Friends International Center in Ramallah: April 2010 Newsletter
This month’s newsletter will focus on some highlights of the Ramallah Meetinghouse Centennial celebrations that took place in March. While we were marking the centennial of the Meetinghouse and Friends work for peace and justice, however, we were constantly reminded of the context in which Ramallah Friends and the wider community lives. It is important to keep in mind that we are affected by everything that happens in Palestine.
As we were meeting in a spirit of celebration, the Israeli occupation continued with its evictions of Palestinians and demolitions of their homes, its land confiscations, new settlement construction, and arrests of Palestinians. People here feel that they live in two large prisons – the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This is the context in which Palestinians live and build the institutions they need for a future state of their own.
The US holds so much power over what happens or does not happen here in moving or not moving towards a just peace between Palestinians and Israelis. Will a solution come from the Quartet – the US, the EU, Russia, the UN? If not, from where? Liberation is stifled by a very strong and powerful occupier who is backed by a stronger superpower. What will the international community offer in the formula for a just peace?
After a victory with his proposed healthcare reform, President Barak Obama is turning his attention to other issues. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict seems to be one of those issues. People here are cautiously optimistic but not holding their breath. There have been too many disappointments in the past.
As the US and Israel are working out their relationship after the latest “disagreement” on the settlement issue, Palestinians and Israelis are standing back to surmise how the restarting of the talks between Israelis and Palestinians will go.
(Click here to read what Israelis are saying about the US-Israeli relationship)
(Click here to read what Palestinians are saying about the US-Israeli relationship)
(Click here to read more about what is happening on the ground.)
People are struggling to throw off the yoke of occupation. Adeeb was arrested almost a year ago while participating in a nonviolent demonstration in Bil’in. Here his wife talks about how hard it is to raise the family without her husband. The family is asking for a volunteer to create a website for them. Please contact them if you are able to do this. If you can help, please contact Adeeb’s daughter rajaaburahmeh@yahoo.com
(Click here to read an interview with the wife of Adeeb Abu Rahme).