Nowhere Left to Go: Arab al-Jahalin Bedouin Ethnic
Displacement
The Palestinian-Bedouin communities living in the hills
to the east of Jerusalem are subject to a rapidly escalating risk of
forced ethnic displacement. The communities have been informed by
the Israeli authorities that they have no option but to leave the
area, as part of a larger plan (to begin as early as January 2012)
to relocate Bedouin communities living in Area C (Jerusalem
periphery, Jordan Valley and South Hebron Hills), where Israel
retains control over security as well as planning and
zoning. Read
more…
No Home, No Homeland: East Jerusalem Ethnic
Displacement
The report analyses Israeli policy and practice in East
Jerusalem under international human rights law and international
humanitarian law. It concludes that Israel is perpetrating serious
violations of these laws by denying the rights to adequate housing,
development, and self-determination, as well as violating the
prohibition on residency revocation. Furthermore, the report states
that demolition of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem is, in the
majority of cases, a war crime of property destruction. By
destroying homes, limiting the possibility to build legally, and
denying permanent residency status to Palestinians in East
Jerusalem, Israel is forcing the migration process on the basis of
ethnicity – which violates international law, and may constitute a
war crime. Read
more…
Resisting Occupation, Constructing Peace
When houses are
demolished, we join with Palestinians to rebuild them. The 185 homes
ICAHD has rebuilt over the past decade and a half represent 185 acts
of joint political resistance to occupation. We then take our
experiences “on the ground” and our analysis of how the conflict can
be ended to the international community and advocate for justice and
peace. Learn more about who we are, the challenges we face, and what
you can do to help. Read
more…
Displacement Trends
Throughout the year we provide an overview and analysis
of demolitions of Palestinian homes and other structures that have
been demolished by Israeli authorities, or demolished by the owners
following the receipt of a demolition order from Israeli
authorities. All recorded incidents have been verified and
documented by partners in the Displacement Working
Group. Read more...
ICAHD Staff Travel the Globe,
Bringing the ICAHD Message of Justice and Peace
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Over the years, ICAHD’s voice has been increasingly
heard around the world. Our international advocacy has brought our
maps, stories, pictures, films, testimonies and analyses to tens of
thousands of people – from San Francisco, Sao Paulo and Seoul to
Sydney; from Tromso, Toronto and Toulouse to Toledo (Spain AND
Ohio); and from Wroclaw, Milano, Beijing and Montevideo to Cape
Town. Our agenda is always threefold: to inform and mobilize the
general public, to update and strategize with activists and to
influence decision-makers. ICAHD staff and activists also appear
frequently in the media. In 2011 Jeff travelled several times
to North America, on one trip serving as a resource person for the
Presbyterian General Assembly as it deliberated BDS; to Europe; and
to Canada to help raise money for the boat to Gaza. In Finland he
inaugurated a branch of ICAHD Finland (soon to become ICAHD
Scandinavia). In Poland he began a campaign to bring the issue of
Palestine/Israel to Eastern Europe (where the extremely “pro-Israel”
stance hampers the EU’s efforts at brokering a just peace), speaking
in Warsaw, Lodz, Krakow, Wroclaw and Poznan, followed by several
days in Prague. With ICAHD UK, Jeff organized two visits to the
European Parliament in Brussels, both to lobby European
parliamentarians and to create regular channels of communication for
other activist groups. In October he testified before the Russell
Tribunal on Palestine, held in Cape Town, South Africa, and then did
a speaking tour that took him to Port Elizabeth and
Johannesburg. Itay travelled to Ireland in August, at the
invitation of partner organization Trocaire, to speak in Dublin,
Cork, Galway, Derry and at Belfast’s Feile an Phobail, Ireland's
biggest community festival. During the speaking tour Trocaire
launched its two-year campaign to end illegal house demolitions and
evictions, calling for suspension of the EU-Israel Associa tion
Agreement until Israel ends its policy of
demolitions.
Russell Tribunal on Palestine Finds Israel Guilty of
Apartheid
The Russell Tribunal
on Palestine (an international, citizen-based tribunal of conscience
created in response to the demands of civil society) found that
Israel subjects the Palestinian people to an institutionalized
regime of domination amounting to apartheid as defined under
international law. This discriminatory regime manifests in varying
intensity and forms against different categories of Palestinians
depending on their location. The Palestinians living under colonial
military rule in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are subject to a
particularly aggravated form of apartheid. Palestinian citizens of
Israel, while entitled to vote, are not part of the Jewish nation as
defined by Israeli law and are therefore excluded from the benefits
of Jewish nationality and subject to systematic discrimination
across the broad spectrum of recognized human rights. Irrespective
of such differences, the Tribunal concludes that Israel’s rule over
the Palestinian people, wherever they reside, collectively amounts
to a single integrated regime of apartheid.
ICAHD Director Dr. Jeff Halper
addressed the Tribunal and blamed the process of Judaisation of
Palestine for the ethnic displacement of Palestinians. Halper said
Judaisation refers to the Israeli government’s treatment of
Palestine as a Jewish country, and noted that 26,000 homes in the
Occupied Palestine Territory have been demolished by the government
since 1967. “In Israel we use the term apartheid to refer to the
separation of Palestinians from
Jews." Read
more...
ICAHD Parallel Report to the UN
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
The UN
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights published its
concluding observations in December, calling on Israel to stop,
forthwith, house demolitions, forced evictions and residency
revocation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and East Jerusalem.
After considering the state report by Israel on compliance with the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and
the ICAHD parallel report (found here…) the Committee recommended that Israel review and
reform its policies to align with recommendations made by ICAHD and
partner human rights and peace organizatio ns. ICAHD
Co-Director Itay Epshtain addressed the Committee and highlighted
the ethnic displacement of Palestinians in the Occupied Territory
and within Israel proper, and turned the Committee members’
attention to politically driven displacement trends in East
Jerusalem, the Jerusalem periphery and the Jordan
Valley. Read more...
Ads
Calling for End to U.S. Military Aid to Israel Come to San
Francisco
Eye-catching ads calling for an end to United States
military aid to Israel greet travellers on Bay Area transit systems.
The ads feature photos of ICAHD’s Jeff Halper and Salim Shawamreh.
The two men and their families have become close friends and have
toured the US, Canada and the United Kingdom, speaking out against
Israel’s 44-year occupation of the Palestinian
Territory.
ICAHD
Field-Coordinator Addresses UK Festival
ICAHD Field Coordinator Salim Shawamreh joined the ICAHD
UK Chapter at the annual Greenbelt Festival, where arts, faith and
justice meet. Located at Cheltenham Racecourse over the August Bank
Holiday weekend, Shawamreh spoke to the festival theme, “Dreams of
Home”. Both Salim and Linda Ramsden, ICAHD UK’s Director, were
part of the panel “Slouching towards Bethlehem”. Salim focused on
the current situation on the ground, expressing his desire for a
Palestinian state and to have the British Consulate in East
Jerusalem replaced by a British Embassy, while Linda spoke about the
need for the church community at the grassroots level to engage with
this issue and push church leaders to do the right thing in response
to the injustices hap pening in the Holy Land..
Mission Accomplished:
Internationals, Palestinians and Israelis Rebuild Palestinian Home
Demolished by Israel
In July ICAHD launched its ninth Summer Rebuilding Camp.
More than 30 volunteers from Europe and North America joined
Palestinians and Israelis in rebuilding a Palestinian family home
demolished by Israel in the West Bank town of Anata.
The reconstruction of the Abu Omar family home, long
awaited since its 2005 demolition by Israel, was completed on
Sunday, July 24th. The keys to the home were handed over to the
family in a celebratory dedication ceremony marking the end of a
two-week rebuild. Volunteers were joined by members of the larger
Anata community, civil society activists and high-ranking
Palestinian Authority officials, as family members began life in
their rebuilt home. Rebuilding Camp participants looked back at
what was accomplished and shared their accounts of rebuilding a
family home and exploring the Occupation from within. Luma reflects
on her experience: “We a re resisting in two ways. We are mentally
and physically resisting the occupation. We are building a house for
a family, but we are also making a political statement.” Rachel
recalls: “We are not only witnessing, watching and learning, but
also constantly discussing and interacting with each other. Every
day here is a day of resistance!” Former UK Secretary of State for
International Development Clare Short volunteered with the camp last
summer and recalls the experience as life changing: “Whilst there I
was surprised and impressed by the quality of work by dedicated
ICAHD volunteers. I follow the situation quite closely but still
learned a lot by actually seeing more of the reality on the ground.”
ICAHD has rebuilt a total of 185 Palestinian homes demolished by
Israel and is determined to see this cruel policy stop. ICAHD
Director Dr. Jeff Halper calls the rebuilding “an overtly political
act of defiance. By rebuilding, we set alternative facts on the
ground.”
UN
Humanitarian Chief Baroness Valerie Amos’s Comments Concerning House
Demolitions in the OPT
ICAHD Co-Director Itay Epshtain met with United
Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Baroness
Valerie Amos, in May to highlight the apartheid-like system of
occupation, disfranchisement, oppression, and denial of
self-determination. Following the meeting, attended by various
officials from the UN and Palestinian and Israeli NGOs, the UN
humanitarian chief was quoted saying, “Palestinians are utterly
frustrated by the impact of Israeli policies on their lives. They
can’t move freely around their territory. They can’t plan their
communities. They are evicted from their homes. Their homes are
regularly demolished. I don’t believe that most people in Israel
have any idea of the way planning policies are used to divide and
harass communities and families. They would not themselves like to
be subjected to such behavior.”
Pete Seeger Has Officially
Announced His Support for BDS Against
Israel
Folk music legend Pete Seeger has come out in support of
the growing Palestinian movement for Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions (BDS) against Israel as a program for justice for
Palestinians and a route to peace in the Middle East. Jeff
Halper, Director of ICAHD, added, “Pete did extensive research on
this. He read historical and current material and spoke to
neighbors, friends, and three rabbis before making his decision to
support the boycott movement against Israel.” Seeger has for some
time given some of the royalties from his famous Bible-based 1960s
song “Turn, Turn, Turn” to ICAHD for their work in rebuilding
demolished homes and exposing Israel’s practice of pushing
Palestinians in Israel off their land in favor of development of
Jewish villages and cities.
ICAHD UK
One
of the highlights for 2011 occurred when more than 120 ICAHD UK
members and supporters participated in its two-day annual conference
in March. A distinguished list of speakers, including Jeff Halper
and ICAHD UK patron Prof. Avi Shlaim, presented analysis under the
theme “Digging Deeper: Elements for a Just Peace”. Delegates also
enjoyed Jewish comedian Ivor Dembina's performance, “This is Not a
Subject for Comedy”, about his move away from Zionist support for
Israel to becoming an activist with ISM in the West Bank. In the
autumn we also brought Salim Shawamreh to the UK, and his extensive
three-week speaking tour addressed many thousands of people,
including sessions at Greenbelt, a large Christian arts festival,
and in several mosques. While in the UK, both Jeff and Salim had
meetings at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Jeff
was again taken to Brussels by ICAHD UK for meetings at the
EU.
Eight people represented
the UK at the ICAHD Summer Rebuilding Camp and another 18
participated in the in-depth, eleven-day study tours conducted in
coordination with ICAHD. In November Sue Ball represented ICAHD UK
at the Russell Tribunal on Palestine in South
Africa.
ICAHD UK works
collaboratively with other NGOs, including the Boycott Israel
Network, the Interfaith Group for Morally Responsible Investment,
Rediscovering Palestine, and this year the launch of Oneworld’s
“Freedom for Palestine” song, which continues to be played across
the UK. Our presence at events and initiatives happens throughout
the year and many members donate time and expertise which enable the
impact of ICAHD analysis to continue to
spread.
ICAHD
USA
ICAHD-USA had a busy year in
2011. Our various activities included bringing Jeff Halper to the US
for three national speaking tours visiting college campuses,
speaking to community organizations, and addressing large gatherings
in venues from public halls to cozy living rooms. In addition, one
of our Board members, Hassan Fouda, worked with the national “Be On
Our Side” campaign to place advertisements calling for an end to US
military aid to Israel in the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system,
in the San Francisco Muni bus system, and on the sides of San
Francisco’s cable cars (see photo). These ads, showing an Israeli
grandfather (Jeff Halper) and a Palestinian grandfather (Salim
Shawamreh) with their photogenic grandkids, urge the US to stop aid
for the sake of peace and justice. ICAHD-USA has als o developed the
publication Is Israel an Apartheid State?, as
part of our effort to expand the anti-apartheid analysis to include
Israel’s displacement of people and the destruction of villages in
1948 and to expose the underlying legal framework that supports the
current apartheid system. This booklet summarizes key information
from the South African Human Sciences Research Center study of the
discriminatory nature of the modern Israeli state. ICAHD-USA also
sent a representative of our board, Frances ReMillard, to join Jeff
Halper at the Russell Tribunal on Palestine in Cape Town, South
Africa, in November. Another ICAHD-USA board member, Nic Abramson,
worked with and attempted to sail on The Audacity of
Hope, the US boat organized as part of the 2011 Freedom Flotilla
to break the siege of Gaza. Finally, and perhaps most importantly,
we facilitated the participation of 11 American-based volunteers to
rebuild the demolished Palestinian h ome of the Abu Omar family this
summer. Of those 11, seven were either partially or entirely
subsidized by peace and justice organizations and/or individual
donors in the US committed to supporting this important work of
building peace on the ground in Palestine. US citizens can make
tax-deductible contributions to support the work of ICAHD and ICAHD
USA at www.icahdusa.org/donate or
by mailing a check.
ICAHD Finland
In 2011 a number of our board members spoke on live
broadcasts on Yleisradio (Finnish Broadcasting Company) and Radio
Helsinki about the Summer Rebuilding Camp, ICAHD’s strategy for
rebuilding homes as a form of political, non-violent resistance, and
our campaign against the Finnish-Israeli arms trade. In addition to
appearing on the main Swedish- and Finnish-language radio stations,
one of our most active members, Johannes Hautaviita, was interviewed
on live TV after being deported from Israel. As part of our Finnish
delegation of six participants, he was due to take part in ICAHD’s
2011 Summer Rebuilding Camp, but was denied entry at Ben Gurion
airport. The TV broadcast reached one fifth of the Finnish
population.
In October Bruno Jäntti
participated in a panel discussion on Palestine and the UN statehood
bid with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Erkki Tuomioja, who has
also signed our petition calling for an immediate end to the
Finnish-Israeli arms trade. Other signatories included
world-renowned expert on international law Martti Koskenniemi and
distinguished Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki. They were joined by
more than 40 professors and a number of Finlandia Prize winners. The
petition will be publicized in coming weeks and sent to the Ministry
of Defence of Finland, to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and to
the media, MPs and MEPs.
This year we brought Jeff Halper, Ilan Pappé and Ali
Abunimah to give public lectures in Finland. All of them also
appeared in the Finnish mainstream
media.
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