The Only Democracy? » On The Ground Reports
New Sheikh Jarrah Video from Just Vision
Just Vision, the folks I interned for last spring, are out with, “Home Front is a new series of four video portraits chronicling the resolve of a neighborhood, and the support it receives from the most unexpected of places.” It documents different Israelis and Palestinians involved in the Sheikh Jarrah movement, including a Palestinian teenager whose family who was evicted. TOD’s own Amir Terkel worked on the film. It is a wonderful primer on the … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Villages Group: South Hebron Hills Update
Dear friends and supporters, About one month ago we reported to you on the state of the local schoolhouse in Palestinian Susiya as its second school year opened. Visiting the school on Thursday November 2nd, 2011, we witnessed an impressive development in the construction of the school’s permanent building. These works are undertaken as a joint initiative of the NGO Action Against Hunger/ ACF International, and the Palestinian Union of Agricultural Work Committees. For our modest … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination, On The Ground Reports
World-Class American Jazz Harpist Conducts Workshop at Salem Music Center
On Saturday, October 15th, 2011, American master jazz harpist Park Stickney visited the Salem village Music Center near Nablus. Stickney was in Israel-Palestine to give the opening concert for the new Jaffa Harp Festival. The Festival organizer, harpist Sunita Staneslow and her spouse Fred Schlomka informed Park about the Salem center, and he decided to include it in this – his first – visit to the country. During his visit at the Center, Park held a … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Please Help Palestinian Community Organizer Follow His Dreams
From David and Ehud at the Villages Group: Hi friends I am happy to tell you that Ibrahim Nawaja, who has run the Susiya creative and learning center, with great success , for almost a year (see also video below), has been accepted to Dar Al Kalima college (Arabic link) to study Documentary Film Making. This is a great opportunity for him. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1OoXxBrqA4&w=640&h=360] For those who know Ibrahim, you know what an exceptional, creative and sensitive person … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, On The Ground Reports
UPDATED with Video and more Commentary: Israel Settlers Nearly Lynch Activists with Police Looking on.
I was waiting a few days as the disturbing emails piled my inbox, trying to wrap my head around them and think what angle to bring this story from. To Hell with my angle. These are activists who’ve seen a lot over the years, staring down police brutality in Sheikh Jarrah (East Jerusalem), and enduring settler and military violence all across the West Bank. But this time, they say, was different. A palpable fear of death. So let’s hear it from them: (note: in Israeli discourse the word “lynch” has a different connotation, and denotes any violent mob assault) Were you ever at a lynching? Were you ever someplace where an unbridled mob was beating you and your friends and then chasing you to beat you again? Were you ever the victim of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs, On The Ground Reports
Susya Elementary School – Second Year Opens
The local school of Palestinian Susya, founded last year, has opened its second year of activity this month. On Thursday, September 22nd, we visited and met the school staff: Principal Muhammed, and the four teachers – Amjad, Nizar, Ahmad and Hima. Our expectations and hopes that the Susya school will be growing vigorously and that the number of classes will increase from year to year, have been put aside as of yet: this year, too, there … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Another Round of Israeli Military Vandalism at Umm-Al-Kheir
Yesterday morning, Thursday September 8 2011, around 7 AM, the IDF military regime’s “Civil Administration” officials arrived at Umm-Al-Kheir, accompanied by a bulldozer and military forces, to destroy homes. The residents of Umm-Al-Kheir – situated in the West Bank, roughly 8km north of its southernmost border – are Bedouins, originally living on land that became part of Israel. They were driven out following the 1948 war (see more details here), and in the 1950s purchased the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination, On The Ground Reports
Report on Summer Camps at Susya and Umm-Al-Kheir
The summer camps at Susya and Umm-Al-Kheir have just ended. Both camps are organized locally, and funded with the help of outside donors. Villages Group activists help arrange these funds, work with organizers to help meet their needs, and – most rewardingly – visit the camps to interact with the kids. ————————————- At Palestinian Susya, this has been the third consecutive year for the camp. As mentioned above, this has been a homegrown local initiative from the … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
For Israeli army, Palestinians having guests is a crime. Pt 2
Video of the Jully 22nd protest in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. Part 1 of an account of that day’s protest from our source A. is here. Her story continues… After a while, my paramedic friend and a young man from the village led me once again through back-roads and fields back to Leila’s, where people were happy I hadn’t been arrested (and Nour was back to laughing). It sounded like soldiers might reappear, though, … Read entire article »
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For Israeli army, Palestinians having guests is a crime. Pt 1
Here is the video of the Nabi Saleh protest from Friday. We received this account from the same protest our anonymous source A., an international activist living in Palestine. She explains: This account is edited from a chat conversation describing events that took place on July 21st during and after the weekly demonstration in Nabi Saleh against the illegal settlement on the village’s land and against Israel’s Apartheid policies and unlawful occupation and colonization of Palestine as … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Interactive Video
“You have a choice! Israeli Anti-Militarists Speak”
Four Israelis—Dorothy Naor, Sergeiy Sander and Eli Fabrikant, and Ofer Golani—talking about their personal histories, political views and activism in 132 short films.