Friends International Center in Ramallah
January 2012 Newsletter
(Vol. VI No. 1)

From the Program Coordinator

It’s a new year.  What will this year bring for all of us?  Endings and beginnings are always a time to reflect—a time to reflect on what was, what may be, the role each of us played in what happened and what did not happen this past year, and what each of us can do to play a constructive role for positive change in the future.  

Last year was a year of many changes and upheavals worldwide.  Natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes have devastated parts of many countries around the world.  Human-made disasters have also affected many countries around the world.  The Arab world witnessed many changes and unrest.  The verdict is still out as to whether these changes will take the people in a positive direction so they can enjoy their human rights and equality or whether these changes will lead the people into more misery and oppression.  

Palestine witnessed many changes too—some changes were positive and some were not welcomed by the people.  So much of Palestinian land continued to be confiscated by the Israeli authorities.  Palestinian homes continued to be demolished in order to build new settlement housing in all of the West Bank, especially in East Jerusalem.  Confiscation of land, destruction of homes, burning of trees, arrests, all continue to dominate the life of Palestinians living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, while the people in the Gaza Strip remain under Israeli siege.  

Read more about the current situation in oPt (occupied Palestinian territory) – West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.  

Read Unresolved, Unlawful: Israeli Settlers in Foreign Land by Graham Peebles

Read Settler violence just a symptom of Israeli government by Adam Gvirtz
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/component/content/article/34-opinion/4059-settler-violence-just-a-symptom-of-israeli-government-

Read Settlers firebomb Jaber family car, attack home near Hebron by CPT

Read Gaza Tunnel Smuggling OK, says Confused Britain by Stuart Littlewood http://palestinechronicle.com/email_article.php?id=17393

Many Palestinians experienced a boost in morale when Abu Mazen gave his speech to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on September 23 and then handed an application Ban Ki-Moon requesting full membership for Palestine in the UN.  As a punishment for Abu Mazen taking the Palestinian case to the UN, Israel withheld the taxes that it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and is obligated to pass on to them.  The United States began to cut off much of its funding to the Palestinian Authority and many NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) established to implement the programs the US governmental money (USAID). As a result of the withdrawal of this money, internationals and Palestinians working in many of these NGOs were suddenly left without a job.  

Later last year, Palestine was accepted as a full member into UNESCO on October 31, 2011.  As a response to this move, the US cut off its funding to UNESCO.  

As we enter 2012, we all wait expectantly—fearfully and hopefully—of what the New Year will bring.  Already we see Israeli and Palestinian negotiators gather in Amman to talk about how talks between them could proceed.  On the surface this may look like a sign of hope, however, it is not seen as that by many.  As the Palestinian and Israeli Negotiators gathered in Amman, Israel announced its intention to build thousands of new settlement housing units.  Shortly after that Israel stripped President Abbas of his VIP status to travel.

Read Negotiations are Negotiations by any other name by Joharah Baker—Miftah

Read Statement on the return to negotiations by Palestinians for Dignity

Read Palestinian Officials: Israel stripped Abbas of VIP status   http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinian-officials-israel-stripped- abbas-of-vip-status-1.407471

Even though Palestinians living in Israel carry Israeli passports, they all live as second class citizens in Israel.  The Bedouin of the Negev, in particular, have suffered a lot this past year by having their homes and villages destroyed by the Israeli authorities.  

Read more about the situation of Palestinians in Israel on the following websites:

The Arab Association for Human Rights www.arabhra.org

Mossawa Center www.mossawacenter.org

Adalah – the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel www.adalah.org

Read two articles by Amos Gvirtz about the situation of the Bedouin community in Israel  
Website of the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality www.dikium.org/eng/  (in English, Arabic, and Hebrew)

Read and sign the petition to stop persecuting the Bedouin Community and pass it on to others.


The million-dollar question remains: Why does the US, who says it wants to see a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security) work against its own policy?    


From the Friends International Center in Ramallah (FICR)

The Friends Center has organized a record number of events and activities this past year including a 4-part discussion series for youth to discuss what is happening in Palestine and the Arab world; a 6-session drama workshop called “The Drama of Oral History”; a 5-day residential workshop on “Violence and Nonviolence: Communication and Conflict Resolution”; a 6-session lecture/discussion series on “The Links between Psychology and Spirituality”; a five-day workshop on NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming); book readings and book launches; lectures on various pertinent subjects; hosted the meetings of the Right to Enter Campaign; shown films by local filmmakers; hosted many international delegations and individuals who are here to learn about the situation in order to go home and work more effectively in their own communities for a just and lasting peace to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  We hosted a number of Quaker delegations including two QVA (Quaker Voluntary Action) delegations from the UK and the annual Guildford Work/Study delegation from the US.  We hope many more Quaker delegations will come and see the situation, join us in worship, and visit the Friends Center.  People continue to enjoy attending concerts held in the Meetinghouse—an intimate space with wonderful acoustics—and we have hosted a number of concerts this past year.  In the past, many of our activities took place in English, attracting an international and Palestinian audience (Palestinians who can understand and speak English).

 We have begun to organize more activities in Arabic.  With the help of the Radley Trust Foundation, we were able to organize a series of youth discussions in Arabic called “Frankly”.  All the workshops we organized have been in Arabic or with simultaneous interpretation into Arabic when needed.  Simultaneous interpretation is very expensive, but we have been fortunate that donors such as the Quakers in the Netherlands (NLP), the Swedish Fellowship of Reconciliation for the Nonviolence workshop and the Radley Trust, allowed us to include simultaneous interpretation in the budget when needed.  We are thankful to the Jonas Foundation for funding the “Drama of Oral History” workshops that brought together Palestinian participants from the West Bank and from inside Israel, to share their research of their own history through drama.      

Although all activities at the Friends Center are attended by Palestinians and Internationals, this coming year we want to organize more activities in Arabic.  We also plan to organize more activities for youth.    


From the Ramallah Friends Meeting

The Ramallah Friends Meeting is continually blessed by the attenders, the sojourners, and visitors who join the members for Meeting for Worship.  The Meeting is small, but the members and attenders, all involved in community work, leave a large impact in the community.  It is encouraging to welcome individuals and delegations from abroad.  We feel and appreciate the support of each and every one of you who joins us for Meeting for Worship and visits the local Quaker community.  

At this time we would like express a special thank you to all who have come to be with us—Quakers and fellow-travelers.  We also thank all who have so generously given financial gifts so that the Meeting and the Friends Center can continue to operate.  Without your support—financial and moral—we could not remain open and do the things we are doing in the community.  

From the Occupation: Monthly Action Focus:

The Right to Enter (RTE) Campaign continues its focus on the responsibility of third states concerning the matter of Right to Enter/Re-Enter the oPt (occupied Palestinian territory) via one of the entry ports Israel controls.  The Campaign continues to call on third states to assume their responsibility in enforcing human rights and international law in a situation of military occupation.  

The Campaign continues to collect the names of persons - Palestinians and Internationals who have been denied entry at one of the ports Israel controls (Ben Gurion airport or one of the bridges across the Jordan River from Amman).  If you are a person who has been denied entry or know of someone who has been denied entry, please contact Anita Abdullah at anita_abdullah@hotmail.com

Due to the fact that there is no clear policy for denial of entry, a person is allowed to enter via one of the ports controlled by Israel at the discretion of the Israeli immigration official.  The denial of entry is random.  People continue to be given a one-week visa, a new trend and alternative to being denied entry completely.  
We continue to hear of individuals who have been denied entry to Palestine.  The Campaign continues to monitor the situation and note any problems in this regard.  

Read Israeli Authority barred travel of 4,000 Palestinians in 2011 Euro-Mid Report.

For more information go to the new "Right to Enter/Re-enter" website at:  www.righttoenter.ps

Click here to see a GALLERY OF PICTURES from 2011

NOTE:  Please click on the FICR Newsletter Archives below to read previous newsletters that you may not have received and would like to read.  


Kathy Bergen
Program Coordinator
www.ramallahquakers.org