Monday, August 31, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
US Congresswoman Asks For Halt On Military Aid To Israel
US congresswoman Betty McCollum has asked the State Department to investigate whether the unlawful killing Palestinians should deprive Israel of US military aid.
By IMEMC News | August 26, 2015 In a letter to the State Department officials last week, the Minnesota Representative said that the deaths of Nadim Nowarah and Mohamed Odeh, in May of 2014, demonstrated the “brutal system of occupation that devalues and dehumanizes Palestinian children.”
The two Palestinian youths, aged 16 and 17, were killed when Israeli troops assaulted a peaceful protest outside the West Bank city of Ramallah during the Nakba Day, an annual commemoration of Palestinian forceful displacement by Zionist in 1948.
“It is time for a strong and unequivocal statement of US commitment to the human rights of Palestinian children living under Israeli occupation,” McCollum wrote in the August 18 letter, which was released to the public on Monday, according to Days of Palestine.
McCollum urged State Department officials to determine whether the killing of the teens was in violation of the Leahy Act.
The Leahy Act is a US human rights law that prohibits the State and Defence departments from providing military assistance to foreign military units that violate human rights with impunity.
In a CCTV video posted by the Palestine division of Defence for Children International, a global NGO, appears to show one teen being shot as he walked by a gas station after the protest had subsided.
The second Palestinian teen appears to have been shot shortly afterwards.
Initially, the Israeli occupation army maintained that only nonlethal dispersal methods were used by troops during the Nakba Day demonstration.
An autopsy performed by Palestinian and Israeli pathologists in June, however, found that Nawara was almost certainly killed by live fire, most likely from an Israeli weapon.
Following the announcement of autopsy outcomes, an Israeli military investigation into the shooting, carried out following the autopsy, found that an Israeli border policeman had illegally used live ammunition during the protest.
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Monday, August 24, 2015
4 Quick Questions with Jessy Belt
Earlier
this month, IARP welcomed new Deputy Director Jessica Belt. Ms. Belt, a
graduate of the University of Minnesota and previous resident of
Lebanon, is an Arabic speaker and has experience as a teacher, event
organizer and networker across international lines. We asked her a few
questions about her new role at IARP.
Q: How did you first get involved in IARP?
A:
I came to know of IARP during my year of service with Americorps. I
first volunteered to help with an end of the year mailing. Most people
might wonder how a tedious evening of envelope stuffing led to further
involvement in the organization. However, I was so genuinely impressed
by the board members and staff I met and the array of services IARP
provides, that I pursued further volunteer opportunities. After several
more volunteer experiences and hosting a newly arrived Iraqi refugee
family, I became further dedicated to reconciliation between our two
countries. I spent the summer as an intern, after which time I left to
live and work in Beirut, Lebanon.
Q: What are you looking forward to the most in your new role?
A:
What I am looking forward to most is meeting all the different people
involved in IARP. From the very beginning, I have been impressed by the
small yet extremely dedicated IARP community and their commitment to
creating an environment for dialogue, education, peace and
understanding.
Q: What are you enjoying most so far?
A:
As a past volunteer and intern, I am enjoying being more hands on and
involved in all the different IARP programs. IARP is unique in its
breadth of services for a small organization and its close partnership
with an Iraqi NGO and Iraqi leadership. I am honored to play a more
substantial role in the organization.
Q: Why IARP?
A:
I am a firm believer that through meaningful conversations and
understanding between peoples - face to face or through the arts -
peace, mutual respect and friendship can be realized. Why IARP? Because
they facilitate these interactions that are so vital in realizing
reconciliation.
We
have a lot of work to do! As violence in Iraq intensifies, now more
than ever we have a need for Americans and Iraqis to build bridges of
friendship and mutual respect. Through our programming, IARP works to
amplify unheard voices to rise above mainstream media to dispel
misconceptions of Iraqis and the greater Middle East. I look forward to
partnering with you as we build bridges of friendship and grow our
mission of reconciliation.
Please feel free to contact me at 763-710-0427, jessy@reconciliationproject.
Thank you again for such a warm welcome to IARP!
Please feel free to contact me at 763-710-0427, jessy@reconciliationproject.
Thank you again for such a warm welcome to IARP!
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