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Dear Friend of the Children,
This week, Palestinians everywhere commemorated the 45th anniversary of the naksa, or setback, of 1967 when Israel began its occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula.
Repeatedly violating international law, Israel's illegal annexation of Palestinian land continues as it builds Jewish-only settlements, demolishes homes and community centers in East Jerusalem, and uproots olive trees. Palestinians, however, continue to assert their dignity and human rights by fighting Israel's racist policies and apartheid system of checkpoints, prisons, blockades, and the wall.
For nearly 25 years, MECA has supported Palestinian children and families by building playgrounds, water purification systems, funding scholarships for students, and sending medical aid. Today, we share with you a must-read issue of our e-newsletter, packed with all the latest news and analysis from the ground, as well as MECA updates below!
Many thanks,
MECA Staff |
Palestinians Commemorate Naksa Day
On June 5, Palestinians gathered in the streets of Al Khalil (Hebron) to memorialize Naksa Day. This Naksa Day marks the 45th year of the illegal occupation of Palestinian land by Israel, as a result of the 1967 war, leading to the displacement of thousands of Palestinians.
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Children Under Occupation
- Activist prevents Israeli officer from arresting Palestinian child During Sunday’s Jerusalem Day events, a Palestinian boy, perhaps 10 years old, was chased down an East Jerusalem street by a very angry officer of the Border Police. The boy tripped and fell, then picked himself up just as the Border Police officer reached him and tried to grab him. But a 22 year-old female Israeli activist prevented the boy’s arrest by throwing herself between the two, allowing the Palestinian boy to flee.
- DCI-Palestine submits report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child On June 4, DCI-Palestine submitted a report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in advance of its review of Israel’s compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2013. All states that have ratified the Convention are periodically reviewed by this independent UN Committee. DCI’s report to the Committee covers the period from 2002 to 2012 (reporting period), and includes information on the following issues: fatalities, injuries, detention, human shields, informants, and settler violence.
- A Silwan Story: Palestinian Child Arrested, Abused by Israeli Authorities and Barred From Finishing 9th Grade After 30 days, Suhaib was released, having lost over 20 pounds during his detention. He was sentenced to house arrest at his grandmother's house and his family was required to post a deposit of 50,000 Shekels (about $15,000) in case he violated the conditions of his house arrest. One of those conditions was that Suhaib, who should be in 9th grade, was prevented from returning to school. "I like studying history," Suhaib told me, smiling slightly, "and I want to be a human rights lawyer when I get older."
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Palestinian Political Prisoners' Hunger Strike for Dignity
On April 17, a day that Palestinians commemorate as Prisoners’ Day, thousands of Palestinian prisoners participated in a mass hunger strike, demanding an end to administrative detention, isolation and other punitive measures taken against Palestinian prisoners including the denial of family visits and access to university education. 220 children are among the thousands of Palestinians in Israeli prisoners (though none have joined the hunger strike for health reasons).
While 2,000 Palestinian inmates ended the 28-day hunger strike weeks ago, Palestinian national soccer team member, Mahmoud Sarsak, completed 81 days of a grueling hunger strike, the longest in Palestinian history.
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Israel's Racist Policies
In recent weeks, reports of Israeli racism toward its African migrants have surfaced following a series of violent attacks against this community based on nothing more than their ethnicity.
MECA Executive Director Barbara Lubin comments, "I have fought against all forms of racism my entire life. But as a grandmother of two wonderful boys who were born in Ethiopia, this story particularly repulses me -- although it in no way surprises me in light of how Israel has treated the Palestinians over the past 64 years. But, it is ironic that Israel, which calls itself the only democracy in the Middle East, and airlifted much of its African population into the country, is blatantly mistreating its own citizens. I think if more people would simply open their eyes to Israel's racist policies, they would be appalled."
- [VIDEO] Israel: Race Riot as Tel Aviv's Poor Hunt Down 'Cancerous' African Migrants
- Israeli MK: I didn't mean to shame Holocaust by calling African migrants a 'cancer' However, speaking to Israeli media outlets over the weekend and on Sunday, Regev chose to apologize for calling the Sudanese a cancer, opting however, to direct her apology to Holocaust survivors and cancer patients.
- What Israel’s anti-African pogroms tell us about Zionism A week ago, on the night of Wednesday 23rd May, South Tel Aviv erupted, becoming the epicentre of an attack by an angry, violent mob against members of the city’s African migrant population, deliberately targeted because of no other reason than their ethnicity.
- 'Israel Belongs to the White Man' Israel enacts law allowing authorities to detain illegal migrants for up to 3 years. Until now, migrants caught by IDF have been transferred to the Saharonim detention facility in the south; Interior Minister says migrants do not recognize that Israel 'belongs to the white man.'
- Israel Airport Email Searches Inspect Suspected Pro-Palestinian Activity Targeting mainly Muslims or Arabs, the practice appears to be aimed at rooting out visitors who have histories of pro-Palestinian activism, and in recent weeks, has led to the expulsion of at least three American women.
- Checkpoint Cheek: Confronting Israel’s Green Line Racism The checkpoint's function of ensuring the security of Israelis, and in particular the settlements, has had the effect of imposing mass insecurity among West Bank Palestinians subject to their logic.
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MECA News and Updates
- Mother's Day in Silwan In the early morning of February 13, Israeli forces bulldozed a cultural café and damaged the adjacent sports field that MECA supporters helped build in Silwan, East Jerusalem. Dozens of people responded to MECA’s emergency appeal and a temporary structure was built in just a few weeks. With the help of MECA supporters, the community was able to salvage some of the equipment and build a temporary structure in time for a wonderful celebration on Arabic Mother's Day in March. MECA Supporter Cathy Shields joined the Mother's Day celebration and wrote an account of what happened. Check out our slideshow of the event!
- Book Review: "The Politics of Teaching Palestine to Americans". Written by MECA friend and supporter, Marcy Newman; Help support MECA's work and this important educational resource about Palestine by requesting the publisher release more affordable paperback and ebook editions. Write to Lauren.Jablonski [at] palgrave-usa.com. All proceeds from book sales are donated to MECA.
- [VIDEO] Foul Smell: Treating Gaza's Wastewater under Israeli Blockade, A video about water situation in gaza made by youth ambassadors in Gaza of the Thirsting for Justice Campaign. As part of the Maia Project, MECA is a member of the Emergency Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (EWASH) group in Palestine.
- MECA Summer 2012 Newsletter, Read our latest printed newsletter!
- MECA's Palestine Blog, "Jerusalem Day: Where's the Unity?" MECA Program Director Josie Shields-Stromsness counters the basis of Israel's fallacious celebration.
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