Israel/Palestine: Assaults on Israeli human rights organisations & BDS victories

The current wave of assaults on Israeli peace and human rights organizations, intended to silence and restrict us, only convinces us of the importance of our work and of the impact it has on the Israeli establishment, write the Coalition of Women for Peace. The past year has seen many encouraging developments: The BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement has been growing and “To ourselves, Arabs and Jews, Palestinians and Israelis, we need to say: We must not lose hope. We will continue this struggle until the Palestinian people are free and justice is done. And to the people of Gaza and all the Palestinian people we say: Do not despair, we will end the occupation!” - Abir Kopty, CWP activist. The CWP 2009 report is attached below.

Actions:

➢ Stop the War on Gaza – Immediate response to the Israeli assaults on Gaza

➢ Free Gaza – Ten days of action against the siege

➢ Freedom and Justice for Gaza – Mass demonstration to mark one year to the war

➢ Stop Crimes against Women – International Women's Day march

J u s t i c e

“In a capitalist world, economic activism gives us the opportunity to fight the power of capital with its own instruments, puts a dent in the smug disposition of the profiteers – and that's very satisfying.

- Esti Micenmacher, CWP activist and member of the “Who Profits” Steering Committee

Actions:

➢ Who Profits from the Occupation – CWP's online database about corporate involvement in the occupation

➢ The Norwegian Pension Fund – Initiating divestment from Elbit, an Israeli company that provides surveillance equipment for the Apartheid Wall

➢ Women March for the Right of Return – Commemorating the Nakba

V o i c e

“The most empowering experience for me was being able to talk with other women and to hear other women speaking, to think together and discuss the issues that are important for us all. I feel that political activism is a way for me to contribute to the process of freeing ourselves from the bonds of patriarchy”

- Dina Alterman, a member of FORA – Russian speaking women's organizing within CWP

Actions:

➢ FORA – Russian-speaking women leading social and political change

➢ Media against the Occupation – Practical media course for activists

➢ Women Speak Out – Women's conference one year after the war on Gaza

S p a c e

“Palestinians who engage in the popular struggle are arrested and terrorized and Israelis who protest the government's illegal policies are marked as “traitors”. The Israeli policy regarding nonviolent protest is that any opinion that does not serve the so-called “national interest” should be persecuted, silenced and quashed”

- Yasmeen Daher, CWP board member and activist

Actions:

➢ Solidarity in the Face of Political Persecution – Solidarity actions with New Profile, a CWP member organization that was harassed by Israeli security forces

➢ Stop House Demolitions – Actions against house demolitions in Silwan and Wadi Ara

R e s p o n s i b i l i t y

“I wish to thank your Organisation's stance with regard to impunities and 'war crime' as mentioned in your letter to the UK Government. As a member of the 'Goldstone Report' I also appreciate your supportive comments with regard to our work and its findings”

- Desmond Travers, a member of the Goldstone Fact-Finding Mission, in a letter to CWP

Actions:

➢ Hosting Naomi Klein – A public meeting with the Canadian writer, who spoke about strategies and BDS

➢ Goldstone Report – Sending a translation of the report to Israeli officials, urging them to take responsibility for war crimes committed in Gaza

➢ Maintain Universal Jurisdiction – Initiating an urgent appeal to the British Cabinet, signed by 99 feminist organizations, to not limit universal jurisdiction

L e a r n i n g

“The project was eye opening with regard the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Jewish-Arab conflict in Israel. It gave them the freedom to express their feelings and opinions and many of those who had strong and one-dimensional opinions changed them a bit. The tour in Jerusalem to see the Separation Wall was especially powerful”

- Reframing Security, facilitator's feedback

Actions:

➢ Reframing Security as Human Security – Educational content pool on human security, conducted by women from various fields of expertise

➢ Rethinking the Feminist Peace Agenda – A strategic ideological seminar for activists

You can also download the entire report through this link: http://bit.ly/CWP2009