Al-Haq, and organisation established in 1979, has been working tirelessly to defend the human rights of Palestinians and to seek justice for continued violations of these rights across the occupied territories. The vision for the organisation is to:

 see the rule of law and standards of international human rights and humanitarian law implemented and adhered to, so that Palestinians can enjoy equal treatment with respect to their human dignity, free from occupation and with the full realisation of their right to self-determination.

There are many examples and instances of violations of human rights in the oPt, and one of the predominant example is of the destruction of property and land, in particular the destruction of olive trees. This practice of harassment and destruction poses not only a physical danger to the Palestinian landowners, but also imposes severe economic hardship on families as their livelihoods are destroyed or confiscated from them. Read here for a report on attacks in Hebron.

On Thursday 29 November and December 1, Shawan Jabarin General Director of Al-Haq will deliver a keynote address at the New Law Lecture Theatre at the University of Sydney as well as deliver two seminars on the topics of Media, Palestine and Human rights as well as Law, Palestine and Human Rights. For further details about these two events click here.

***Please note the change in venue for the event***

The 7arakat |‘ḥarakāt’ project, Function Room 3 Petersham RSL, 7 Regent St, Petersham 2049, November 5

 The 7arakat Creative Development Lab, 5 – 17 November 2012, The University of Sydney

Our neighbouring local council, Marrickville Council, are hosting Palestinian theatre makers from Bethlehem.  As part of The 7arakat |‘ḥarakāt’ Project the theatre group are staging a public talk on Monday 5 November. Working with Australian theatre company Version 1.0, visiting theatre makers will be identifying and incorporating innovative approaches to documentary theatre that articulate issues concerning Palestinian experience and the ways Australians engage with that experience. More details here.

Avner Gvaryahu:

Our Harsh Logic: Israeli soldiers’ testimonies from the Occupied Territories, 2000-2010

In conversation with Irving Wallach

Monday, October 22, 2012 / 6.00 for 6.30pm

Venue: gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe

Cost: $10/$7 conc. gleeclub welcome

Our Harsh Logic: Israeli soldiers’ testimonies from the Occupied Territories, 2000-2010 Israeli soldiers speak out for the first time about the truth of the Palestinian occupation, in ‘one of the most important books on Israel/Palestine in this generation’ (The New York Review of Books).

The very name of the Israel Defense Forces – which many Israelis speak of as ‘the most moral army in the world’ – suggests that its primary mission is the defence of the country. Indeed, support for the occupation of Palestinian territory rests on the belief that the army’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza are essentially defensive and responsive, aimed at protecting the country from terror.

But Israeli soldiers themselves tell a profoundly different story. In this landmark work, which includes hundreds of soldiers’ testimonies collected over a decade, what emerges is a broad policy that is anything but defensive. In their own words, the soldiers reveal in human and vivid detail how the key planks of the army’s program – ‘prevention of terror’, ‘separation of populations’, ‘preservation of the fabric of life’, and ‘law enforcement’ – have in fact served to accelerate acquisition of Palestinian land, cripple all normal political and social life, and ultimately thwart the possibility of independence.

The many soldiers who have spoken out have taken aim at a silence of complicity, both within Israel and in the wider world, that perpetuates the justification for occupation. In the process, they have created a gripping and immediate record of oppression. Powerful and incontrovertible, Our Harsh Logic is a significant contribution to understanding one of the world’s most vexed conflicts.

Breaking the Silence is one of Israel’s most internationally lauded non-government organisations. Established in Jerusalem in 2004, it was founded by Israel Defense Forces veterans to document the testimonies of Israeli soldiers who have served in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Please take action – and pass this on to others

Urgent action – please sign our online petition
Our  online petition asks Foreign Minister Bob Carr to make urgent representations to Israel’s Ambassador in Australia regarding the need to lift the demolition orders on the fifty one (51) structures in the village of Susiya, near Hebron, including a clinic funded by Action Aid Australia and solar panels funded by EU countries.
More information here or go straight to the petition at http://www.communityrun.org/petitions/help-save-susiya-village-clinic-and-solar-panels

Please let Minister Carr know you expect him to act to protect this investment of the Australian taxpayer and the homes of Susiya villages.

Email Foreign Minister Carr  foreignminister.carr@dfat.gov.au – write your own letter or use the model letter here  or telephone his office  (02) 6277 7500