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Jamal Juma' of Stop the Wall Released by Israeli Authorities

By Carol Schachet
January 13th, 2010

After suffering more than a month in detention without charges, Jamal Juma’, the coordinator of the Stop the Wall Campaign has been released by Israeli authorities.  A Grassroots International partner, Stop the Wall is a coalition of Palestinian non-governmental organizations and neighborhood committees that work to halt the construction of, and dismantle Israel's Wall in the West Bank.

Many international organizations, including Grassroots International, have called for his release, as well as that of other Palestinian human rights activists.

The Middle East International Media Center interviewed Jamal shortly after his release yesterday.

From Jerusalem with Love - Blog from the Middle East

 

The “special treatment” began in the Newark Liberty International Airport where the departure gate for Continental Flight 84 to Tel Aviv, Israel was walled off and separated from all the other gates and passengers. In order to enter that gate area, one had to pass through yet another personal inspection with metal detectors and hand luggage had to be checked all over again. Once you were in this special closed-off gate area you could not leave.

Gaza Freedom March -- No Token Delegation

Nitin Sawhney, a friend of Grassroots International and long time activist for Palestinian rights, was one of the 100 delegates, from the over 1300 international delegate-members of the Gaza Freedom March, chosen to go into Gaza through a last minute intervention by Suzanne Mubarak, wife of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Nitin, and many of his colleagues including the American activist and Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein decided at the last minute to not go.

Gaza Freedom Marchers await entry, keep vigil

 

Starting on New Year’s Eve, the Gaza Freedom March (sponsored by Grassroots International and scores of other organizations) was set up to be an amazing international show of solidarity for the Palestinian people trapped in this small strip of land, still suffering one year after the Israeli bombing campaign.
 
But things don’t always happen as they are planned.
 
More than 1,300 international marchers have been denied entry into Gaza by Egyptian officials, thus barring their only practical port of entry (since Israel has blockaded the territory).

Congress, Accountability, and the Goldstone Report

By Salena Tramel
November 4th, 2009

 

Judge Goldstone Refutes Allegations in Congressional Resolution

On Tuesday, November 3, a bipartisan resolution (HR 867) cosponsored by Reps. Howard Berman (D-CA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) in the House will be likely voted on that condemns the Goldstone report released in September by the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict.

Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict

 

Last week, Justice Richard Goldstone of the United Nations Human Rights Council's Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict and his colleagues relesaed their report on Israel's war on Gaza during December 2008-January 2009. Justice Goldstone is a former judge of South Africa's Constitutional Court (the country's highest) and a former Chief Prosecutor of the International Tribunals on the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

Growing hope and fighting hunger on the Gaza Strip

This is the time of year when gardeners start to reap their rewards—fruits and vegetables that make for a healthy feast. But for the people of Gaza, gardens produce a serving of self-sufficiency, too.

Urban gardens usually bring to mind savvy urbanites indulging in an organic lifestyle—witness Michelle Obama and her model urban garden at the White House. Although urban gardens in the West may not be a total indulgence—Ms.

Documenting Abuses—and Recovery—in Gaza

 

The human rights framework is vital to moving forward in Gaza six months after the end of the 22-day military assault. Grassroots International’s partner the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) has been at the forefront of documentation and human rights defense during extreme times in Gaza. Their attention to detail has earned them newfound respect in the international human rights community.
 
PCHR was totally dedicated to documenting the war – especially as international journalists and human rights workers were not allowed into Gaza during the offensive.