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Supporter Update June 2012
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Dear Friend of Sadaka,
Welcome to the new format Sadaka update!
Up until now, Sadaka has emailed you occasional emails in relation to specific pieces of work – usually limited to reports on speakers’ tours or to request your lobbying support. However, there is a lot of other work going on in the background. This is the first of a new system of emailing you bi-monthly updates – these will be short, will focus on one or two areas of Sadaka’s work you don’t hear much about and will draw your attention to the latest Sadaka publications. As always, we also encourage you to visitwww.sadaka.ie which will provide you with the latest articles, opinions and analysis on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories from a wide range of sources across the globe.
Also, if you have not already formally become a Supporter of Sadaka, we strongly encourage and invite you to do so. The registration fee is relatively small and we are totally dependent on your voluntary contributions to finance our work. To those of you who are already supporters – thank you – your support and financial contributions are very much appreciated!
In solidarity with the people of Palestine,
Marie Crawley, Chair
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Palestine resource available to schools – North and South!
Launch of Education Pack on Palestine for Secondary Schools
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The publication of this education resource, which will formally be available to secondary schools, North and South, is a milestone development.
Since the beginning of 2010, Sadaka has been working in partnership with the Education for Reconciliation project (a partnership of the CDVEC Curriculum Development Unit and the Centre for Cross Border Studies – funded by the EU through the Peace Programme) to develop a resource for secondary school teachers entitled ‘Palestine – Israel: A Case Study in International Law, Human Resources and Conflict Resolution.’ The resource has been piloted by secondary teachers, North and South, and will be available for use in schools throughout Ireland from September 2012.
This project is the first of its kind in Ireland and is designed so that it suits both the Transition Year requirements in the Republic of Ireland and the Local and Global Citizenship curriculum in Northern Ireland. It is aimed at increasing young people’s understanding of the causes and context of the situation of the Palestinian people. The resource was launched at the closing conference of the Education for Reconciliation Project in Derry on 25th April – but watch this space for details of a dedicated launch over the next couple of months. Our sincere thanks to Dr. Elaine Murtagh, Board member of Sadaka, and our partners in the Education for Reconciliation project for their tireless dedication, commitment and sheer hard work in developing this resource over the past 2 years.
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Tour to Palestine for Irish Academics
Focus on the Palestinian Right to Education – Learn about the Occupation
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Sadaka is organising a visit of Irish academics to Palestine from 16th – 21st September 2012. The tour will include visits to Bethlehem, Bir Zeit (Ramallah) and Al Najah (Nablus) universities. The itinerary will also feature a tour of settlements in East Jerusalem, a visit to a Refugee camp and various other site visits to, and presentations from, NGOs and businesses active in the Occupied West Bank. The visit aims to inform participants about the Palestinian Right to Education Campaign, to begin the process of organising a return trip by Palestinian academics and to develop formal and informal relationships between Irish and Palestinian academics and institutions. The visit is being organised by Sadaka Board member, Dr. Des McGuinness. If you are interested in taking part in the tour or would like more information, please contact Des on desmcg@gmail.com This is one not to be missed!
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Move towards Ban on Settlement Goods
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For the past year and a half, Sadaka has been working alongside EAPPI, Christian Aid and Trócaire on the issue of Settlement Goods. In a letter to Sadaka in August 2011, Eamon Gilmore, Minister for Foreign Affairs, stated that Ireland was in favour of banning settlement goods but cautioned that such a move would be unlikely to win support from other EU states.
On 14 May, the EU Foreign Affairs Council approved a very strong statement on Israel/Palestine, which pointed out that Israel’s actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are undermining the possibility of a Palestinian state being created. The Council specifically condemned Israel’s relentless settlement expansion and its forcing of Palestinians out of East Jerusalem and Area C, and demanded that these activities cease. Ireland was one of the states that pressed for this strong statement. Eamon Gilmore is also to press for follow up action at the Foreign Affairs Council in the autumn. He told Dáil Éireann on 22 July:
“I suggested at the Council [on 14 May] that in view of the urgency of these issues on the ground, Ministers should look at them again in the autumn to see if the situation had improved or was continuing to worsen. I suggested that if matters continued to worsen and our existing actions had not improved them, we would clearly need to consider stronger actions. The exclusion from the EU of settlement products and of individual settlers engaged in violence, should, in that case, be considered.”
We strongly welcome this stance by the Minister.
Sadaka and others both in Ireland and throughout the EU will continue our work to push for an EU-wide ban on settlement goods. Watch this space for further developments.
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Latest Sadaka Publications
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Ireland may propose an EU Ban
on Settlement Goods
Ireland may propose an EU ban on settlement goods in the autumn, Foreign Minister, Eamon Gilmore, told Dáil Éireann on 22 May 2012. He was reporting on the outcome of the EU Foreign Affairs Council a week earlier, which made unprecedented criticism of Israel’s ongoing actions in East Jerusalem and Area C, in particular, settlement building and the forcing out of Palestinians. This briefing discusses the Council’s conclusions and the reports by the EU heads of mission to Palestine, which contributed to these conclusions.
http://www.sadaka.ie/Articles/Briefings/BRIEFING-Ireland_may_propose_an_EU_ban.pdf
Dr. David Morrison
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Without External Pressure on Israel,
a Palestinian State is Unattainable
In July 2011, Eamon Gilmore, Minister of Foreign Affairs & Trade, stated:”The continuing Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territories is at the heart of the unresolved Arab-Israeli conflict. … It is the continuing occupation, and the creation and growth of illegal settlements on the occupied lands, which are now the major obstacles to peace.”
This briefing asks the question: how can these obstacles be eliminated, so that a sovereign Palestinian state can come into being? We conclude that they will not be eliminated simply by direct negotiations between Israel and Palestinians. They will only be eliminated by external pressure on Israel to cease settlement building and end the occupation. Absent that pressure from the US and/or EU, the two political entities that have leverage over Israel, in our view a sovereign Palestinian state is unattainable.
http://www.sadaka.ie/Articles/Briefings/BRIEFING-Palestinian-state-unattainable.pdf
Dr. David Morrison
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Home Demolitions
The demolition of Palestinian homes is politically motivated and strategically informed. The goal is to confine the 4 million residents of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza to small enclaves, thus effectively foreclosing any viable Palestinian state, ensuring Israeli control and to allow for the expropriation of land, the ethnic displacement of Palestinians, and the extension of Israel’s settlement programme.
This latest section on the Sadaka website provides a detailed account of the history and current policy of home demolitions with particular emphasis on Area C and East Jerusalem. Sadaka Home Demolitions page
Caitlín Ní Chonaill
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The Nakba
Al Nakba (‘catastrophe’ or ‘disaster’ in Arabic) is the name given to the organised expulsion of approximately 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands by Zionist forces in 1948, the year the state of Israel was established. From its formation, the official position of the Israeli state is has been one of denial that this terrible event ever happened.
http://www.sadaka.ie/Articles/Factsheets/FACTSHEET-Nakba.pdf
Dr. Des McGuinness
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Become a Sadaka Supporter
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If you have not already become a formal supporter of Sadaka – we encourage you to please do so. The fee for registration is €30 / £25 per year (more if you can, less if you can’t). The finances we raise through supporter donations are crucial to support our work.
So – please – if you like what we do – use the following link to register and make your donation using a variety of payment options. http://sadaka.ie/Home/Donate.html
In advance, many thanks!
Sadaka – the Ireland Palestine Alliance
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