Friends International Center in Ramallah
March - April 2008 Newsletter
(Vol. II No. 3)

From the Program Coordinator

As the situation continues to deteriorate in the oPt (Occupied Palestinian Territories), Palestinians are responding in different ways.  The Gaza situation remains untenable.  In the West Bank, the Israeli authorities are clamping down on Palestinians institutions.

(Article : Orphanages in Hebron)

Palestinians are beginning to focus on commemorating the Nakba, the beginning of their dispossession, while Israelis are focusing on the celebrations for sixty years of statehood. One of the questions all who are working for a just and lasting peace in the region ask ourselves is:  How will these two very different narratives come together so all can live in security and peace?

From the Friends International Center in Ramallah

We continue to welcome large groups, small groups and individuals to the Friends Center.  As many others working for a just and lasting solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, we believe that this can be realized only within the framework of international humanitarian law, human rights, and United Nations resolutions.  Also, for this reason that we have launched a lecture series that advocates a "back to basics" approach for negotiating a just peace.  It is our hope that these lectures and discussions will promote a rigorous dialogue on some of the key issues involved in peacebuilding and negotiations.  The Roundtable Series by Ron Kraybill, which we are about to finish soon, has been part of a promotion of peacebuilding through negotiations as well.

(Article : Flyer of Lecture Series)

From the Ramallah Friends Meeting

Nabeel Ajlouny and Kathy Bergen, members of Ramallah Friends Meeting, attended the Gathering of European and Middle Eastern Quakers in Vienna, Austria from March 20 -24. The gathering was an amazing experience of meeting Friends from 25 different countries in Europe and the Middle East, struggling together with issues of peacebuilding, and enjoying the informal conversations and fellowship.  The Gathering was organized by the European and Middle East Section (EMES) of the Friends World Committee on Consultation (FWCC).  The people gathered celebrated the work of Bronwyn Harwood, the outgoing General Secretary of EMES.  She will be missed by all.  In Palestine we will remember her interest in the issues in the region and her deep caring for the people on both sides of the conflict.  As members of Ramallah Friends Meeting we will always know how much she cared about the life of the Meeting and its members.  The Gathering also welcomed Marisa Johnson, the new General Secretary of EMES.  We look forward to working with her in the coming years and have already begun to know her and her passion for the region and the people.

(Article : Epistle of the Vienna Gathering)

(The Vienna Gathering)

From the Occupation: Monthly Action Focus:

In general, the focus for the Right to Enter (RTE) Campaign continues to work on 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 Strip are still being refused entry at the airport or at 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.
A Friend from Scotland, Ann Ward, who was studying Arabic at Birzeit University, attended Meeting for Worship and local FICR activities, went to Jordan for a few days.  Upon her return to Ramallah via the Allenby Bridge, she was denied entry by the Israeli officials at the Bridge.  She was forced to go back to Amman and after two weeks of intense negotiations with the Israeli Ministry of Interior, the Israeli officials allowed her to enter for two weeks after posting $5,000 bond.  She returned to Ramallah only to pack up her apartment and say good-bye to friends.  We regret her leaving and she will be missed.

Some members of the RTE Campaign met with Tony Blair.

(Article : Letter to Tony Blair)
The RTE 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