Eldon Hilliards mates Gary, who has worked on the conflict in Israel/Palestine for the last few years posted this rather insightful list of action points for those who want to do more to end the blockade and the endless cycle of violence. I am looking into a trip out there if anyone wants to come along as I am sick of being told that I cant contribute to the discussion as I have never been there. With the current violence in Gaza so shockingly high, many friends have asked me is there anything that they can do. Seeing the images on TV and hearing of the extreme situation, such as dead bodies of children in Gaza being placed in ice-cream freezers because morgues are overflowing, it can make one feel utterly hopeless. However there is a lot that ordinary citizens can do.. consider taking a few minutes to do some of the following: 1. Take online actions and petitions that call for an end to violence, justice and accountability, and for an arms embargo to Israel: trocaire.org/gaza https://amnesty.org.uk/actions/gaza-israel-stop-arms?from=issues 2. Better yet, write a personal email or hand-written letter in your own words to your politicians (such as Irelands Minister for Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan [email protected] ) 3. Attend protests and marches, and get involved in solidarity campaigns (see ipsc.ie and sadaka.ie ) 4. Donate to emergency appeals https://trocaire.org/donate/make-a-donation?fund=Gaza redcross.ie/news/appeals/gaza-crisis-appeal/ https://indiegogo/projects/gaza-legal-defence-fund 5. Use your consumer power - Boycott goods like Sodastream which is manufactured in an Israeli settlement. Better yet, write to retailers who stock sodastream. This works - a number of Irish retailers have stopped stocking it already following pressure (see stockists listed here sodastream.ie/store-locator ) 6. Learn more about the history of the military occupation and forced displacement of Palestinians. One of the problems of the media is the obsessive focus on what has happened in the last 5 minutes, rather than zooming out and explaining the history and the root causes of the violence. Watch: A great 7 min animated primer on the conflict from Jewish Voices for Peace explaining the basic history and issues youtube/watch?v=Y58njT2oXfE A great John Pilger documentary from 2002: johnpilger/videos/palestine-is-still-the-issue Read: Palestine - Joe Sacco (excellent graphic novel) amazon/Palestine-Joe-Sacco/dp/156097432X The Gun and the Olive Branch - David Hirst amazon/Gun-Olive-Branch-Violence-Middle/dp/1560254831 7. Visit Palestine and bear witness first hand Support Palestinian farmers during the Olive harvest this October: jai-pal.org/en/campaigns/olive-tree-campaign/olive-picking-program/186-invitation-jai-atg-olive-picking-program-2014 Volunteer for 3 months with the EAPPI human rights accompaniment programme in the West Bank (highly recommended) quaker.org.uk/apply-be-ea Thankfully its looking like the operation in Gaza may end in the coming days, but most likely it will be a unilateral withdrawal by the Israeli military. Without addressing the fundamental issues : blockade, occupation and impunity for war crimes - well be doomed to be watching another operation in Gaza again in a few years time.. We need to channel public anger towards putting real presure on Israel to end this. Oh and I forgot to mention - if youre interested in learning more about Palestine, Trócaire are organising a series of public talks this week in Derry and Belfast (we just missed the Dublin talk). Please join the Trócaire discussion in Belfast or Derry: The ongoing displacement of Palestinians and the current crisis in Gaza by Lubnah Shomali, a Palestinian activist from Beit Sahur in Bethlehem who works for one of Trócaires partners in the region, BADIL Resource Centre for Palestinian Refugee and Residency Rights. Derry Féile: Friday 8th August, 1pm-2pm Cultúrlann, 37 Great James Street, Derry RSVP: [email protected] *Belfast Féile: Friday 8th August, 5pm St. Marys University College,191 Falls Road, Belfast *No need to RSVP, seats will be allocated on arrival. As such, we advise you to arrive 15 minutes early.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 07:41:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015