Demonstrate for an end to Israel's assault on the people of Gaza

Wednesday, January 14th at 8pm Outside the Michigan Union on State St.
Demonstrate for an end to Israel's assault on the people of Gaza

Demand an unconditional and immediate cease-fire and total withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza

The Michigan is located at 530 S. State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1308

*******Notice********
Please do not bring the flags of any political parties

We support an immediate and unconditional cease-fire in Gaza, in addition to a complete withdrawal of all Israeli Occupying Forces from the Gaza Strip. We support an immediate and unconditional end to Israel's illegal siege of the Gaza Strip and demand that all border crossings be opened for the purposes of humanitarian aid and economic freedom. We support a comprehensive halt to all United States military aid to Israel.

ARMBANDS FOR JUSTICE

Black armbands will be distributed campus-wide for people to wear in support of an unconditional and immediate cease-fire and total withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. They will be distributed by members of the Action Gaza committee and will be available at the informational tables set up near the posting wall in Mason Hall TODAY, Wednesday, January 14 from 10 AM to 4 PM. Armbands will also be distributed at TODAY's demonstration in front of the Michigan Union from 8 PM to 10 PM.

Wear your armbands daily until a ceasefire is issued. When people ask about your armband, talk to them about the atrocities being committed in Gaza, the devastatingly disproportionate attacks upon the Palestinian people and Israel's blatant abuse of human rights and repeated violations of international law. If you would like to get an armband, please contact Kamelya Youssef at kyoussef@umich.edu.

Birthright Palestine - Summer 2008

New for 2008 - Introducing Birthright Palestine!

Birthright Palestine is a unique program by native Palestinians for Diaspora Palestinians, so as to assimilate them back into their homeland via cultural immersion. It is meant to gather first-generation, western-born Palestinians (over the age of 18-years old) in their ancestral homeland, so that they can reunite and witness firsthand how their brethren are living under illegal Israeli military occupation, while assimilating them into Palestinian society.

The program is made-up of four major components, education, tourism, hospitality, and volunteering, and was created to maintain Palestinian unity on an international level and to make foreign-born Palestinians feel at home in their homeland.

The First Annual Birthright Palestine program is to launch this summer, marking the 60th Anniversary of Al-Nakba, and is meant to counter the effects of Birthright Israel, which over the years has brought thousands of Jewish people from around the world to 'Israel' in order to encourage their adoption of Zionist ideals and learn about their 'promised land' - many of participants end up becoming Israeli citizens and illegal settlers.

Moreover, Birthright Palestine will allow for the international Palestinian community, largely living in exodus, to become more closely knit, because this program will nurture relationships between participants of Palestinian ethnic origin whom were born in different countries around the world, as well as relationships between Diaspora-born and native-born Palestinians. Also, an exchange of ideas will take place, as local Palestinians will begin to better understand the situation of Diaspora Palestinians and vice versa - possibly leading to a cohesive consensus on core issues of importance to the Palestinian Nation.

Who are we?

The concept was created by the Palestine Center for National Strategic Studies (PCNSS) is a new, non-profit, non-violent, non-factional, non-governmental organizational think tank based out of the Dheisheh Refugee Camp that facilitates student-based research guided by PhD mentors, so as to force Palestinian college students to be more critical of national political and socio-economic policies. Thus, we are primarily fueled by youth, specifically students. We also host and accommodate foreign researchers in conducting their studies in Palestine, and conduct social experiments of our own in the form of projects.

What you can do to help:

Forward this e-mail to as many Diaspora Palestinians as possible, circulate our flyer at your local events and spread the word!

For more information:

Log onto: www.birthrightpalestine.com

E-mail: info@birthrightpalestine.com

Call: +972-2-274-6955

India’s progressive parties unite: stop military ties with Israel

Worldwide Activism, Palestinian grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, March 5th, 2008

On Wednesday, March 5 2008, progressive parties blasted the Indian government in a press conference, accusing it of “aiding and abetting” Israel in its attacks on Palestine and calling for an end to military and security ties.

Convened by the All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation and the Committee for Independent Foreign Policy, the conference launched a mass campaign as well as a signature campaign in parliament to enroll support for cutting Indo-Israeli military ties.

The conference comes only days after the major Palestinian civil society networks and the Palestinian National and Islamic Forces had released a joint appeal to the Indian people and government to cease all military trade and relations.

Key figures of five political parties addressed the media. The CPI(M), whose external backing of government is vital to the ruling alliance, were joined by the NCP, part of the government coalition, and the Samajwadi Party, the house’s fourth largest party, as well as CPI and RJD. Main national news outlets are already covering the press statements extensively.

CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat said India is "betraying" Palestine and has called for a campaign to force the Indian Government to change its stance. He was particularly critical of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement in Parliament on the situation in West Asia. The External Affairs Minister, while pledging to help the Palestinians in the midst of their hardship and misery, failed to mention or condemn the actions of the Israeli state.

"If somebody from outside this planet reads this paragraph (in Mukherjee's statement) they would think that there has been an earthquake in Palestine or a plague. The suffering, the misery. Israel is not mentioned," he said sarcastically.

Karat added that the government’s refusal to acknowledge Israeli actions must be reversed if talk about helping Palestinians is to be taken seriously.

"On the contrary the Indian government is aiding and abetting Israel through military and security collaboration," he said.

Addressing the press conference, NCP leader D K Tripathi said that the people of India are committed to the Palestinian cause, and thus there should not be any relationship with any country at the cost of the rights of Palestinians.

Asserting that the Left has already spoken out against the Government's silence on the West Asia conflict, Karat said, "my party and the other parties will get together to launch a popular campaign to mobilise people to get the Government to change this stand."

This call comes after India, which has historically been one of Palestine’s strongest allies, has recently been openly developing its military ties with Israel. Over the past 15 years, India has become Israel’s largest buyer of arms and spends more on Israeli military equipment than the Israeli military itself. In January India launched a spy satellite for Israel that gathers intelligence on Iran. India also carries out joint research projects with Israel on missiles and drones and has started intelligence sharing.

London School of Economics student union votes for divestment

Press Release, LSE SU Palestine Society, 19 February 2008

The London School of Economics Students' Union (LSESU) on 14 February voted overwhelmingly to call on its university and the National Union of Students (NUS) to divest from companies that provide military and commercial support for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, condemning the decades of human rights abuses and systematic oppression that has occurred as a result.

A motion, brought to the weekly Union General Meeting of more than 400 LSE students by the LSESU Palestine Society, resolved to lobby the LSE and NUS to divest from companies that provide military support for the Israeli occupation, facilitate the maintenance of the illegal "annexation" wall or operate on illegally occupied land or within Jewish only settlements. With a six to one margin, the Union voted to support the aim of targeted divestment until companies cease such practices or until Israel ends its discriminatory oppression and colonization of Palestinian communities.

The Union also resolved to affiliate to the international campaign to end the siege on Gaza and engage in education campaigns to publicize more widely the injustices of Israel's discriminatory polices. This includes working with Palestine solidarity organizations such as Jews for Justice for Palestinians, the British Committee for Universities in Palestine, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Zochrot and the Israeli Committee Against House Demolition, in a bid to end the legalized racial and religious discrimination in Israel.

This has been the result of much debate on LSE's campus over recent weeks, following an earlier motion which acknowledged growing public comparisons made between Apartheid South Africa and the legalized ethnic segregation that has been imposed for decades by the Israeli state. As such, the original proposed motion was amended to provide consensus across the Union in unequivocally condemning Israel's policy of ethnic segregation, with 339 students voting in favor of divestment compared to just 46 against.

Irene Calis of the LSESU Palestine Society stated: "This is an historic moment in the struggle for justice and peace for all citizens of the Middle East. It is time for us to demand our universities divest and stop funding Palestinian oppression. By putting political and economic pressure on the Israeli state, the student movement can not only show continued solidarity with the Palestinian people, but also expedite the end of the Israeli occupation."

Emilano Huet-Vaughn, who spoke in favor of the motion, added, "The resounding support for divestment after lengthy debate shows growing awareness of Israel's systematic discrimination against the Palestinian people and a disgust with the colonial settler regime in the West Bank, and the brutal siege of the Gaza Strip. As a result many LSE students of all backgrounds have voted to take a stand for justice, equality and human rights for all."