and juggling workshops; and, English and Hebrew classes. This year over 150 children participated in the 5^th annual Summer Games.

Website: http://www.madaasilwan.org/

The Alternative Information Center (AIC)

The AIC is an internationally oriented, progressive, joint Palestinian-Israeli activist organization. It is engaged in the dissemination of information, political advocacy, grassroots activism and critical analysis of the Palestinian and Israeli societies as well as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The AIC strives to promote full individual and collective social, economic, political and gender equality, freedom and democracy and a rejection of the philosophy of separation.

The first volunteer work camp of the Occupied Palestine and Syrian Golan Heights Advocacy Initiative, of which the AIC is a central member, kicked off on August 10. The camp began with a large, brightly colored procession through the West Bank town of Beit Sahour, where 300 Palestinian youth, aged 18-23, from the West Bank, northern Israel and the Golan Heights, were based for the next four days. Throughout the camp, participants took on community improvement projects at sites like al-Azza, Aida and Dheisheh Refugee Camps. The camp gave the young men and women a chance to not only volunteer and make new friends, but also to discuss the Palestinian situation. Perhaps most importantly, they were able to express their solidarity with youth from different areas and with members of the communities in which they worked.

Website: http://www.alternativenews.org/

-ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES-

All Nations Café

The All Nations Café is a strong team of Israelis, Palestinians and internationals, who work together, visit each other’s homes and see themselves as part of one family. The Café stands for atmosphere; a space of sincere and intimate sharing of feelings, of openness to all, regardless of your opinion, religion, creed, race or nationality. Located in a buffer zone (Area C), the Café is accessible to Palestinians, Israelis and internationals.

All Nations Café engages the community through yoga classes, farmer’s markets, weekly workdays on Abed’s land in Ein Haniya, and other special gatherings. As part of the workday volunteers help dig water cellars and canals, restore stone terraces, clear thorns and harvest olives.

Website: http://www.allnationscafe.org/index.php

Bustan Qaraaqa

Bustan Qaraaqa (the Tortoise Garden) is a community permaculture project, based in the West Bank town of Beit Sahour (Shepherds’ Fields). The project’s aim of is to propagate a grassroots environmental movement in the oPt to address the problems of food insecurity and environmental degradation that threaten the wellbeing of the population; problems that are unaddressed as a result of the ongoing military occupation. Working closely with their neighbors, they are creating a model permaculture farm, to serve as a centre for experimentation with and demonstration of cheap and easy techniques for sustainable living.

In addition they are carrying out education activities with all sectors of the local community, and supporting people in implementing their own initiatives and realizing their environmental rights. For example, this summer volunteers and staff constructed a cistern to harvest rainwater and have expanded their tree nursery to accommodate new species.

Website: http://www.bustanqaraaqa.org/

Comet-ME

Comet-ME is a joint initiative of Israelis and local Palestinians communities who believe that barriers of hostility can be overcome by joint, concrete, work aimed at felling down the walls of segregation and racism. Their mission is to facilitate social and economical empowerment in the poorest and most marginalized communities in the oPt through material support and capacity building. The core of Comet-ME’s activity is the provision of basic energy services for off-grid communities in a way that is both environmentally and socially sustainable.

In the spring of 2009, a hybrid wind and solar system was constructed in the village of Susya in the south Hebron hills. This new system provided needed electricity to a refrigerator and butter churn, boosting revenue from butter sales and reducing manual workload. This summer, six more families were solar energy systems were installed and the hybrid system was updated to produce more power and support a second refrigerator.

Website: http://www.comet-me.org/

About Grassroots Jerusalem…

Grassroots Jerusalem is a nonprofit organization that is mapping Jerusalem from the ground up—by building an interactive and easily navigatable website that presents the full scope of active NGOs and grassroots organizations and the neighborhoods in which they are operating.

The mission of Grassroots Jerusalem is to enable the diverse populations living in the greater Jerusalem area to work through grassroots and non-governmental organizations to strengthen the connections that make for an open, equitable, and sustainable civil society.

Our goal is to provide an objective source of information and build a platform for networking between grassroots organizations, active individuals in Jerusalem and interested communities in the Diaspora.

In spring-summer 2009, Grassroots Jerusalem made connections with over 20 Jerusalem-area organizations, as well as with supportive communities worldwide. Over the past months we have been meeting with active organizations and NGOs. We already have more than one hundred active grassroots organizations and NGOs on our list, some bigger than others, and gradually we will meet with representatives of each organization. We have formed working partnerships with the Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center in Jerusalem, Israel, as well as with the Josef Korbel School of International Studies in Denver, Colorado. Grassroots Jerusalem staff and interns are also getting the hang of the latest “web gadgets” including Facebook and Twitter and our website is now up and running with listings of current events, news, photos, and more. In winter 2009-2010 we will be working to collect organizational and community profiles, which will be posted to the site as well. Stay tuned!

What our partners are saying:

“Grassroots Jerusalem is off to a flying start. I think it represents a quantum leap forward in the struggle for justice and human rights: a disruptive technology that will allow people to address their own individual human security needs while strengthening community capacity instead of weakening it and highlighting injustice rather than papering it over.”

Professor Randall Kuhn, PhD

Director, Global Health Affairs Program

Joseph Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver

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If you are active, or looking to be active in the greater Jerusalem area (whether you live in Jerusalem, or elsewhere in the world)…contact us and let us know what you’re up to and how you’d like to be involved.

Check out our website and e-mail us or find Grassroots Jerusalem on Facebook & Twitter (GrassrootsJ).

E-mail:   GrassrootsJ@gmail.com

Website:  http://www.grassrootsjerusalem.org/

Or call us!

Micha Kurz:        +972(0)547 451 912

Tamer Halaseh:     +972(0)522 432 124