From the Program Coordinator:

Post Annapolis conversations continued during December.  However, with the holy days of the three faiths, much of the conversation turned to questions such as “Will Muslims and Christians be able to pray in Jerusalem during the Muslim feast of Eid Al-Adha and the Christian feast of Christmas?”  Some permits were granted, but not to everyone who asked for one.  Many were refused entry to Jerusalem, even though they had a permit. 

(Latin Patriarchate article)

Skepticism about what Annapolis can achieve has deepened in the Palestinian community, especially once everyone realized that, again, Israel had no intentions of stopping the building of settlements nor confiscating of Palestinian land nor releasing Palestinian prisoners nor removing checkpoints nor making life bearable in any way until a lasting and just solution is negotiated.       

(Hanan Ashrawi article)        

From the Friends International Center in Ramallah:

December was a busy month at the Friends Center.  Many came to visit, as part of a group or as individuals. 

We hosted two persons who each gave a lecture at the Friends Center: 

December 3, Larry Harder, a landscape architect and professor of landscape architecture, from Canada gave a presentation at FICR called “The Landscape of Occupation”.  This was a very creatively done power-point presentation he had given at a conference at Birzeit University the previous week. 

Larry Harder giving presentation

 
December 12, Andree Ryan, a Quaker from Scotland and a homeopath, gave a presentation at FICR “What is Homeopathy?”  She had just completed a three-month term in Yanoun (a village north of Ramallah) as an Ecumenical Accompanier.  She came as part of the Quaker Peace and Social witness delegation under the auspices of the Word Council of Churches program called EAPPI (Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel).  She also shared some of her experiences as an Ecumenical Accompanier.           

Renee Ryan giving presentation

 On Saturday, December 8, a group of church leaders from the Australian Council of Churches, organized by the Ecumenical Office in Jerusalem, came to the Friends Center to hear Jean Zaru give a lecture.  We were pleased to meet Lindsay Farrell, the Presiding Clerk of the Australian Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and part of the group.      

Janet Mikhail, Mayor of Ramallah (left), welcoming the Australian Council of Churches delegation to Ramallah and Jean Zaru (right) at FICR

Marty Federman, an activist and educator in Judaism from Boston, spent three days in Ramallah.  It was a pleasure to welcome Marty at the Friends Center and welcome him to the Ramallah Friends Meeting.  Marty is on the national board of Jewish Voice for Peace and encourage many of us with the work he is involved with in the US.  

From the Ramallah Friends Meeting:

Sunday afternoon, December 2, the Ramallah Friends Meeting celebrated the beginning of the Christmas season.  At the request of the Meeting, Rana Zaru arranged for the Ramallah Friends School Choir to join the Advent celebration by singing Christmas carols and leading the audience in singing carols.  The choir, led by Samia Badran, sang in Arabic and English.  Everyone enjoyed the music and the fellowship in the Annex afterwards.  The First Advent celebration has become a time for members of the Ramallah community to join Ramallah Friends in a time of fellowship. 

The Friends School choir sings Christmas carols for the Advent celebration in the Ramallah Friends Meetinghouse

From the Occupation: Monthly Action Focus:

During the month of December I spent much of my time trying to extend the one-month tourist visa I was given upon entry at Ben Gurion airport on November 12.  Fortunately, after much work on this, I was successful.  This success was not due to my work alone.  I was able to accomplish this with the help of friends and colleagues in Palestine, Israel, and the US.  I want to thank each one of you who were part of my support group here and overseas.  Without you this would not have been possible. 

For the past months, the Israeli authorities have been targeting religious workers from abroad by either refusing them entry to Palestine via one of the ports Israel controls or by giving very short visas.  These have included volunteers sent by churches to work with faith-based organizations in Palestine and clergy – specifically Arab clergy.  The new twist is that many clergy who have multiple entry visas are told that when they leave they must begin anew to apply for a work permit or visa upon their return if they are permitted to enter.  Some have been denied extensions on existing visas and others have been refused entry at one of the bridges from Jordan that Israel controls.  This development has become a real hardship for the churches because the churches depend on these clergy and volunteers. 

(THE ABSENT PILGRIM 2007 - Press Release)

In general, the focus for the MYRTOE Campaign (Right to Enter Campaign) continues to be the visa and residency rights issues for Palestinians and internationals.  Many, Palestinians with dual citizenship and internationals, who want to come to the West Bank or Gaza are still being refused entry at the airport or one of the bridges.  The refusal is random and many who are refused never register their refusal.  Some do not want to make their refusal known publicly, while others do not know about the Right to Enter Campaign and therefore do not know who to turn to.   

The Right to Enter Campaign is still collecting 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

If you are interested in working on this issue and are living outside of Palestine, please contact John Salzberg at john.salzberg@verizon.net.  John is a member of the FICR Steering Committee and is working on this issue in the US.  He is able to put you in touch with others in the US who are working on this issue from a US policy point of view. 

For more information on “Right to Enter/Re-enter” go to www.righttoenter.ps

Kathy Bergen
Program Coordinator          
www.ramallahquakers.org