April - June 2013

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Youth Education and Activation Project (YEAP)

Third Initiative-Campaign against Forced Population Transfer (FPT):

The YEAP participants joined BADIL, the FPT Coalition and the marginalized populations living in the villages surrounding Hebron (Masafer Yatta) in the 3rd Popular Initiative in the Campaign against FPT which was implemented in Twany at the Elementary Public School. For more information see( in arabic)

The YEAP also participated in BADIL’s Commemoration of Nakba-65 which took place in Manger Square, Bethlehem. For more information see ( in arabic)

 
Al-Awda Award Competition

This is the 7th year of BADIL’s Annual Al Awda Award. BADIL launched the 2013 Award on 28 January 2013 under the slogan “Generation by generation, we will continue to protect our fig and olive trees.”- Tawfiq Zayyad.

The first category, Best Nakba Commemoration Poster, was closed on 12 April 2013 with 81 high quality and creative submissions from all over historic Palestine as well as submissions from abroad. The first place poster was utilized in the Nakba-65 commemoration and it was submitted by Mr. Musab Abu Sil from Gaza.

For a complete list of the winners and honorary mentions for Best Nakba Poster, see  (in arabic)

31 May was the deadline for the second, third and fourth categories: Best Caricature, Best Photograph by Youth, and Best Story for Children, respectively. The submissions for these categories are being evaluated by the respective independent juries and the results will be announced in the second half of 2013.

 

Ongoing Nakba Education Center (ONEC)

BADIL has published the following productions on the ONEC website in the second quarter of 2013:

1.      “Ink on Paper” – Homsa; see

2.      “3 Days…” – Awarta; see

3.      Photo-story – Lifta; see

4.      “Sons of Lifta” – Lifta; see

5.      “Testimonies of Zionist Fighters” – Huj Village; see

6.      “From Al-Araqib to Susiya”; see

7.      “Umm al-Hieran Unrecognized Village v Hiran Settlement”; see

8.      “The Uprooted – A Tale of Palestinian  Farmers” – Al-Jab’a Village; see

9.       “From Kafr ‘Ana with a Key”– Kafr ‘Ana, Jaffa District see

BADIL is also engaged in a speaking tour in Scotland and the UK to promote the ONEC specifically and BADIL in general.  Thus far 4 separate events at various venues have been implemented as part of a 16 event tour scheduled for the coming summer months. The events feature a film screening from the ONEC followed by discussion and/or interview, coupled with a photo exhibition.

 

Mobilization, Outreach and Networking: 

Ø  Nakba-65 Commemoration

This year the national commemoration of Nakba-65 took place at Manger Square in Bethlehem and was attended by thousands of people from historic Palestine as well as internationals.  BADIL implemented the commemoration in cooperation with municipalities, popular committees, political parties, local church groups and community-based organizations. The main activities of the commemoration were: a march utilizing torches and banners led by a marching band; addresses from the Secretary General of the People’s Party, Fatah Revolutionary Council, and Archbishop Atallah Hanna of the Greek Orthodox Church; and a special performance from Al Funoun Al Shabiya Dance Troupe. The Best Nakba Poster from the Al Awda Award was used as the main promotional tool in various forms (posters, t-shirts, banners, etc.) by all in this and other commemoration activities. For more information see

 

Ø  Participation in the Right of Return Conference-Boston University, USA

The conference took place on Saturday and Sunday 6-7 April at the Boston University Law School Auditorium with over 200 people in attendance. It explored right of return discourses as they exist among Palestinian communities around the world by opening a space for envisioning and delving into the practical implementation of this right. The aim of the conference was to shift and expand the discourse around Palestine in US academia and to explore the right of return within the United States more broadly. Conference panelists discussed legal, political, spatial, discursive, and cultural questions, featuring their submissions to a call for papers. The discussions were open to the general public. BADIL’s keynote address, “Paving Paths to Peace and Home: Practicalities of Return”, focused on the fact that durable solutions for Palestinian refugees is both an individual right as well as a prerequisite to establishing a viable peace in the region. For more information, see

 

Ø  Participation in the 2nd Palestinian Solidarity Conference in Stuttgart, Germany

BADIL, through its Geneva-based Legal Advocacy Consultant participated as a lecturer in this conference which took place 10-12 May.  The conference explored topics such as  settler colonialism, Apartheid, civil resistance and BDS, which were introduced in the 1st solidarity conference as well as the recent dramatic changes in the region and how they effect the Palestinian struggle. The conference featured renowned experts from the USA, UK, historic Palestine, Tunisia and Germany. 

 

Ø  Palestinian Conference on Forced Population Transfer: Elements and Responsibilities

 

 

On 4 June 2013 in Ramallah, BADIL hosted the first Palestinian conference on forced population transfer. The conference entitled “Forced Population Transfer-Elements and Responsibilities” was the first of its kind tackling the issue of the forced population transfer of the indigenous Palestinian population and local, national and international interventions to prevent displacement. At the conference BADIL launched “Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians: A Handbook for Vulnerable Individuals and Communities”, a guide to understanding the linkage between Israeli land regime and forced population transfer and the accompanying “Know your Rights” Information Packet. Hundreds of Palestinians and internationals attended the conference which hosted a plethora of experts representing both local, national and international organizations and academic institutions.For more information, see

 

Ø  Fact-Finding Mission 

To complement the Conference on Forced Population Transfer, BADIL provided a two-day fact-finding mission 5-6 June to areas facing forcible transfer.  The villages of Al Walaja, Battir and Wadi Fukin of the Bethlehem governorate were the destination of the first day of the conference; Masafer Yatta and Beit Zacharia in the Hebron Governorate constituted the second day of the mission.  Approximately 20 people attended the fact-finding mission including international guest experts from the conference.

 

Ø  Participation in the 4th National BDS Conference

BADIL, as a member of OPGAI and other networks, coordinated and facilitated the implementation of the 4th National BDS Conference. Held on 8 June, the conference provided a distinguished platform for exchanging ideas among Palestinian youth and student activists, trade unionists, women activists, decision makers, intellectuals, academics, representatives of the private sector, and leading NGO networks. Aimed at promoting and enabling Palestinian society’s effective development of sector-based BDS campaigns with clear strategies and leadership teams in recognition of how Israel is increasingly seeking Palestinian and other Arab “fig-leaves” to cover up its intensifying occupation, colonization and apartheid, one of the main themes addressed was the economic, academic, cultural, youth and IT sector normalization with Israel and ways of confronting it. BADIL’s intervention focused on Israeli’s continued systematic ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinian population and the importance of the use of sanctions to confront and deter forced population transfer.  For more information, see

 

Ø  Participation in OPGAI Youth Training and Workshop

Seven members of BADIL’s Strategy Forum participated in the Youth Training and Workshop implemented by OPGAI.  The day long event was held in the AIC in Beit Sahour.  The youth were trained on the political realities of the Palestinian struggle during the first half of the day.  The second half of the day was devoted to exploring the principles of volunteerism, the management of youth summer camps and how to overcome obstacles and resolve conflict in the context of implementing these activities.

 

Ø  USA Mobilization

The promotion of BADIL, its publications and the ONEC in the USA has resulted in the greater visibility, awareness and partnerships for BADIL in the USA.  BADIL, in collaboration with the City School of Boston and the Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology participated in a youth workshop on 23 May.  The workshop aimed at “learning together about the ways that racism, lockdown, and legacies of colonialism impact the current landscapes of many youth of color from Boston to Palestine, with an emphasis on sharing resilience/resistance strategies across borders and ways to increase hope and improved access to both wellness and justice for all.” The workshop explored the history of Palestine and displacement though an active, participatory mapping exercise that facilitated understanding stereotypes and labels.

 

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