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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it

Occupation magazine - Activism Home page  back Print  Send To friend No hope on the political level - which means we have to be more active at the grassroots! From office@cfpeace.org `Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man. Destruction is not the law of the humans.` (M.K. Ghandi) Dear Friend, in the middle of Israel & Palestine`s summer heat we turn to you! Why? Because the occupation and violence does not stop during summer, we are as active as always in our goal to change reality on the ground! Israelis and Palestinians, men and women, young and old, Jews, Muslims and Christians, all find a home in our community of change agents who say `Enough is enough!` The recent weeks and months have shown that there is no hope on the political level, several discriminatory laws in Israeli parliament have passed shortly before the summer break of the Knesset. In Palestine, we observe growing frustration and desperation. What is happening in Gaza, the Bedouin communities and in the villages of our Palestinian partners is - again - more than alarming. In this newsletter we will share our ongoing activities with you. Become involved and become a change agent yourself! People may tell you the opposite, but we know that there is a partner on the other side. We all have the responsibility to make this little piece of land as a home for both peoples - without violence, hatred or injustice. Shalom & Salam, in solidarity, Combatants for Peace Save the Date: A Summer of Peace Summit Combatants for Peace activists, Osama Iliwat and Itamar Feigenbaum have been invited alongside 30+ of the world’s leading peace-builders and change- makers to be featured in the Finding Common Ground summit, held online August 7-9th 2018. The summit is held by The Shift Network, and Combatants for Peace speakers will be featured alongside many other global leaders and change-makers. During the summit, these change-makers will share their cutting edge peace practices for building bridges, closing gaps, and connecting and promoting agents for change who are working to create a comprehensive blueprint for global transformation. This 3-day event will highlight the personal stories of transformations that guided these global leaders to create authentic and powerful action throughout the world. We hope you will join us for this extraordinary event. Click here to sign up for the online event! http://cfpeace.org/ Updates from our groups `CFP Youth` becomes reality! Few days ago, we started with the first meeting of our newly established youth group on the Palestinian side of CFP. Our activists Khouloud, Jameel and Nazih facilitated a workshop on CFP`s way of nonviolent resistance. Ahlan wa Sahlan (`welcome`) to all Newcomers! Jerusalem-Bethlehem Group explores neighbourhoods Israelis and Palestinians went to a tour south of Jerusalem and around Bethlehem to learn more about the recent development of settlements in the Gush Etzion area and the daily life of the affected communities. Solidarity visits to families and local resistance committees give a lot of motivation to continue the struggle despite all the frustrating news. South: House meetings for new members Our South Group with members from Hebron Area and Beer Sheva met in a house meeting to get to know the new members of the group. Jameel and Moshe told their personal stories of transformation and explained the principles of CFP`s way for joint nonviolent resistance. Tel Aviv - Nablus: Public tour on the effects of the occupation Tel Aviv - Nablus group organised a tour for the Israeli public to Nablus area. Our member Abu Mousa explained to the people the situation they are living in and how the wall is affecting the live of thousands of Palestinians in the area. Tel Aviv: Police violence screened on the Independence Hall Our Israelis activists in Tel Aviv held a demonstration in front of the Independence hall against the ongoing police violence against protestors in Khan Al Ahmar, together with lots of partners like Breaking the Silence, Standing Together and others. As most Israelis do not (want to) see the injustices in Palestine, we screened scenes of Khan Al Ahmar protests at the wall of the Independence Hall and claimed to stop any violence immediately! News on Khan Al Ahmar On June 6th, the Israeli High Court granted an injunction to stay the village’s demolition until July 11th, due in part to our protest. The demolition was then postponed again until Mid-August. The legal struggle will likely be ongoing, while urgent protective, advocacy, and humanitarian needs continue. The immediate goal is to prevent the demolition of the village, its school and the expulsion of the local Bedouin villagers. The broader goal is to stop the Israeli authorities from pursuing mass expulsion of Palestinian communities. By responding to the emergency situation in Khan Al Amar, we seek to also prevent all forcible transfers. Successfully halting the demolition of Khan Al Amar would challenge a dangerous precedent. The demolition of the village goes beyond a single community - it paves the way for connecting two main settlement blocks thus dividing the Westbank in two parts - North and South - making a 2-states solution even less likely as it is already. An urgent word of Eid Khames Jahaleen `My name is Eid Khames Jahaleen, spokesperson of Khan Al Ahmar families. We were displaced for the first time in 1951, then the occupation came in 1967 and there were harassments against the Bedouin communities. Settlements started less than a kilometer away, the occupation building settlements, services, schools opening new roads, clinics, water electricity, telephones, everything, but here it provided nothing to the Bedouin communities. Moreover, the occupation issues demolishing orders for our homes. Many organizations have stepped in to provide support; Palestinian, Israeli and International ones, including Combatants for Peace, who helped my people and built a tent that was destroyed by nature conditions. They bought all of the required materials and assembled it in less than 12 hours. They constructed it to help this family, they also did some work in the school with the students by getting them supplies for those that needed help. CFP also helped in hiring a lawyer to support our case at the Israeli high court of Justice, and also played a role in exposing the difficulties we face internationally, whether in media or talking to diplomats. Combatants for peace joined us hand in hand and helped this community to stay and resist and try to get our rights like those living in the settlements only a few meters away. My message to the European and American public is: please help us achieve peace, all that we need is to have ever lasting peace between the two nations - that’s what we want.` Help us bringing Peace! Our work and activities are significantly financed by donations. As a grassroots movement not linked to any political group, we depend on financial contributions both locally and internationally. Please help us in safeguarding our work and become a friend of Combatants for Peace! Donations are tax-deductible in the U.S. For tax-deductible donations from other countries, please contact us. Thank you so much for your support! ttp://afcfp.org/contact-us/donate/ Links to the latest articles in this section June 4, 2020 - "UN Forum: Threats of Annexation and the Prospects for Peace”, livestreamed on UN Web Israeli Court Rules Against Demolition of Dozens of Palestinian Family Homes ‘Justice for Iyad, justice for George’: Hundreds protest police killing of Palestinian in Jerusalem