BADIL
– Zochrot Joint
Action: The 2012
joint action initiative
of BADIL-Zochrot was
concluded successful.
This joint action
focused on creating a
practical vision of
return that incorporated
lessons learned from
study missions to areas
with comparable
situations, such as Cape
Town, South Africa.
The outputs of the joint
action include four
articles that broadly
outline Palestinian
refugee return.
The articles were
published in BADIL’s
English periodical,
al majdal
issue # 49. See:
http://www.badil.org/en/al-majdal/itemlist/category/221-issue-49
Civil Society Activists
Forum (CSAF):
The second meeting of
BADIL's
CSAF was held in
Bethlehem on Friday, 28
October 2012. During the
first session of the
meeting,
CSAF members
discussed the early
history of the
Palestinian issue,
elaborating key concepts
and ideas, like
colonialism and its
'moral justifications',
utilized both by
colonial powers as well
as the Zionist
movement/Israel.
Consequently, the
members of the forum
engaged in a lively
debate on the historic
and ideological links
between Zionism as a
national movement and as
a colonial enterprise.
During the second
session of the 5-hours
long meeting, the
members of the forum
embarked on a discussion
on the 'ethnocratic'
nature of the State of
Israel, discussing the
various components of
this concept based on
reading materials
provided to the
CSAF members
beforehand.
BADIL's Civil Society
Activists Forum
(CSAF) aims to
engage activists in the
strategy debates about
BADIL's rights-based
vision and the root
causes of the conflict.
It will be supported by
BADIL to encourage the
implementation of
popular initiatives
whose themes are
grounded in the
historical and cultural
events that have shaped
Palestinian identity (Nakba,
World Refugee Day,
anniversary of UN
Resolution 194).
Academic Activists
Training:
“Palestinian Refugees
under International
Law”, the BADIL course
given at Al Quds
University continues to
gain momentum and
popularity among
academic activists and
future human rights
defenders. For the
fall semester, currently
61 students have
enrolled in the course.
Local
Youth Refugee Network (LYRN):
30 July-1 September -
Thirty members of the
LYRN participated in a 3
day field mission and
tour to the Jordan
Valley and Central and
Northern West Bank.
Through meeting and
interacting with local
communities, the tour
aimed to educate youth
on Israeli colonial
practices, as well as
the displacement
mechanisms in these
regions. In addition to
this, the tour aimed to
revive volunteerism
among Palestinian youth.
Participants not only
learnt how forcible
displacement policies
take place, but also
interacted with victims
and set a plan for
future activities. As
future human rights
defenders, participants
have decided to conduct
various activities
aiming to raising the
voice of displaced
people. Moreover,
between lectures given
by local activists,
meetings with members of
popular committees, and
visits to local
communities in these
areas, LRYN youth left
their mark on one luck
local elementary school,
painting it walls, now
adorned with beautiful
paintings and colorful
solidarity slogans. The
school gardens and yards
also had a fair share of
LRYN care! See:
http://www.badil.org/en/press-releases/142-2012/3608-press-eng-41
13-14 July - The LYRN
participated in the
“First Palestinian
Diaspora Youth
Conference” in Bethlehem
sponsored by the Holy
Land Christian
Ecumenical Foundation.
Despite the fine
objectives, engaging
agenda and good
intentions, the
conference had a
decidedly
political/factional
bias. Therefore,
the LRYN, after
consultation with BADIL,
decided to boycott the
second day of the
conference in objection
to the bias.
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