There are 16
categories of links below:
Recommended extensive lists of links
United Methodist Holy Land Task Force - Useful
Links
Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Israel
Network - Educational Resources
Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU)
Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel
- links
Background material and countering conventional
questions
United Methodist Holy Land Task Force - Nice
background material
https://www.umhltf.org/Background.html
Mini- primer about why Israelis and
Palestinians are fighting,
http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/content/israeli-palestinian-conflict-101
about why Israelis and Palestinians are fighting, why
the US-backed peace process has been an impediment to peace, and
what you can do to make a difference. This conflict is essentially
about land and human rights, not religion and culture. [We
believe this primer could have provided more coverage of Palestinian
human rights violations. See
Palestinian violations.]
They Say, We Say - countering rhetoric of the
religious and right-wing
http://peacenow.org/pages/they-say-we-say.html
Counter-Rhetoric - Challenging “conventional
wisdom” & reframing the conflict
https://www.umhltf.org/Counter_Rhetoric.html
What The New York Times doesn't tell you about Palestine and Israel
http://timeswarp.org/
Links to references made in the PCUSA version of
the church letter sent by 15 church leaders to Congress (10-5-2012)
Foreign Assistance Act -
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arms Export
Control Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arms_Export_Control_Act
2011 Human
Rights Reports: Israel and The Occupied
Territories
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/190656.pdf
2012 Human
Rights Reports: Israel and The Occupied
Territories
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012/nea/204363.htm
B'Tselem |
The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights
in the Occupied Territories
http://www.btselem.org/
[B’Tselem, in its 23rd year of reporting,
stands out for its respected, factual and
comprehensive reporting of events in the
region.]
Footnotes to the Friends Committee on National
Legislation
(Quaker)
version of the letter)
[Cited in the
body of the Quaker letter]
Unconditional US military aid fuels
Israeli-Palestinian violence
http://thehill.com/
Kate Gould October 8,
2012
1
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/190656.pdf
2 Weapons in this instance
include “crowd control” items such as tear gas.
The Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2012 (P.L. 112-74) which is
included in the US Foreign Military Financing
regulations stipulates that “not later than 90
days after enactment of this act and 6 months
thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit
a report to the Committees on Appropriations
detailing any crowd control items, including
tear gas, made available with appropriated funds
or
through export licenses to foreign security
forces that the Secretary of State has credible
information have repeatedly used excessive force
to repress peaceful, lawful, and organized
dissent.”
3 While this letter focuses
on US-Israel relations and the Israel-Palestine
conflict, these are laws
that we believe should be enforced in all
instances regardless of location. All
allegations regarding
the misuse of US supplied arms should be
investigated.
4
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/07/11/v-print/155813/report-violence-against-palestinians.html
For
more information see also:
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/lambs-to-thesettlers-slaughter-screaming-and-unheard.premium-1.455937
5
Details available at
http://www.weaponstoisrael.org/article.php?id=2940
and through original date from
B’Tselem at
www.btselem.org/statistics.
6
http://www.unocha.org/annualreport/2011/pse
7
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/israeli-army-used-flechettes-againstgaza-civilians-20090127
8
http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_MovementandAccess_FactSheet_September_2011.pdf
9
http://www.ochaopt.org/gazablockade/
Peace movement, human rights
websites
ADDAMEER Prisoner Support
and Human Rights Association
Al-Haq
Defending Human rights in Palestine
since 1979
ACRI Association for Civil Rights
in Israel
American
Jews for a Just Peace | Justice is the key - Boston
American Jews for a Just Peace (AJJP) is an alliance of activists in
the United States working to ensure equal rights, safety, and
dignity for all the people of historic Palestine. We
were founded in Boston in September, 2008.
American
Muslims for Palestine
The mission of the American Muslims for Palestine is to
educate the public about the just cause of Palestine and the rights
of self-determination, liberty and justice.
Amnesty International - Middle East
Campaigns to end grave abuses of human rights
Breaking the Silence
Israeli soldiers talk about the occupied territories
B'Tselem
The Israeli Information Center for
Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
End the Occupation
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
Friends of Sabeel
North America
Sabeel is an international peace movement initiated by
Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land, who seek peace in Israel
Palestine as defined by international ...
Interfaith Peace-Builders Interfaith Peace-Builders
fosters a network of informed and active individuals who understand
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the United States’ political,
military, and economic role in it. To build and nurture such a
network, we lead delegations of people from diverse backgrounds to
Israel/Palestine.
J Street
The political home for Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace Americans
Jewish Voice for Peace
Israelis and Palestinians Two Peoples One Future
The
Young Jewish Declaration
is a project created by young leaders within Jewish Voice for Peace.
Mondoweiss
Mondoweiss is a news website devoted to
covering American foreign policy in the Middle East, chiefly from a
progressive Jewish perspective.
Peace Now Americans for Peace Now
- Sister organization of Shalom Achshav, Israel's peace movement
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace
Works with leaders and policymakers in the United States
and the Middle East to help reach a just and comprehensive peace
that will bring an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
United Nations Human Rights The Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) represents the
world's commitment to universal ideals of human dignity. We have a
unique mandate from the international community to promote and
protect all human rights.
Human Rights - recommended
reports
Detailed lists from various organizations
http://www.twopeoplesonefuture.org
US Department of State - Human Rights Reports
http://www.state.gov
[ Click on Countries & Regions, then
scroll down to Israel and the Occupied Territories]
World Report 2013 | Human Rights Watch
(pages 551-562 for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)
http://www.hrw.org
Carter Center Supports Calls to Investigate Human Rights Violations
http://www.cartercenter.org
Overview of the Leahy Vetting Process
http://www.humanrights.gov
US church websites
for Middle East issues
(Links in green are for
advocacy pages)
Churches for
Middle East Peace
http://www.cmep.org/get-involved
Episcopal Peace Fellowship - Palestine Israel Network
http://epfnational.org/PIN/advocacy/
http://epfnational.org/epf-peace-tool-kit/
(Ecumenical)
Friends of Sabeel North America
http://www.fosna.org/content/organize-locally
Evangelical
Lutheran Church Peace Not Walls.
Mennonite Central Committee resources on Palestine and Israel
http://www.mcc.org/getinvolved
Mennonite Central Committee's page on their work in
Palestine and Israel
Mennonite
MCC's Washington Office's page on U.S. policy and Israel-Palestine
Presbyterian) The Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.)
http://israelpalestinemissionnetwork.org/main/advocacy
(Presbyterian)
Middle East Task Force of Chicago Presbytery
This Presbytery overtured the 2010 PCUSA
General Assembly with language very similar to that of the church
letter.
(Presbyterian)
The report of the Middle East Study committee as approved by the 219th
General Assembly (2010) including the report of the Middle East
Monitoring Group as approved by the 220th General Assembly (2012)
An exerpt: Part Two: (Recommendations) 6C (Addressing Our Own
Government) Page numbered 35 at bottom of page:
"Calls on the U.S. government to give a thorough accounting to its
citizenry as to the amounts of its foreign aid to countries in the
Middle East that have been used by the recipient nations to finance
human rights violations, breaches of international law and UN Security
Council Resolutions, ; and to redirect adequate allocations of aid
toward (1) the rebuilding of Gaza and humanitarian assistance for its
people, and (2) Palestinian reuse or dismantling of the remaining
settlement infrastructure following the establishment of a Palestinian
state."
Commentary on above
Full Report of PCUSA Middle East Study
Committee | Friends of Sabeel -- North America
http://www.fosna.org/content/full-report-pcusa-middle-east-study-committee
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
(Quakers) Friends Committee on National Legislation: Middle East
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle
East (UUJME)
UUs for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME) is an
independent organization of concerned UUs working to educate ourselves
and our fellow UUs and citizens about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
and its legal, moral and ethical issues in an effort to bring about
peace and justice in Israel-Palestine, including a settlement of the
conflict affirming the equality, dignity, freedom and security of all
peoples involved.
United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ Middle East and Europe
News
http://globalministries.org/
http://www.uccpalestineisraelnetwork.org
also more specifically regarding the church letter:
UPDATED: UCC and Disciples join Christian leaders in letter to Congress
outlining human-rights violations in the Middle East
United
Methodists' Holy Land Task Force
https://www.umhltf.org/Taking_Action.html
United
Methodist Kairos Response
In October, 2010, United Methodist clergy
and laity from around the United States came together in a grass roots
effort to respond to the “Kairos Palestine Document.” This document is
an urgent plea from Christians in the Holy Land for decisive action in
support of a just peace. It is a powerful call to churches around
the world to stop talking about peace and take real steps to make peace
happen.
Grassroots advocacy support
Also see green links in the section above
Influencing your Congressman
Communicating with Congress
How the Internet has Changed Citizen Engagement
What You Can Do to Help Bring Peace to the Holy Land!
by
Churches
for Middle East Peace
US Aid to
Israel, AIPAC, Congress
U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel - Congressional Research Service - March
12, 2012
American Israel Public Affairs Committee - Wikipedia
By Josh Ruebner, National Advocacy
Director, US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, March 2012
US Politicians and Israel - Tom Friedman - Newt, Mitt, Bibi and
Vladimir
http://www.nytimes.com Tom Friedman December 31, 2011
President Obama's speeches in
Israel-Palestine March 21, 2013
[Full Text]
Remarks by President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel in Joint Press
Conference
http://www.ibtimes.com/full-text-remarks-president-obama-prime-minister-netanyahu-israel-joint-press-conference-1142797#
March 21, 2013
Transcript
of Obama’s Speech in Israel (to mainly student audience)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/22/world/middleeast/transcript-of-obamas-speech-in-israel.html?pagewanted=all
March 21, 2013
Full text:
Obama, Abbas remarks in Ramallah | Maan News Agency
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=577528
March 21, 2013
Important Documents
Kairos Document | the moment of grace and opportunity
http://www.kairosusa.org/
[ Excerpt for
Wikipedia article: "The Kairos Document (KD) is a
theological statement issued in 1985 by a group of black South
African theologians based predominantly in the black
townships of
Soweto,
South Africa. The statement challenged the churches' response to
what the authors saw as the vicious policies of the
Apartheid state under the
State of Emergency declared on 21 July 1985. The KD evoked
strong reactions and furious debates not only in South Africa, but
world-wide."]
News programs and blogs
Haaretz
Haaretz.com
is a leading English-language Website for real-time news and
analysis of Israel and the Middle East.
Democracy Now
Democracy Now!’s War and Peace Report provides our audience with
access to people and perspectives rarely heard in the U.S.corporate-sponsored
media, including independent and international journalists, ordinary
people from around the world who are directly affected by U.S.
foreign policy, grassroots leaders and peace activists, artists,
academics and independent analysts.
BBC
News Middle East
Get the latest BBC News from the
Middle East: breaking news, features, analysis and debate plus
audio and video coverage from across the Middle East.
+972
+972 is a blog-based web magazine that is jointly owned by a group
of journalists, bloggers and photographers whose goal is to provide
fresh, original, on-the-ground reporting and analysis of events in
Israel and Palestine.
Informed
Comment blog by Juan Cole
Thoughts on the Middle east, History and Religion
Timeswarp
"What The New York
Times doesn't tell you about Palestine and Israel"
"Palestinian perspective
Electronic Intifada
The Electronic Intifada is an independent online news publication
and educational resource focusing on Palestine, its people,
politics, culture and place in the world.
Founded in 2001, The Electronic Intifada has won awards and
earned widespread recognition for publishing original, high-quality
news and analysis, and first-person accounts and reviews. The
Electronic Intifada’s writers and reporters include Palestinians and
others living inside Palestine and everywhere else that news about
Palestine and Palestinians is made.
Epalestine blog
ePalestine is where I frequently post news and opinions from
Palestine. As a Palestinian-American living and working in
Ramallah/Al-Bireh, Palestine, I cover the issue from both a
Palestinian and American vantage point. Most postings will be either
eyewitness reports, opinion editorials or newsworthy items not
readily found in the mainstream media.
The
Jerusalem Fund
The Jerusalem Fund for Education &
Community Development is an independent, non-profit, non-political,
non-sectarian organization based in Washington, D.C. Funding for
operational expenses is derived from investment income. This,
together with donations from private individuals throughout the
U.S., supports our humanitarian grants.
The
International Middle East Media Center
IMEMC is a media center developed in collaboration between
Palestinian and International journalists to provide independent
media coverage of Israel-Palestine. IMEMC was founded by the
Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement between People in 2003. (www.pcr.ps)
Al-Shabaka
- The Palestinian Policy Network
Al-Shabaka, The Palestinian Policy Network, is an
independent, non-partisan, and non-profit organization whose mission
is to educate and foster public debate on Palestinian human rights
and self-determination within the framework of international law.
Al-Shabaka, which means "The Network," is a think tank without
borders or walls that aims to:...
Ma'an News Agency
Ma’an Network is the largest independent TV, radio and online
media group in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It also broadcasts
regionally via the Ma’an-Mix satellite channel.
Bdsmovement.net
The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), a wide coalition of
the largest Palestinian organizations, trade unions, networks and
NGOs.
The Palestine Chronicle
The Palestine Chronicle is an independent online newspaper that
provides daily news, commentary, features, book reviews, photos,
art, etc, on a variety of subjects. However, it’s largely focused on
Palestine, Israel, and the Middle East region.
The American
Task Force on Palestine
Established in 2003, its mission is to articulate and educate about
the United States
national interest in helping to create a Palestinian state living
alongside Israel in peace, security and dignity. ATFP is committed
to strengthening Palestinian-American relations at every level.
Faith Leaders
Rev. Mark Davidson - Pastor of the
Church of
Reconciliation Presbyterian Church, Chapel Hill, NC
Rev.
John Heinemeier - Pastor of
Saint Cyprians Episcopal Church, Oxford, NC
Rev.
Ron Shive
- Pastor of
First Presbyterian Church, Burlington, NC
Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council
JStreet
Rabbinical Cabinet
Rabbis for
Human Rights
15 church leaders petition Congress to
Condition military aid to Israel on compliance with human rights
Miscellaneous
Religious affiliations 113 Congress
http://www.pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Issues/Government/113-Congress-relig-affil.pdf
Video of Full Speech: Mahmoud Abbas addresses
the UN - November 29, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsv0GUNcGG8
Text of Full Speech: Mahmoud Abbas addresses
the UN - November 29, 2012
http://www.cfr.org/palestinian-authority/abbas-speech-un-general-assembly-november-2012/p29579
Israel fails to show up at mandatory UN human
rights review | The Electronic Intifada Adri Nieuwhof January 29,
2013
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/adri-nieuwhof/israel-fails-show-mandatory-un-human-rights-review
General news - progressive
www.intercept.com The
Intercept is dedicated
to producing fearless, adversarial journalism. We believe journalism
should bring transparency and accountability to powerful
governmental and corporate institutions, and our journalists have
the editorial freedom and legal support to pursue this mission.
www.truth-out.com Truthout
works to spark action by revealing systemic injustice and providing
a platform for transformative ideas, through in-depth investigative
reporting and critical analysis. With a powerful, independent voice,
we will spur the revolution in consciousness and inspire the direct
action that is necessary to save the planet and humanity.
www.commmomdreams.com
Common Dreams is a non-profit independent newscenter created in 1997
as a new media model. By relying on our readers and tens of
thousands of small donations to keep us moving forward -- with no
advertising, corporate underwriting or government funding -- Common
Dreams maintains an editorial independence our readers can count on.
www.democracynow.com
Democracy Now! is a national, daily, independent, award-winning
news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.
Pioneering the largest public media collaboration in the U.S.,
Democracy Now! is broadcast on Pacifica, NPR,
community, and college radio stations; on public access,
PBS, satellite television (DISH
network: Free Speech TV ch. 9415 and Link TV ch. 9410;
DIRECTV: Free Speech TV ch. 348 and Link
TV ch. 375); and on the internet. DN!’s podcast is one of the most
popular on the web.