Occupation End Notes
March 5, 2009
Volume 7 Number 3
1. US Campaign Update:Save
the Date: 8th Annual National Organizers' Conference in Chicago,
September 12-13, 2009; National Coalition Against Censorship Covers
Gaza Ad 2. Gaza Action: Poetry and Power to Support the Gaza Accountability Project; Members of Congress Visit Gaza 3. Challenging U.S. Policy Update: No Mention of US Military Aid to Israel in FY2010 Budget Outline; Act to End US Military Aid to Israel 4. Standing Against Apartheid Update: Israeli Apartheid Week Events; US Campaign on Africa Now; Israeli Apartheid in the News 5. Boycott & Divestment Update:
March is Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Month; Support Hampshire
College Divestment; UK Government Boycotts Israeli Tycoon Lev Leviev
& other exciting BDS news! 6. Expressions of Nakba Update: Expressions of Nakba Coming to a City Near You 7. Membership Update: New Member Organizations; 6th Annual New Orleans Human Rights Film Festival 8. Resources & Events: World Council of Churches Week for Peace in Palesitne Israel; Nadia Hijab Column; New Educational Resources Available 9. Opportunities to Visit Israel and Palestine:
Christian Peacemaker Teams, Global Exchange, Middle East Children's
Alliance, Interfaith Peace-Builders and Friends of Sabeel - North
America Top of Page
1. US CAMPAIGN UPDATE: * Save The Date! 8th Annual National Organizers' Conference in Chicago, IL, September 12-13, 2009
Our 8th Annual National Organizers' Conference will be held during the
weekend of September 12th - 13th, 2009. We will be sending out all
necessary information for you to plan and book your flights in the
upcoming months.
Click here for more information.
* National Coalition Against Censorship Covers Censored Gaza Ad
The National Coalition Against Censorship posted an article about the
US Campaign's Gaza ad, which was censored by DIRECTV. Please click here to view our ad which was censored by DIRECTV and take action to oppose US military aid to Israel.
Read the NCAC's coverage of the ad by clicking here.
* How You Can Sustain the US Campaign Support our ongoing work by donating online, donating office supplies and services, or joining the Olive Branch Club. Click here for more information.
* New Book Available for Purchase The
book Occupied Voices: Stories of Everyday Life from the Second Intifada
by Wendy Pearlman is now available from the US Campaign.
The
stories in this book, ranging from the humorous to the tragic, paint a
profile of the Palestinians that is as honest as it is uncommon in the
Western media: that of ordinary people who simply want to live ordinary
lives.
To view this book and other merchandise available form the US Campaign, click here.
* Follow US Campaign on Twitter & Facebook
Follow the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation on Facebook and Twitter by clicking here:

Main US Campaign Facebook page
Hang Up On Motorola Facebook page 
Challenging Military Aid Facebook page
US Campaign's Twitter page
2. GAZA ACTION: * Come Join us for Poetry & Power! Help Hold Israel and the U.S. Accountable for War Crimes in Gaza
Come hear the powerful Palestinian poet Suheir Hammad and support accountability for war crimes in Gaza.
International Women's Day -- March 8, 2009 -- 3:00pm
Busboys and Poets, 14th & V Streets, Washington DC
Join with us to document Israel's attacks on Gaza that violate
international law, and help us expose Israeli officials who may be
guilty when they visit the U.S. Join with us to demand that the U.S.
government be held accountable for its complicity with Israel, and that
it stop providing Israel with the money and weapons and diplomatic
protection that made the recent attacks on Gaza possible
Please come and support this fundraiser on March 8, and hear the
award-winning poet Suheir Hammad read from her new title: "breaking
poems" (Cypher Books 2008). Suheir will also read from her earlier
works, including "ZaatarDiva", "Born Palestinian, Born Black" and
"Drops of This Story".
* Members of Congress Visit Gaza; Pres. Obama to Sanction Israel?
Recent visits to Gaza by Sen. John Kerry and Reps. Keith Ellison and
Brian Baird and growing indications that the Obama administration might
consider sanctioning Israel have created momentum for the effort to
hold Israel accountable for its actions in the Gaza Strip.
Click here
to learn more about the visits by members of Congress and to keep up
the pressure on the Obama administration to hold Israel accountable.
* Take Action
For more action ideas on what you can do end the siege on Gaza and hold Israel accountable, visit our web section "Take Action to End Israel's War and Siege on Gaza."
3. CHALLENGING U.S. POLICY: * Take Action: No Mention of Aid to Israel in Budget, Thank Pres. Obama
Last
Thursday, President Obama sent his FY2010 budget outline to Congress
and we were pleasantly surprised to see that it contained no mention of
military aid to Israel. Does this mean that
President Obama will not include $2.775 billion in military aid to
Israel when he delivers his actual detailed budget request to Congress
in April as expected? That's highly doubtful. But the absence of any
mention of it in the budget outline or the President's address to
Congress does mean that military aid to Israel is becoming a political
liability, something that is now downplayed and no longer trumpeted.
Click here to read more.
To thank Pres. Obama for not including military aid to Israel in his
budget outline, and to act to end U.S. military aid to Israel, click here.
* Help Influence the Obama Administration: Yes We Can…End Military Aid to Israel!
Find out how you can take steps to influence the Obama Administration
to end weapons transfers to Israel by clicking here.
4. STANDING AGAINST APARTHEID UPDATE: * Educate Your Community and Organize around Israeli Apartheid Week US Campaign member groups are joining activists around the world to commemorate Israeli Apartheid Week. Click here to register your IAW events with the US Campaign or click here to learn more about Israeli Apartheid Week. To find an event near you, click here.
* Listen
to US Campaign Advisory Board member, Bill Fletcher, Jr, and National
Organizer, Katherine Fuchs, on Pacifica's Africa Now
The February 18th edition of Africa Now
focused on the role of South African unions in the Global BDS movement
and the connections between South African apartheid and apartheid
policies in Israel/Palestine. Click here to listen.
* US Considers Boycotting World Conference on Racism
March 3, 2009-The Obama administration is considering a boycott of the
second World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Geneva next April due in part to
the conference's criticism of racism and apartheid in Israel. Click here to read more.
* Israeli Apartheid Week in the news
March 3, 2009-Israeli Apartheid Week and "Durban II" World Conference
Against Racism gains attention as BDS movement grows.
5. BOYCOTT & DIVESTMENT UPDATE: * March is Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Month
Learn about opportunities for action on boycott, divestment, and sanctions this month, including supporting Hampshire College divestment, Israeli Apartheid Week, Rachel Corrie Day, and the Global BDS Day of Action, by clicking here.
* Hang Up On Motorola Resources Sign up
to be a local organizer for our Motorola boycott. Get organizing tools
such as postcards for the Hang Up On Motorola pledge, factsheets about
Motorola's support for Israeli apartheid policies, and tips on how to
involve retailers in the campaign.
Or click here to donate to support the ongoing Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions work of the US Campaign.
* UK Government Boycotts Israeli Tycoon Lev Leviev over Settlement Construction
Decision a Victory for Coordinated Campaign in Palestine, US, UK and Israel
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, NY, March 4 - The government of the United Kingdom has
decided to boycott Israeli diamond and real estate mogul Lev Leviev
over his companies' construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian
land in the Occupied West Bank, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz
Daily reported today. The decision by the UK government followed a
coordinated advocacy campaign by human rights advocates in New York,
the UK, Palestine and Israel demanding that the UK government end plans
to rent the new UK Embassy in Tel Aviv from Leviev's company
Africa-Israel.
Click here to read more (http://adalahny.org/index.php/press-releases/25-press-releases-land-developer/292-uk-embassy-boycotts-leviev).
* Support Hampshire College Divestment
In early February, Hampshire College announced that it was divesting
from a mutual fund that included from six corporations supporting
Israel's military occupation - including Motorola and Caterpillar.
Now, after attack from Alan Dershowitz and other Zionist activists,
Hampshire's administration has announced that its divestment had
nothing to do with the Israeli Occupation but rather with a general
socially responsible investment policy AND is considering the
possibility of reinvesting in Motorola and Terex Corp. Call on
Hampshire College president, Ralph Hexter, to stand with Hampshire College Students for Justice in Palestine by clicking here.
* Caterpillar Debated by Pulaski County, Arkansas, Justices of the Peace (Country Legislature)
A
Pulaski County justice of the peace recently used a county resolution
supporting tax incentives for a planned Caterpillar plant in North
Little Rock as a forum to oppose the company's sale of bulldozers to
Israel. Read more here: http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2009/feb/24/jp-fights-tractor-sales-caterpillar-israe-20090224/
* Brooklyn Coop May Boycott Israeli Products
February 20, 2009-A 15,000 member food co-op in Park Slope is considering a boycott of Israeli products. Click here to read more.
* Sports Boycott Growing
Swedish officials have recently announced that spectators will not be
allowed into the stadium to watch the Israeli and Swedish tennis
players compete in the first round of the Davis Cup to be held in Malmo
in March. This decision was encouraged by two Swedish political
parties and the promise of 10,000 demonstrators protesting Israel's
recent war and continuing siege of the Gaza Strip. Sweden has taken
action like this twice before, when the Swedish and Chilean teams
played before an empty house in protest of dictator Augusto Pinochet
and when a match against the Rhodesian team was cancelled in protest of
that state's apartheid policies. In similar news, Israeli tennis
player, Shahar Peer was recently denied a visa to compete in Dubai.
* Join the Cultural Boycott Movement
The Batsheva Dance Company is currently touring North America. Click here to learn how to get involved with boycotting Israel's cultural ambassadors.
* Support the Academic Boycott of Israel
The international academic boycott of institutions supporting Israel's occupation has spread from Europe to Canada and now
to the United States. Click here to get involved in the U.S. academic boycott movement.
* Great BDS website
The Israeli Coalition of Women for Peace exposes corporations profiting
from the occupation of Palestinian territory and people. Click here to check out WhoProfits.org.
* Morally Responsible Investment Resources for Churches
Friends of Sabeel North America now has a website devoted to resources
on morally responsible investment activism. View their resources by
clicking here.
6. EXPRESSIONS OF NAKBA UPDATE: * See Expressions of Nakba in Your City this Spring:
March 10-17, 2009: Jeannette Rankin Peace Center (Missoula, MT)
March 26-April 5, 2009: New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival (New Orleans, LA),
April 8-15, 2009: William & Mary Students for Justice in Palestine (Williamsburg, VA),
May 1-15, 2009: United States Palestine Community Network-Chicago (Chicago, IL).
7. MEMBERSHIP UPDATE:
In an effort to better help our coalition members network and for us to
better gauge the coalition's regional diversity, we have put together a
map with all 270 coalition members represented by state:

If you don't see your state represented within the US Campaign: Join us!
Please welcome the following group(s) to our coalition: American Friends Service Committee Connecticut - Hartford, CT
Academy for Learning Islamic Faith (ALIF) - McKinney, TX
* PATOIS: The 6th Annual New Orleans International Human Rights Festival
March 26th - April 5th, 2009
This
April, US Campaign member organization, New Orleans Palestine
Solidarity will present the fifth annual New Orleans International
Human Rights Film Festival. This festival, started by and guided by
their group, has been an incredible project for bridging Palestine
solidarity and other movements.
The US Campaign is a proud sponsor of this film festival and we encourage all our supporters to attend.
Click here for information.
8. RESOURCES AND EVENTS:
* Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival March 11th -14th, 2009
The Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival brings you an array of comedy,
drama, fiction, non-fiction, features, shorts, and experimental films,
which all showcase the diversity and strength of Palestinian cinema.
These films represent the true nature of Palestinians and the
Palestinian narrative, in stark contrast to the bias and stereotypes
that mainstream news and media present. The breadth of the stories and
the emotions expressed in these films know no bounds. The Ann Arbor
Palestine Film Festival will take place in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from
March 11th-14th, 2009.
More information can be found at: www.a2palestinefilmfest.org
* 2nd Annual Houston Palestine Film Festival
April 16th-25th , 2009
The
second annual Houston Palestine Film Festival brings an honest and
independent view of Palestine and its Diasporas society, culture, and
political travails through the art of film. This group of
groundbreaking cinematic texts rises above the degrading stereotypes or
reductively politicized depictions that are so familiar to Houstonians.
A major goal of the Festival is to directly expose our local community
to the perspective of artists as a first step toward circumventing the
many government and media filters that pollute our understanding of
Palestine and the wider region.
More information can be found at: http://hpff.org/about.php * World Council of Churches Announces World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel
The World Council of Churches is inviting member churches and related
organizations to join a week of advocacy and action for a just peace in
Palestine and Israel from June4-10, 2009. Click here to learn more about the World Week for Peace and how you can get involved through prayer, education, and advocacy.
* Nadia Hijab column: The Wishful and the Realistic
Click here
to read the column by US Campaign Advisory Board member Nadia Hijab of
the Institute for Palestine Studies. For a list of Ms. Hijab's recent
articles, click here.
*Job Vacancy - Legal Researcher for Al-Haq
Al-Haq, the West Bank affiliate of the International Commission of
Jurists, Geneva, is currently seeking to fill a one-year fixed-term
contract position for a Legal Researcher. The position is full-time (40
hours/week) and is based in Ramallah. For more information, click here.
* Order Palestinian Loss of Land Map Cards
Educate in your community using these postcard sized maps, which show
Palestinian loss of land from 1946 through the current day. Click here to order from Friends of Sabeel North America and here for Quakers with a Concern for Palestine Israel.
9. DELEGATIONS TO ISRAEL/PALESTINE: * Global Exchange's Delegations to Palestine & Israel
July 25th-August 4th, 2009 November 5th-16th, 2009 December 5th-15th, 2009
* Middle East Children's Alliance Upcoming Delegations to Palestine/Israel in 2009
* Interfaith Peace-Builders Delegations to Israel/Palestine March 8th-21st, 2009 May 23rd-June 5th, 2009 July 25th-August 7th, 2009 October 24th - November 6th, 2009
* Sabeel/Friends of Sabeel North America Delegations to Israel/Palestine 
Friends of Sabeel North America maintains a list of alternative travel
opportunities to Israel/Palestine. To view the list, click here. Back to top
Occupation End Notes is the US Campaign bi-monthly newsletter, designed
as a tool for activists. For this newsletter to be successful, we need
your participation. Use us to promote events, give feedback on recent
actions, recommend resources, or just learn from other activists in the
movement. If you or your organization are planning an event aimed at
ending the occupation, or you have information for the Newsletter,
please contact the US Campaign at intern@endtheoccupation.org.
The US Campaign aims to change U.S. policies that sustain Israel's
41-year occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip and East
Jerusalem, and that deny equal rights for all.
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