Tag Archives: Palestine

Above from left: Fatin Al Tamimi, National Chairperson of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign and activists Zaid Albarghouthi, from Palestine, and Dubliner Ciara Margolis

This afternoon.

Merrion Square, Dublin 2.

The Irish launch of a new European Citizens’ Initiative to ban trade with illegal settlements.

If an ECI garners one million signatures from EU citizens over 12 months, the European Commission must consider and debate the petition’s demands.

Via Academics for Palestine:

A European coalition of more than 100 civil society organizations, has launched a European Citizens Initiative (ECI) to stop trade with illegal settlements in occupied territories. Academics for Palestine is a partner of the Irish ECI campaign, along with other 20 Ireland-based social and cultural organisations.

Academics for Palestine calls on its supporters and every EU citizen concerned about human rights, social justice and fair trade to sign the petition.

Even though illegal settlements constitute a war crime under international law, the EU allows trade with them. In the case of Israel’s settlements, the UN Security Council has called on states to render them no assistance, and the European Union has repeatedly declared that they constitute a flagrant violation of international law. Nevertheless, the EU continues to trade with them, which has emboldened their ongoing expansion.

Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign chairperson, Ms. Fatin Al Tamimi, said

“Despite the overwhelming support of the Irish people for the Occupied Territories Bill, the Irish government has shamefully refused to enact it. This ECI now gives us a rare and exciting chance to speak directly to the political bureaucrats in Ireland and the EU. We the citizens of Europe can make our collective voice heard to change on this issue. Together we can stop EU trade with, and sustenance for, illegal settlements in occupied territories, including my own country of Palestine”:

Leah Farrell/RollingNews

This morning.

Butt Bridge, Dublin 1.

Labour TD Ivana Bacik joined Palestinian children living in Ireland to launch a new campaign to highlight ‘the difficulties, dangers and dread that Palestinian children face as they go back to school in their towns and villages’, organised by Sadaka, The Ireland Palestine Alliance  and Defence for Children International Palestine (DCI).

RollingNews

This afternoon.

Iveagh House, St Stephen’s Green, Saint Kevin’s, Dublin 2.

Members of the Trinity Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Campaign outside the Department of Foreign Affairs, where they also occupied the foyer for two hours. The Trinity College group is calling for a boycott of Israeli goods and further sanctions following recent violence in Gaza.

Sam Boal/Rollingnews

Saturday.

O’Connell Street, Dublin 1.

A protest in solidarity with the Palestinian people, part of a global day of action called in response to the recent escalation of violence that has left more than 250 dead.

RollingNews

Meanwhile…

Oh.

Saturday..

Pro-Palestine protestors march from the Spire, O’Connell Street, Dublin 1 to the Israel Embassy, Pembroke Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. Saturday was is Nakba Day, commemorating the displacement of a majority of the Palestinian people from their homeland, and observed on the date after the state of Israel was established in 1948.

Israel Gaza conflict: Netanyahu says strikes to ‘continue at full force’ (BBC)

RollingNews

Last night/this morning.

Meanwhile…

Meanwhile…

Coveney calls for ceasefire as 40 killed in Gaza and Israel (RTÉ)

Getty

Yesterday.

Israel Embassy, Pembroke Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

Meanwhile…

Violence erupted this morning ahead of a planned march to commemorate Israel’s takeover of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, an anniversary known as Jerusalem Day in the Jewish state.

….Dozens of people were wounded when clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli police at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound.

Violence erupts at al-Aqsa mosque as Israel marks Jerusalem Day (Reuters)

Pic: KN

From top: members of Mahapach-Taghir; volunteer Nasreen Yassin (left) with Bairbre Flood

‘Learning To Change in Israeli and Palestinian Communities

A radio documentary premiering this weekend by Bairbre Flood on a grassroots, feminist, Jewish-Arab organisation that works for social change through education and community empowerment.

Bairbre writes:

‘It’s in the community, it deals with women, students and children; and it deals with Jewish and Arab, so I cannot find a more holistic way to make a change here in my society.’

– Fida Nara, the Palestinian co-director of Mahapach-Taghir

Influenced by a huge student strike twenty years ago in Jerusalem, Mahapach-Taghir (change in Hebrew-Arabic) was founded after students reached out to community members in a marginalised neighbourhood in the city, and with the residents set up an after-school program for children.

The learning centre they started for the children soon became a hub for community activism as parents gradually became involved – a key part of Mahapach-Taghir’s approach to community organisation.

As one of the women in the Yafa, Nazareth group told me:

‘I feel like they really hear me, really talk with me and they respect me. It’s a partnership; it’s dialogue. It’s not like ‘we have our program and this is what will happen,’ – that’s how it’s different here.’

Currently Mahapach-Taghir works with over 600 children and families, and 140 university students throughout Israel. Their emphasis is on strengthening bonds within each area, and creating links between the different communities.

I visited groups in Nazareth, Tamra, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem (they also have a group in Maghar, a mostly Druze town in Northern Israel) and every group – whether Palestinian or Jewish – spoke of how they valued getting to know the other community.

‘Meeting Jewish women changed us,’ as another of the women in the Yafa, Nazareth group put it. Yafa (or Yafa an-Nasriyye) is part of the Nazareth municipality, and they’ve campaigned on a number of issues over the years, and set up initiatives such a women’s savings scheme – a way for the women to become more financially independent.

The coordinator of the group, Mona Arok, started attending a university course through her work with Mahapach-Taghir; in spite of huge opposition from her husband and family to stay in the home.

‘I realised that I’m raising five daughters. I realised they are the future in the community,’ she told me. ‘And if I go back now, [leave the university course] it will destroy them. So from them I took the energy to continue.’

She smiles broadly. ‘And now my husband came with me to the women’s protest in Tel Aviv. It’s amazing that I succeeded to do this change with him and with my family.’

When Mona began her work in the community there were seven women in the group; now there are more than forty.

‘I don’t decide alone,’ she said. ‘It’s important to talk to them as equals. Not from above, because women will think: you are living in your high palace and we are the poor people and you don’t really feel our pain, and what we need.’

‘I see a lot of leadership inside the women’, Mona continued. ‘I want them to decide the future of Mahapach. I want them to lead the work that I do here today.’

This excitement about learning is also evident while visiting Tamra, a mostly Arab town about an hours drive from Nazareth. I meet Suwad, who was given a scholarship – ‘like something gold’ – through Mahapach-Taghir.

‘This opportunity for learning changed my life,’ she said. ‘Now I am fifty-two years old, I think when I’m coming to the studying I feel like something was lost from me – and I found it.’

Another of the volunteer tutors, Nasreen Yassin, a young student at Haifa University, told me how working here helps her feel connected to her community.

‘I believe if I want to change something in the community I should begin with the children who surround me,’ she said.

Houria Abu Nimir, has prepared food for everyone. She’s a science teacher in the local school, and she tells me they can discuss political issues with the children in Mahapach-Taghir which they can’t do in the school.

‘We ask them what have you heard in the news, and give them the opportunity to say what they feel and think about it,’ Houria said. ‘It’s very important to understand your identity as a Palestinian who lives in Israel…and that you have enough time to talk to someone about it.’

Around 20% of Israeli’s are Palestinian, and while they have full voting rights and equal citizenship like any other Israeli, there are issues around racism and identity.

Lima Hajiah, is a young Palestinian student who volunteers in Yad Eliyahu – a mostly Jewish neighbourhood in Tel Aviv. She tells me how it’s important for her, as a Palestinian, to be here with the kids.

‘Most of the children might never have communicated with a Palestinian,’ she said. ‘This could be the first time for them to get to know each other as Jewish and Palestinian, and what this means to co-operate here together.’

Rachel, one of the mothers, is part of a new women’s group which is just setting up. They haven’t decided exactly what they’re going to focus on, and are in the early stages of brainstorming with each other.

‘I want my son to learn with me how to give back to the community,’ she tells me. ‘We want to see a change. We want to see improvement.’

Another mother, Tickva, said that meeting other women – whether Palestinian or Jewish, gives her new ideas.

‘If they share similar kind of problem,’ she said. ‘How they deal with that, what kind of solutions that they find…it’s interesting.’

The next day, in the Florentine neighbourhood of Tel Aviv I meet with Zehava Aknin and Dvora Levian, women in their sixties who’ve been volunteering for years in their community.

‘I work with religion people, not religion people. With women, kids, old people…with everyone,’ Zehava laughs.

Dana Zarif, the coordinator for this area translates for us, and she explains that the previous evening they’d a similar learning community in Florentine as in Yad Eliyahu where they help children with school work. ‘They also visit old people,’ she adds. ‘If I can help, I help,’ Dvora said. ‘It’s good for the heart.’

Devora also feels it’s important that the group is mixed.

‘They Arab want to live,’ she said. ‘We Jewish want to live, in not war, just peace. We want together speaking with each other – and meeting each other.’

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