WHAT YOU CAN DO
Before we address what can be done, we need to ask what Palestinians want from the International Community and what are some goals to adopt for your group to help achieve that. The Palestinian Civil Society Call to action is the best articulation of what Palestinians want from the International community (they include the Palestinian Thawabet. The Civil Society Call was initially signed by 170 Palestinian civil society organizations and communities and has since been endorsed by thousands of groups. It is posted at http://www.badil.org/Boycott-Statement.htm and http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/968.shtml
Second, we must educate ourselves. Visit Recommened Books and Links
Here are possible goals for your group:
Ultimate Goals
1. To implement the right of return for refugees to their homes, farms, businesses, and lands (include restitution, and compensation for suffering).
2. To develop and implement a pluralistic democracy in Israel/Palestine with equality and human rights for all.
3. To end to all acts of violence, colonization, and oppression.
Intermediate Goals
1. To develop and implement governmental and public support for the ultimate goals by media work, lobbying, and educational campaigns.
2. To develop and implement campaigns of boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) as happened in South Africa and as civil society has called for.
3. To develop and implement strategies and tactics for Palestinians remaining on their lands and resisting Israeli colonization and ethnic cleansing (e.g. by job creation and supporting non-violent direct actions).
Short-term Goals:
1. To develop community members and structures to identify with this vision.
2. To engage in efforts of education and alliance building.
3. To ensure fair media coverage and exposure with a concerted media strategy and action.
4. To provide direct relief and humanitarian aid to those suffering from human rights abuses.
5. To increase political/human rights tourism.
Ten pillars of activism work and their anchors (WHAT YOU CAN DO):
1) Grassroot mobilization. Build your own group or join an existing organization that works for justice. Annotated North American List can guide you to groups in North America which work for human rights/justice. Others:
Association for One Democratic State in Israel/Palestine
Campaign to stop the Apartheid wall
International Solidarity Movement
2) Political action: this involves:
a) Developing close working relationship with progressive parties and groups in your country. In the US there are many examples including the Green Party in the US (already the GP took strong positions vis-a-vis human rights including the right of refugees to return)
b) Network and enhance groups working on suspension of US aid to Israel. e.g. Suspend US Aid to Israel Now
c) Enhance and grow Council for the National Interest and Citizens For Fair Legislation
3) Documentation and resources: Building resources for activism and for media, political, and legal work. Due to the destructiveness of the Israeli forces on such information (including even land deeds and NGO computers), this info is critical to be gathered, duplicated and safeguarded. There are many training tools on the 2web including this website (see for example activist manual. There are many others. Example on a training tool for developing anti-partheid framework for the struggle (PDF File): http://www.endtheoccupation.org/downloads/AAF%20curriculum%20training%20.pdf
Other resources:
- Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem
- Palestine Remembered
- Electronic Intifada
- BADIL (Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee rights)
- Middle East Facts
- Palestine Monitor
- Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine
- Applied Research Institute (environment, water, agriculture, settlements)
- Media Monitors Network (MMN)
4) Education. Hold a teach-in, seminar, public dialogue etc. this is straightforward: you need to decide venue, speakers, and do publicity. You can used existing educational resources for example by inviting the Activist Manual. Can be facilitated through such groups as Palestine Media Watch
Coordination can develop through The American Media Watch Groups Consortium (AMWGC)
6) Direct aid and support for people on the ground. This is carried through enhancement of our existing programs (PRRC emergency aid, Al-Awda Refugee Support), new programs on the drawing board (opening centers of empowerment at Refugee camps), and through collaborating groups such as: Palestine Children�s Relief Fund http://www.pcrf.net
7) Legal strategy: Groups with great interest and activism on behalf of Palestinians includes
Lawyers Without Border
National Lawyers Guild
Adalah - Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.
If you are a lawyer, donate your time and start some networking and initiate cases (e.g. US congress is violating US laws by sending money to Israel, US Citizens can bring cases against foreign governments that harmed them)
8) Outreach: This is key to building a movement analogous to the movements against the war in Vietnam and the Apartheid system in South Africa. Start your own group or join other local groups (simple google of your city with the word Palestine could identify candidates. Many have also been successful in at bringing coalitions from different constituencies in their local areas to work together (human rights group, social and civil activists, religious activists, etc). An example is http://CTUnitedforPeace.org. You can facilitate a visit by the Wheels of Justice bus tour to your area to help mobilize and build your group.
9) Donate. There are lots of worthy causes. Here re just two of hundreds:
Palestine Children Relief Fund, and
Oral History Project
10) Join Boycotts and Divestment campaigns. If an academic join our
Academics For Justice network
More ideas in this collection of activist experiences found in the Activist Manual
Other examples of actions to pursue/campaigns to support
- Pushing in Ann Arbor for boycott of Israel
http://arabamericannews.com/newsarticle.php?articleid=9529
- Youth from Palestine Initiative http://www.yfppal.com/
- Develop campaigns to support the right to enter: see www.righttoenter.ps
Israel Takes Aim At Palestinian Families By Ida Audeh
http://www.countercurrents.org/audeh110907.htm
- Develop campaigns to ban Political Junkets to Israel. Here is an example "In a challenge to one of the most powerful lobbying tactics used by the Jewish community, a county in Maryland decided last week that
local legislators could no longer go on sponsored trips to Israel.
http://www.forward.com/articles/11553/
- Arabic Anti-Discriminations Sites
Arabs Against Discrimination: http://www.aad-online.org/
American Arabs Anti-Discrimination Committee
- Human Rights Sites:
Human Rights Watch: http://hrw.org/doc/?t=mideast&c=isrlpa
B’Tselem:The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories http://www.btselem.org
Birzeit Right to Education Campaign: http://right2edu.birzeit.edu/
United Nations Relief and Works Agency: http://www.un.org/unrwa/
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions: http://www.icahd.org/eng
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