Gaza

Stop the Siege! Stop the War!

• Statements

Dear friends,

We would like to start this letter by expressing our outrage at the horrifying Israeli carnage of civilians in Bet-Hanoun in Gaza Strip, that cost the lives of 20 civilians, among them 7 children and 6 women, and left many more injured. Since the end of June, Israeli military assaults on civilians in Gaza have resulted in the killing of 383 Palestinians, among them 68 children and 14women.

The international response to the "End the Siege on Gaza Campaign" has been overwhelming, and we wish to thank all of you for your efforts. In our next letter we will give you a list of the actions planned for the weeks ahead. As there is still much work to do, and only 3 weeks until the end of the campaign, please let us know as soon as possible:

• Your plans for December 2, the last day of the campaign, and the day when we plan to hold demonstrations around the world. We want to publish the information on the website, and include it in the updates that we will send.
• What you think you will need in the campaign activities. For starters, you will find both below (hyperlinks in purple) and attached (on the left) to this mail 4 WORD documents that we hope will make your work easier:

1- Question and answer sheet about the current situation in the Gaza Strip

2- Email addresses, fax numbers and other contact info for Israel's PM, Defense Minister and Chief of Staff, so that thousands of messages condemning their policies reach them from all over the world

3- Sample letter addressed to Israeli decision makers

4- Sample letter to elected parliamentarians and decision makers in the international community

• In the next few days we plan to send you a PowerPoint presentation with information on the situation in Gaza, and a poster designed by David Tartakover, a well known Israeli artist, that we would like to use as the main visual prop in all the actions and the demos worldwide, to show that all the activities are part of a coordinated, joint international campaign

Further to our first letter calling to "End the Siege on Gaza Campaign", we suggest that you use the month up to the big demonstration on December 2 to raise awareness in your communities. Some ways to do this are: organizing emergency delegations to the region that will witness and report on the situation on the ground, sending letters, faxes, and petitions to your elected representatives, holding vigils, public events, and hearings about the situation in Gaza, sending protest letters to Israeli decision makers, and distributing fact sheets and information on the situation in Gaza and on the campaign activities in Israel and the Occupied Territories..

These are the activities that took place during the past week in Israel:

• 4.11.06 Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, protest action and distribution of 12,000 flyers: during the annual event in memory of the murder of Yizhak Rabin we formed three human chains and distributed stickers, black balloons and flyers
• 6.11.06 Tzavta Hall, Tel Aviv, public event: Are war crimes taking place in Gaza? Speakers: Former Palestinian Minister of Prisoners` Affairs Sufian Abu Zayda (from Gaza), Writer Ronit Matalon, Sari Bashi (lawyer, head of "Gisha") and Haaretz journalist Danny Rubinstein.
• 7.11.06 Bat Shalom, Jerusalem, screening of the documentary "Red Fields": a film by Ayelet Heller and Osnat Trabelsi which portrays Palestinian strawberry growers that struggle to produce a crop, while simultaneously coming under attack from the Israeli army.
• 8.11.06 Defense Minister's Office and IDF Central Command, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, protest vigil
• 8.11.06 Haifa: Protest vigil to condemn the massacre in Bet Hanoun
• 9.11.06 Salon Mazal, Tel Aviv, screening of the documentary "Red Fields"
• 9.11.06 Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv: Protest vigil to condemn the massacre in Bet Hanoun
• 12.11.06 Car cavalcade to the Erez Checkpoint: A car convoy of more than 40cars, about 200 people, with black ribbons, black flags and the Gaza poster that drove slowly south from Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem. There was a significant, though not large, Palestinian representation. During the demonstration by the checkpoint there were a few speeches, and some slogans chanted—with the Palestinian women leading them. At the end a minute of silence.

• Please send us your photos and news items about the activities that are taking place where you live and we will publish then in the website: http://coalitionofwomen.org/home/english/activities/open_gaza_gates/

We look forward to your mails.

Debby Lerman (debbyl@actcom.co.il)

for the Organizing Committee of "End the Siege on Gaza Campaign"

(Coalition of Women for Peace; Gush Shalom; Hadash; Anarchists Against the Wall; The High School Seniors Letter; Taayush; Yesh Gvul; Rights; ICAHD,The Students Coalition – Tel Aviv )