Newsletter · June 2014

June News from ICAHD UK

Campaigns, news, and community events from ICAHD UK

Whilst filing for an appeal to this effect with the Supreme Court, Israeli Military Authorities violently and illegally uprooted all the trees (more than 1500) – despite Israeli law stating that an appeal should override any evacuation unless a verdict has been reached. Note that this land was registered in 1916, and has proper documentation of ownership

A recently demolished Palestinian home in a Bedouin encampment, Jordan Valley. Photo by William Parry.

Over the twelve days of Christmas, this wall became a place of meeting, connection, debate, performance arts and an amazing installation for evolving graffiti art and messages of peace from all over the world.

ICAHD UK were proud to have a constant presence throughout this exuberant sort of festival, with a stall in the church itself, always manned by people with good knowledge of the reality and effects of the hafrada (Hebrew for 'separation', 'setting apart') wall and fence on life in Bethlehem and the rest of the West Bank and Gaza (also surrounded by a "security" fence).

If you didn’t manage to visit, now’s your chance to come and see what all the fuss was about. Come along this Wednesday evening, where the Bethlehem Unwrapped documentary will be premiered, and ‘the Wall’ protest art will be auctioned. Free entry.

Join the Europe-wide protest this Thursday to loudly let G4S know this is not ok. Through the awareness-raising of previous protests and actions, many trade unions, universities, and faith groups have divested from G4S and pulled out of contracts, losing them millions of pounds.

Jeff Halper, with Colin Green, Linda Ramsden, and the producer of 'Head to Head'

Veteran Bedouin activist and rights campaigner Nuri el Ukbi agreed to High Court arbitration in his appeal against the District Court rejection of his tribe's traditional proofs of land ownership, including documents and written historical records. The State asked for two weeks to decide. Could this be a crack in the wall of decisions rejecting Bedouin proofs of ownership?

Nuri al-Ukbi, a veteran Bedouin rights campaigner who is one of the appellants, said: "The authorities in the State of Israel used methods of intimidation and fraud in order to justify the criminal deportation of civilians from their homes and lands.”

Nuri el-Ukbi, taken on his land in the Negev, during ICAHD's extended tours for Internationals

Last year's rebuilding in action

June has arrived

Yet a life of conflict continues in Israel/Palestine

Hello friends,

Last month in May saw the pope leave prayers at the Israeli separation wall, a mosque being desecrated, and one particularly ugly 48-hour period where Israeli bulldozers visited eight communities in the Jordan Valley with the demolition of homes and structures that have affected nearly 100 Palestinians. We must keep up the pressure in campaigning for human rights in this area. As always you can find a weekly synopsis from OCHA here (http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_protection_of_civilians_weekly_report_2014_5_30_english.pdf) .

CURRENT CAMPAIGNS

Tent of Nations Many of you who have been to Israel/Palestine on study tours with ICAHD will know the Nasser Family and their camp at the Tent of Nations, located close to Bethlehem in Area C and surrounded by four settlements, which can be seen a great example of the Palestinian culture of “beautiful resistance”, living by the slogan “we refuse to be enemies”. For more than 2 decades The Nasser Family (like so many others) have tried to protect their land and trees in a legal battle opposing the Military Authorities claim that the land belongs to the state, and should be evacuated.

To find out more please read and sign this petition

for these significant trees to be compensated and replaced.

MAP and ICAHD UK petition

Do you disagree with the policy of house demolitions and want it to stop? Then join Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), ICAHD UK and 50 prominent signatories in calling on the British public and the UK government to use all available pressure to bring an immediate end to Israel’s systematic demolition of Palestinian homes and structures in East Jerusalem and the West Bank and to fulfil its legal and moral obligations under international law to safeguard the health and well-being of Palestinian civilians living under its military occupation.

Sign the petition here and pass it on

EVENTS THIS WEEK

Bethlehem Unwrapped Auction - this evening!

TONIGHT Wednesday June 4th, 7.30pm

St Luke's Church, Hillmarton Road, London N7 9RE Were you one of the thousands of people who experienced the life-sized replica of the Wall positioned in central London over Christmas last year, highlighting the imprisonment of the people of Bethlehem? If so, you can own for yourself a tactile chunk of that memory. Broken up pieces of that replica Wall are going under the hammer to raise more money for the non-violent struggle for justice for the citizens of Bethlehem via the Holy Land Trust.

Protest at the G4S AGM

Thursday June 5th, 1pm - 4pm Western Terrace, Excel Centre, Royal Victoria Dock, 1 Western Gateway, London E16 1XL The global Public Eye awards recently voted G4S – responsible among other things for Israel’s prison system - third ‘Worst Company of the Year’. Yet despite the current inquest concerning their human rights abuses resulting in death in custody, as the world’s largest security company, for G4S, corporate business continues as normal.

See more on ** PSC’s site here

NEWS

'Head to Head' with Jeff Halper Jeff Halper was one of the guests in the first show recorded for Al Jazeera’s third series of ‘Head to Head’ with Mehdi Hasan. Set at the Oxford Union, Hasan interviewed Norman Finkelstein and then called upon Jeff, Salma Karmi-Ayyoub and Oliver Kamm for comments. Jeff received much praise for his contribution to the programme which will be broadcast in a few weeks. A link to watch it will follow soon.

Bedouin Land Case in the Supreme Court

Just a few days ago, on June 2, the Supreme Court heard the Negev Bedouin land claim case, asking the court to redress the injustice of the Bedoin 1951 expulsion. Rabbis for Human Rights’ lawyers achieved a decision in the Israeli Supreme Court temporarily halting expansion of the Abigail outpost. Arik Ashermann states that even according to the logic of the occupation, it is hard to justify an unauthorized outpost building on private Palestinian land in an area where the State tells Palestinians they can't build because the army wants a live fire zone.

Details from an ICAHD press release states that:

“The appellants seek to overturn a precedent set in the early 1980’s, under which the determination regarding Bedouin rights is made by examining the Negev situation in the Nineteenth Century and relying extensively on travelogues published by European missionaries, who asserted that at that time there were no fixed Bedouin abodes and that the Bedouins maintained no agriculture in the Negev. These were momentary and superficial guests from another continent, who judged what was and was not “an agricultural settlement” by European standards. They failed to notice that the people which they saw were living on the land, maintaining agriculture under the harsh conditions of an arid region and with endless struggle making use of every drop of water available to them.”

Success of the appellants can also affect hundreds of other land disputes between the state and the Bedouin, and might even impact the status of the government’s 'Prawer Plan', which assumes that the Bedouin of the Negev have no land ownership rights. More on this ** here

MORE COMMUNITY EVENTS

12th Annual Rebuilding Camp August 3rd - 18th Near Jerusalem This summer’s rebuilding camp needs you! This will be the 188^th home that ICAHD has rebuilt after being demolished, leaving a family destitute. Work with a team of local builders, Palestinians, Israeli’s, and internationals from many diverse backgrounds, united by their belief in justice and human rights, in rebuilding a home from the rubble to handing over new keys. Rewarding and enlightening work indeed! Please spread the word and ** find out more and watch a short film of last years camp here (http://www.icahd.org/node/521)

Friday September 26th - Sunday 28th

Devil's Punchbowl, conserved as 'An Area Of Outstanding Beauty' Have you been wondering how you could help support ICAHD this year? Sign up now for our sponsored walk, taking place in the midst of one of the ‘7 wonders of the South’, in the Surrey Hills! A stunning location, a choice of walks with varying difficulty, and the chance to fundraise for a core contribution to ICAHD UK’s work this year. Not only that, but our special guest this year is none other than Salim Shawamreh, our friend from Beit Arabiya. For more info about Salim see below.

Salim standing outside his demolished home, 2011

Salim Shawamreh comes to the UK September - October 2014 Venues to be confirmed We are delighted to announce that Salim Shawamreh will be visiting us for a speaking tour in the UK in order to give us an update on the current situation in Israel / Palestine, and share his experiences with us. Salim’s family home has been demolished 5 times, and each time rebuilt by ICAHD.

Protecting Whistleblowers

is an event with Mordechai Vanunu, courtesy of Amnesty International. With special guest speakers:

You can book for this event ** here.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some of last year's tour participants

Our in-depth Study Tour will give you a fundamental insight into current daily life for Palestinians, considering integral topics such as water, women’s issues, education, health, refugees, house demolitions and displacement. There is no better way to find out more, as this ** long list of recommendations

will show.

Look at our flyer ** here

for more information. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As always, thank you for your continued support, from all at ICAHD UK.

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