About the Movement to Safeguard Palestinian Communities

Background

• Over 12,000 Palestinian homes, schools, barns, and water cisterns are under threat of demolition by the Israeli Army due to unavailable building permits

• During olive harvest season, Palestinian olive farmers and their trees are the victims of physical assault and arson

• Since May of 2020, 25,000 Palestinian babies have not been recognized by the Israeli government

These are just a handful of issues Rebuilding Alliance is taking on in our Movement to Safeguard Palestinian Communities.

As the world stays preoccupied with the pandemic, economic collapse, and racial injustice, the Israeli government expropriates and demolishes Palestinian homes in de facto annexation. With the pre-COVID safety net gone, Israel has the space to do its worst. Rebuilding Alliance is stepping in by engaging Congress and British Parliament to safeguard Palestinian homes and land.

Using letter campaigns and phone calls, we arrange briefings between lawmakers, speakers from Palestine and Israel, and constituents. We hold virtual walkthroughs to allow elected officials to meet with families and witness conditions on the ground. We ask offices to intervene by making critical calls to our embassies and to Israeli officials to protect Palestinian rights.

All Senators, Representatives, and Members of Parliament promise to help constituents resolve urgent issues. When at least ten constituents call, officials are obligated to respond, and in our experience, they have in fact intervened to safeguard Palestinian families, homes, schools, and communities. So let's ask.

Rebuilding Alliance began Contact Congress requests in 2008, when we brought Mayor Haj Sami from Al Aqaba Village to Congress. Everyone emailed their Senators and Representatives, who then called the State Department and the Israeli Embassy and asked to keep his village standing. It worked. This West Bank Area C village gained the temporary opportunity to thrive, which made all the difference. Extending these actions to other Palestinian families and communities is how we can best safeguard futures and build a foundation of peace.

 Your donations help us advocate for human rights and justice in Palestine! From a total of 1,334 donations, we have raised $117,586 so far! 

What if a call, email or hand-written letter to Congress helped save a community from being displaced? That is exactly what happened when Rebuilding Alliance began Contact Congress Requests in 2008 to save Al-Aqaba Village from being demolished. Through a briefing with the mayor of the village, Haj Sami Sadiq Sbeih, and emailing Senators and Representatives who then called the United States State Department and Israeli Embassy, the village was provided with the temporary opportunity to remain standing. Other efforts to save villages include Wadi Foquin, Al-Aqaba, and Al-Araqib from demolition with the help of groups such as Rabbis for Human Rights, Friends of Wadi Foquin, Mayor Haj Sami Sadiq Sbeih, and Reverend Yoshi.  As a result of this work, the U.S. Movement to Safeguard Palestinian Villages won the Global Giving Competition! That is just one example of the power constituents have when advocating for safeguarding Palestinian communities and continuing the build of peace and justice. 

There has never been a time more crucial than now to reach out to our public officials to urge them to safeguard Palestinian communities. The pandemic and economic instability coupled with the threat of land annexation, Palestinian communities are particularly vulnerable. 

How do we do it? Through letters, emails, and telephone calls, Rebuilding Alliance is able to hold briefings with speakers from Palestine and Israel as well as constituents to inform lawmakers about the movement. Virtual walkthroughs provide elected officials with real-time experience of the conditions Palestinian families on the ground are living through. We then ask these elected officials to intervene by contacting the U.S. State Department and Israeli Embassy to take action towards ensuring Palestinians enjoy their rights. 

What are elected officials asked to do when contacting the U.S. State Department and Israeli Embassy? 

1. Assure Palestinian villages have the right to services, such as access to water and healthcare;

2. Restore due process so that Palestinian families may appeal decisions to demolition their homes; and,

3. Approve 108 zoning plans filed by Palestinians communities. 

Ongoing advocacy efforts by Rebuilding Alliance include working with the Sumrain Coalition for the Saving the Sumrain’s Family Home, where 841 constituents sent 3018 letters, a virtual walkthrough took place, and 38 thirty-minute briefings with Congressional officials. As a result, 130 Congress Offices want to meet with constituents about the Sumrain family. More information about the Sumrain family may be found here.

Yet another advocacy effort includes contacting Congress to save the olive trees, which are a source of livelihood for Palestinian families. 

Campaigns included are 1) #ICareAboutPeace, 2) #HeresMyVillage, which was a mapathon effort to put Palestinian villages on the map, and 3) #Save_UmAlHiran. 
Other projects that are also part of advocacy efforts that RA has led over the years:

1. Stay Human Conference Calls, of which 7 were made to connect peacemakers with constituents and Congressional staff to keep villages safe;

2. Don’t Say We Did Not Know Tour, which was a tour with Israeli author Amos Gvirtz to speak with 30 peace and justice groups;

3. Reuniting Dr. Mona El-Farra, a Palestinian pediatrician in Gaza, with her family in Great Britain; 

4. Walking the Halls of Congress to Save Susiya; and

5. Congressional Leadership Learning Mission, where 7 Congressional staffers and 8 constituents traveled to the West Bank and Israel to understand the situation on the ground in 2018. Another one was held in 2020. 

Check out this report by RA Founder and Executive Director, Donna Baranski-Walker, on what makes these efforts successful! 

Through advocacy, Rebuilding Alliance and constituents are able to reach out to their elected officials in the U.S. and Britain to ensure Palestinian communities are safe and thriving!