IL MURO DEVE CADERE!

["Edvino Ugolini" <edvinoug at tin.it>]

The Palestine Monitor
A PNGO Information Clearinghouse

CALL FOR ACTION &  PROVISIONAL CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES:

Make the wall fall  : Let's make the 9th of November the International
Day of Solidarity with Palestinians against the new Israeli Apartheid
Wall

October  2003

The wall must fall!
On November 9, 1989 the Berlin Wall - which truly epitomized the Cold
War in Europe and, therefore, became the symbol of shame of the politics
of division of the 20th century - was torn down-
Now, a new wall must fall!

Let's make the coming 9th of November a worldwide Protest Day against
the new 'Berlin' Wall currently being erected by Israel across the
Occupied Palestinian Territories-
Such construction, now commonly known as Separation Wall or Apartheid
Wall has become Israel's new stranglehold of Palestine and the latest
assault by the Occupation: land confiscation, water confiscation,
destruction of lives and livelihoods of Palestinians, all in a new drive
to expand truly colonialist measures under the usual pretenses in order
to achieve long-standing goals in a frightening fashion similar of
1948's events-

Join those who share a belief that the absurdity of this medieval
concept must soon succumb- The Palestine Monitor and the GIPP - Grass
Roots International protection for Palestinian People movement - urge
you to participate in this effort by organizing activities to raise
awareness in your community about the impact and meaning of this new
wall-


We are urging people to come up with anything they think they can do in
their own communities-  It could be : Pickets; Demonstrations; Vigils;
lectures; conferences; debates; artistic events; fairs; festivals;
theatric performances; other types of gatherings; Convoys;  marches or
ANY  related activities to raise awareness in your community about the
impact and meaning of this new wall- Some people who live in
administrative capitals are choosing to demonstrate in front of Israeli
Embassies, other are choosing to stage demos on public squares, others
in community centers, churches, etc-
It all depends on the expertise of those who are sponsoring the events
(some events will be very loosely organized, some more formally thought
through)- Some are thinking about media advanced work- Some plan to
erect a paper or plastic walls across roads or parks and then make the
wall fall- Some are printing leaflets- Some are organizing boots and
stands with info about the humanitarian impact of the wall (which can be
easily downloaded from many websites)- So, whatever you might propose
must come out of your perceived capabilities- The ones who know better a
community are the ones who live in it, so what works for a place may not
be as productive for other setting or environment- So people at various
places can come up with the best solution about what could mobilize
their peers, their communities, their media outlets, etc- Any good idea
or effort are welcomed, so we invite you to invite others to debate,
share ideas and think of what would work for your community-

After you had sorted out what you want to carry on, we would appreciate
if you could let us know about more specific details:  description of
planned activities, meeting points, schedules, people to contact and
their contact details, etc- This is because we want to post a list of
everything that will be going on everywhere at our website, so people
can look for what will be going on in their own places and then join the
activities!!!

Provisional list of activities on the initiative for a global demo on
November 9th against the Israeli Apartheid Wall:


ACROSS EUROPE:
European Jews for a Just Peace - EJJP,  have manifested interest in
organizing activities-
Contact: Sveva Haertter
E-mail: shaertter@yahoo-com


BAHRAIN:
A new Bahraini society  called Women for Jerusalem is working to
organize a lot of activities on Nov 9th in Bahrain-
Contact: Naela Al Waary
e-m: naelafayez2@msn-com

BANGLADESH:
Contact: shibli
lishibli14@hotmail-com

BELGIUM:
A full week of initiatives - from the 2 till the 9 of November - and
actions in the European Parliament , Bruxelles-
Reference:  Luisa Morgantini tel- 003222847151
 E- mail:  lmorgantini@europarl-eu-int

BRAZIL:

Rio de Janeiro:
Place:  Largo das Neves, in Santa Teresa
Informative outdoors exhibition of pictures, facts & figures, followed
by poetry recital (poems by Mahmod Darwish) and, possibly, a choir
recital (Coral de Maracatus)
Contact: Andre Sena
e-mail: pariforma@yahoo-com-br

GERMANY:

Under discussion, an international conference to be held in Berlin-
Also, organizations from neighboring countries started considering a
trip towards Berlin, raising awareness along the way- Details to follow-

IRELAND:
BELFAST- Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign  Belfast  will host
activities leading up to Nov 9th and events on the day - They have been:

- contacting all political/labour movement/feminist/human rights
and community organisations with information about the wall and why it
must fall-
- preparing model resolutions for trade unions, condemning the
wall
- collecting signatures on petitions
- approaching schools to see if the school students can produce
artwork illustrating this matter
- preparing street theatre for town centre
- university students to put on display
- seek media time/newspaper footage etc-
- Organising meetings/lectures featuring people from here who have
been out and protested about the wall in the West Bank + slide
Contact:
Caitlin ni Chonaill
kath-connell3@btopenworld-com


DUBLIN - Activities are planned for Nov 9- More details later-
Contact:
russe14@attglobal-net

ISRAEL :


So far it is not decided weather Israeli organizations will chose to
have a radical event on the wall itself or to have a big event on the
night before in some other location in Israel (or whether they will have
enough human power to do both)- But one idea that has been brought up is
to broadcast for the participants at the event in Israel, a short report
(on a big screen) from events that has taken place somewhere else in the
world only a few hours before that-
Their request to activists worldwide is to start arranging an event in
your own areas, calling for Israel to demolish the wall of apartheid and
to check if you can somehow , afterwards, transmit\send to them in
Israel a short video of your event- Technical details can be arranged-

Contact: Dani Grimblat
dani-g@barak-online-net
cellular number  +97252887185

Also, if you wish to stay in touch, get the latest news, hear ideas from
other people, and post some anti wall ideas of your own, you may want to
look into these two Yahoo Groups:
***Mas'ha Camp against Apartheid Wall
http://groups-yahoo-com/group/MashaCamp/

Contacts of other Israeli anti-occupation organizations which are paying
attention to wall issues:

alwgodfrey@hotmail-com
Rachel@btselem-org
grimblat@netvision-net-il
oren@gush-shalom-org
naama@icahd-org
yrosen@actcom-co-il

ITALY :

- Action for Peace Coalition in ITALY already started the campaign
against the wall and are planning activities for the 9th of November-
They are now trying to enlarge the group of organizers
Contact: Alessandra Mecozzi
                  internazionale@fiom-cgil-it

- Youth organizations who are already active organizing meetings
and having  direct experience in Israel and Palestine are also planning
activities to be held across the country-
Contact: Alda Radaelli
mixarazz@mixa-razzismo-it


NETHERLANDS

Activities are in the process of being organized

Contact: Hajo G- Meyer
til-mey@inter-nl-net

Following some controversy regarding the chosen date and following up
requests from Jewish groups that another anniversary should also be
brought to the fore (Kristallnatch, the "Night of Broken Glass" 09 Nov
1938), Mr- Hajo Meyer declared:
" I speak as one of the few people still living and active, who,
-as a fourteen year old lived through the 9th november pogrome in
Germany, and who also
-survived 10 months of Auschwitz and who also
-survived for full 12 years the worst antisemitim ever, and I  feel
justified to comment :  There cannot be a better day to demonstrate
under the devise 'let the wall fall' than precisely the 9th of November-
Only this date and Jewish participation at the demonstrations can make
clear to the world that we are matured, wise and ethically- sane enough
to realise that we, the Jews are not the only and eternal victim- That
also we have become perpetrators of terrible crimes against humanity-
Only if we show this to the world, all those who did not survive, have
not died in vain- Only then their death can be given a positive meaning-
That is what the German Jewish philosopher Theodor Lessing, who was
already murdered by the Nazis in the early thirties, meant when he
coined the phrase: 'Sinngebung des Sinnlosen' i-e- attributing sense and
meaning to events which do not have any intrinsic sense-"

IN NORWAY:

The Nablus Society, an NGO from the city of Stavanger in Norway (which
has twinned with the city of Nablus), is currently planning for
activities on November 9th- They want to have a demonstration with
music, theater and information-
Contact: Turid Øygard
turid@hesbynett-no

PALESTINE:

Several activities all across the wall and within the communities nearby
and in main cities-
Contacts:
Jamal - PENGON/STOP THE WALL CAMPAIGN research@pengon-org

Ms- Bahia Amra - GIPP   e-mail: bahiaamra@hotmail-com   mobile phone:
+972 55 378262

In Ramallah:
The cultural department of Ramallah Municipality will hold cultural
activities like: children's drawing competition entitled "Apartheid
Wall" and writing texts activities on the same theme for raising
awareness on the issue amongst students-
Contact:
Nahla Quorah
Head of Cultural Department/Ramallah Municipality
Ramallah Public Library
e-mail: library2@palnet-com

SWITZERLAND:

An Association working for Palestinian Rights in the Lausanee area is
discussing a series of activities-
Contact:
Tatiana Honegger , near Lausanne, Switzerland
tatiana-honegger@hispeed-ch IN Zurich:
Shraga Elam
elams@dplanet-ch

UNITED KINGDOM:

- London:
A possible action/demonstration in front of the Israeli Embassy Details
to follow-

- Other activities also under consideration-
Contact: The Palestinian Solidarity campaign
e-m: info@palestinecampaign-org



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

(Two events before Nov 9th which will also focus on the wall) :
- Major (peace) demonstration in San Francisco on Sat 28 Sept- called by
ANSWER coalition & Un for Peace & Justice (UFPJ)-
- Another demonstration in NYC on Oct 25-

- Middle East Children's Alliance along with Voices in the Wilderness,
Al-Awda and Affiliates of ISM have launched a national bus tour calling
for the end to the Occupation of Palestine and Iraq- Part of the
travelling infomation will be a replica of the Wall that our office
built, as well as facts and info from PENGON - Wherever the Bus is on
November 9,  it will have an action  specifically oriented to the Wall
and its implications-
Soon to follow more info on the Wheels of Justice Tour and the Wall
actions-
 Contact: Uda Walker
Education and Action Coordinator
Middle East Children's Alliance
901 Parker Street, Berkeley 94710
Tel:510-548-0542
Fax:510-548-0542
e-m: uda@mecaforpeace-org


Los Angeles -
 WOMEN IN BLACK , together with Palestine AID SOCIETY, are organizing a
huge demonstration for November 9th- They are hoping to erect a large
wall at Venice or Santa Monica Beach, with lots of publicity and many
other groups and individuals joining-
Contact: Mary

Seattle -

Stop the Wall Campaign had built a model of the wall  to use in several
occasions :  about half scale so almost 12 feet -  a replica -
" The replica we made was easy to make and will be good for  anyone
trying to build one-  If you know anyone that might be interested let me
know and I will send pictures and design info-  It took us about an hour
to get the materials and about 1/2 hour to set up-  We spent $102 on
materials and used a tarp that was donated but will need another tarp to
finish it-  We will need about $50 more in materials for some odds and
ends and stakes (and or sand bags for securing)-  It is fairly compact
and light when disassembled and could fit tied on top of a car with a
rack or a truck or full sized van (or van with a rack)-
Cost should be in the range of $100 to 150 for 1/2 scale and maybe $150
- 200 for full scale depending on where you get the materials-   Once
completed the setup should be about 15 minutes for half scale and under
30 for full scale-  The base is large (3 feet by 10 or 6 feet by 10 for
full size) but it is light and can be easily moved by 2 people-  It was
a slightly windy day but still no problem with holding it down even
though we had no tie downs or weights to secure it-  More info for those
who want it and photos on request-  I am quite sure that this will work
in different situations-  We will look into sail material but for this
setup we used a gray tarp that will be easy to paint slogans on or
whatever"

Contact:
John Reese
Stop the Wall Campaign
PO Box 95113
Seattle, WA  98145
206-568-7110
www-stopthewall-us  stopthewall-us@riseup-net

Iowa City - Events are being planned for Iowa City , and they hope on a
much broader basis across the country-
Contact:  Margaret Kiekhaefer
e-m: gerernst@avalon-net


San Francisco-  groups still getting organized to be to do "something"
by Nov 9-

So far, we also have received manifestations of interest (but no clear
programs ) from Prague, Czech Republic , from Vienna, Austria, and from
Phoenix, Arizona, USA-

Please, let us know about any planned activity:
Dr- Mustafa Barghouthi- +972 (0)59 254 218
The Palestine Monitor Team:  or +972 (0)59 387 087
e-mail: giullianna@hdip-org
www-palestinemonitor-org
http://www-palestinemonitor-org/Special%20Section/Closure/Wall_must_fall.htm