U.S. Movement to Safeguard Palestinian Schools

In this time of crisis, our challenge is to keep Palestinian communities standing.  Every day now, across the West Bank, the Israeli military is issuing 96-hour orders to demolish Palestinian homes and schools, while the Municipality of Jerusalem forces Palestinians in East Jerusalem to self-demolish their homes. The Kafkaesque rules are tightening, spurred on by Israeli settler groups and ultranationalist leaders. 

We’ve found three things make a huge difference:

1. Petitioning the Military High Court or Israel’s District Court within 98 hours of the demolition notice
   
   
2. Paying the court-mandated guarantee (it is returned when our case wins — and some are winning)
   
   
3. Constituent meetings with their Senators and Representatives asking them to intervene on their behalf 

The first two are necessary but not sufficient. Personal intervention by House and Senate offices may be the only way to safeguard a Palestinian home, school, or neighborhood. It has made all the difference in the past; we hope it will continue to make a difference now. 

Next week, April 3-7th, GlobalGiving is holding the Little by Little Campaign, a five-day crowdfunding campaign. All eligible donations up to $50 per unique donor per organization will be matched at 50% during the campaign, and funds will not run out!  Please mark your calendar and please support our work.

For our part, Rebuilding Alliance is doing our best to help Constituents — and their members of Congress — gain traction. In February,  Rebuilding Alliance brought our 5th Leadership Learning Staff Delegation to Jerusalem and the West Bank, our first for Senate staff. Two amazing individuals, staff to Senators Mike Lee and Cory Booker, joined the delegation, along with 7 incredible constituents and RA advisors. Our goal was to introduce them to Palestinians, Israelis, Americans, and UN staff who are working for peace and justice and to help them understand how to intervene when help is needed like it is needed now. Our visit to the U.S. Embassy included a remarkably thoughful discussion with State Department staff from the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs and Pentagon staff from the Office of United States Security Coordinator.

There are 58 Palestinian School facing demolition orders. The Jubb Al Dhib Elementary School near Bethlehem is the latest — and the villagers were not even allowed to defend themselves in court against an Israeli group with no standing called Regavim, that won a lawsuit to destroy the school within 90 days.

Because I know that Congress can stop this, last Friday, I sent an urgent scheduling request to all Senators and all Representatives and we have their attention — some 90 schedulers have already responded.    To complete the scheduling they need

• The full list of Constituents who will be attending
  
  
• and their Hometowns

To see the calendar of the Congressional offices that are scheduling, click the link below. Rebuilding Alliance is arranging for a guest speaker from the region for every Zoom Briefing — and Constituents will be the most important people on that zoom call.

May I count on your participation? Use the link below to email your Senators and Representative, and tell them you’ll be joining the call. We’ll notify you and all constituents who sent their emails, as soon as the schedulers confirm the date and time. 

Thank you for all that you do and for believing in Rebuilding Alliance. Your support of our work is deeply appreciated and because of it, we’ve built a remarkable advocacy team.  With your support, we will continue.
                                         

P.S. The photos are by Eid Suleiman, Stephanie Meyer, and Alestin Sphere,  The photo by Eid shows the mural in memory of his father, Haj Suleiman.           

Links:

• Calendar of Congressional Briefings Being Scheduled
• Email Congress to Safeguard Jubb Al Dhib Elementary School

Over the past six months, Rebuilding Alliance has engaged in remarkable advocacy on some of Palestine’s most pressing issues: 

• Great news from Al Aqaba! This week our strategic advocacy paid off:  In Al Aqaba Village’s appeal before the High Court, the Israeli Army backtracked on their 96-hour demolition order against two homes and a road. We’ve never seen this happen before. The village won, the families will continue to live in their homes — and the Court requires the Army’s Commander to reevaluate the boundary of Firing Zone 900 in response to the Village’s request.
  
  
• RA launched a new campaign, ‘Ensure Americans Fair Entry to Palestine’ in response to the Israeli military’s new entry procedures for foreigners. Congressman Don Beyer and his staff
  turned to RA to write the final version of a widely publicized letter to Secretary of State Blinken, signed by 19 other Representatives.

• In an emergency Zoom briefing to Congressional offices during the lockdown of Nablus, RA brought the U.N.’s Acting Humanitarian Coordinator for Palestine to explain what is happening — then UNOCHA joined a special Zoom Forum for Constituents with speakers from Yesh Din and Al Haq. 

20 years of advocacy and a remarkable ‘Rebuilding to Remain’ program paid off in a big way in Al Aqaba. On November 8th the High Court issued a ruling that keeps families in their homes. In October, knowing the decision was coming soon, Rebuilding Alliance held a Virtual Walk-Through of Al Aqaba Village for Hill staffers and constituents to ask for Congressional intervention.The audience was guided by some of Al Aqaba’s teens on a walking tour through the village and to one of the family homes facing demolition orders. That family and their home are now in the clear. The teens showed constituents and Congressional Staff what makes Al Aqaba so special, and also described the challenges of living in an Israeli Military Firing Zone. Their voices were heard, and they are safer as a result. 

Since August, the Advocacy Team at RA has also been hard at work on a new campaign: Ensure Americans Fair Entry to Palestine. In response to the Government of Israel codifying a set of discriminatory procedures that will restrict American access to the West Bank, this campaign, in partnership with the American Federation of Ramallah Palestine (AFRP), engaged over 50 Congressional Offices in Contact Congress briefings. We asked Congress to ensure that Americans would be treated fairly and equally when entering the West Bank, and for the State Department to assist Americans facing discrimination. RA endorsed Congressman Don Beyer’s letter to the Secretary of State, and the Congressman and his staff turned to RA to write the final version. 

The month of October saw a startling increase of violence in the West Bank, leading the United Nations to make the alarming statement that 2022 was already the deadliest year for West Bank Palestinians in over 15 years. The Israeli Military launched repeated incursions into the West Bank, bringing widespread violence and loss of life. Entire Palestinian villages, towns and communities became the victims of collective punishment, being entirely closed off from the rest of the West Bank, which brought incredible suffering across the board and resulted in a humanitarian disaster.

In response to this crisis, Rebuilding Alliance RA organized an emergency Zoom Webinar with the U.N., first for Congressional staff, then 2 days later for constituents. This was the first time the U.N. joined us  for Contact Congress briefings, and we were honored to host the acting Humanitarian Coordinator for the West Bank and the acting head of UNOCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt).

The briefing for constituents also presented the opportunity to feature Yesh Din: Volunteers for Human Rights and Al-Haq. Including Al-Haq was especially important, as Rebuilding Alliance continues to #StandWithTheSix. RA urged Congress to intervene, in a positive way, and to call for calm in the West Bank. RA’s work to engage Congress to intervene is all the more necessary now, with the recent Israeli elections bringing the far right back into power.

Rebuilding Alliance continues to advocate for entire villages and communities, seeking intervention from Congress to prevent evictions and demolitions throughout Palestine. RA needs your help to keep responding during this time of crisis. In 2023, we aim to:

• Launch a Leadership Learning Zoom Forum series, a constituent focused approach to our advocacy campaigns
• Publish a monthly newsletter on advocacy issues 
• Hold Contact Congress briefings for more neighborhoods facing demolition including the Bustan, al Araqib, and Khan al Ahmar, and begin the in-depth research needed for many more —  while continuing campaigns in Al Aqaba, Susiya, E.Jeruslem, and Masafer Yatta
• Ask teens to lead virtual walk-throughs in their neighborhoods to bring their voices to Congress and press for intervention
• Launch a 2023 Olive Cultivation and Harvest Campaign
• Intervene on a case by case basis for children who have been arrested

As we head towards the end of 2022, RA remains unceasingly committed to advocating for equal rights, safety, and justice for Palestinian Communtites. We greatly appreciate your support!

Sincerely,

Donna and the RA Advocacy Team

Links:

• 'Discriminatory': Democrats urge Israel to end West Bank travel
• Zoom Forum with the U.N. Conditions on the Ground in West Bank
• Report on Israel's Use of Live Ammunition in West Bank