At the 2011 Leichhardt Friends of Hebron Festival of Friendship you helped us raise over $5000. That money will be used to renovate and extend the Al Huda kindergarten in the South Hebron Hills village of Khashem Al Daraj. Click here to see pictures of the current state of kindergarten and the conditions in the village.
One of the key events at the Festival of Friendship this June was the forum discussing the issue of boycotts, divestment and sanctions targetting the state of Israel’s infringements of international law. If you missed the forum, or want to hear the contributions again, they can now be downloaded as MP3s. Click on the name of each of the speakers to hear their presentation.
BDS forum Peter Manning
Chair – Peter Manning, senior lecturer at Monash University
BDS forum Peter Slezak
Dr. Peter Slezak, senior lecturer UNSW, philosopher and member of Independent Australian Jewish Voices
BDS forum Samah Sabawi
Samah Sabawi, playwright and human rights activist and spokesperson from Australians for Palestine
BDS forum Joe Wakim OAM
Joseph Wakim, writer, journalist and founder of the Arabic Australian Council and former Multicultural Affairs Commissioner
BDS forum Jake Lynch
Jake Lynch, Director, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney
Leichhardt Friends of Hebron are thrilled to announce that the Festival of Friendship, that was held on June 18, raised over $5000 for their two kindergarten projects in the South Hebron Hills. We have just received this report from APHEDA’s Middle East Project Officer, who was able to visit the kindergartens last week:
The Umm al Khair kindergarten is going well. It has 10 children and 2 teachers. There are many more children who wish to attend, however their villages are further away and their parents fear them walking on the main road the 3-4km to the kindergarten. To address this problem, the Villages Group, our partner organisation in Palestine, has sought and gained other funding to operate a minibus in the area. The minibus will transport girls to the local high school, and has agreed to collect the children for the kindergarten as well, lessening parents’ fears for their children.
The Khashem al Daraj kindergarten is in the final stages of construction and is expected to be completed by the end of July, ready for the start of the school year in September. It is being constructed by the same builder who worked on the Um al Khair kindergarten. It is being built on land owned by the village council, so there is no concern about future claims on the land by private landholders. The village has a population of approximately 160 families (average family size is 8). The kindergarten expects an enrolment of 40 children when the school year starts in September and will have 2 teachers. Due to a harsh drought, many families have temporarily moved north out of the village in search of better pastures for their sheep and goat herds. Abu Hamza, the head of the Khashem al Daraj village council, expects an enrolment of 100 children at the kindergarten when families return from the north. The Israeli women’s organization, Machsom Watch (“Checkpoint Watch”), have pledged to fund the teachers’ salaries for two years (one teacher’s salary is NIS1000/month; approx. A$275/month). UNRWA have contributed to the construction costs of the kindergarten. The Villages Group is seeking other international funds to assist with teacher training and infrastructure for the kindergarten (toys, furniture, etc.).
The Villages Group requests that the funding raised in Australia by Friends of Hebron is currently best directed to completing construction of the Khashem al Daraj kindergarten. These funds will purchase tiles etc to finish the interior of the kindergarten. Approximately NIS20,000 (A$5500) is required for this, so the FoH funds will go a long way in achieving this goal.
The report from the Villages Group assures us that the Umm al Khair kindergarten teachers are sufficiently covered by current funds the Villages Group are holding. For this reason, the Villages Group would like to prioritise the Khashem al Daraj kindergarten at this time so that it is completed prior to Ramadan starting in August, and it is then ready for the coming school year in September.
Genuine Palestinian kuffiyehs from the Hirbawi factory, the only remaining kuffiyeh factory still operating in Palestine,
at this year’s Festival of Friendship. In an array of colours, as well as the traditional black & white pattern, as you can see here. Available at our market on Saturday 18 June only from 12 midday!
Tribes and Nations are bringing their professional espresso machines combined with organic Fairtrade beans roasted especially for your day. We will enjoy the full flavour of beans freshly roasted and served with style and professionalism. Anything from a macchiato to a lush 30% cocoa hot chocolate or 
frothy double shot cappuccino with extra full cream milk! And we can be sure that this coffee has paid the farmer a living wage!
Come and enjoy:
Professional espresso coffee from freshly roasted T&N single origin coffees and served in fully biodegradable BioCups.
http://store.tribesandnations.com.au/
One of the main ways in which Hebron-Leichhardt Festival of Friendship raises money for the kindergartens we support is via the indoor market. As well as our very exciting sale of genuine Palestinian kuffiyehs, this year’s market offers a terrific variety of goods and information, including:
Berberosaharan, a Sydney business selling beautiful handmade Algerian and Moroccan ceramics, metalware, leatherwork and glass. You can get a sneak preview of the kind of items on offer next Saturday from their catalogue.
Permaculture Inner West. Permaculture is an ethical design system drawing together two words: permanent and culture. It was first developed by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, both academics in Tasmania in the late 1970s. They looked at what was happening in agriculture and recognised that it was neither permanent nor related to culture. Permaculture has three core values: earth care, people care, fair share. Aid work is fundamental to us, and so much of our aid work is based overseas – we at Permaculture Inner West have a link with the Marda Permaculture Project in the central West Bank. The Permaculture Inner West stall will be offering seed swaps, seedlings and information on local and international permaculture.
Following the opening the Festival of Friendship will feature
a lively indoor market with great stalls, food and coffee
live Middle Eastern music with the oud player Mo Youssef from 1:30pm,
the film, Return to Gaza starting arrive 2:45 for 3pm start,
and a forum discussing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, arrive 4:15 for 4:30pm start
.
For further details see www. hebronleichhardt.wordpress.com
or ring Miriam 0414 589 643
As we announced recently, we’re thrilled to have genuine Palestinian kuffiyehs from the Hirbawi factory in Hebron for sale at this year’s Festival of Friendship. As well as the traditional black & white pattern, we have a number of scarves in an array of colours, as you can see here:
The Hirbawi Textile factory is the only remaining kuffiyeh factory still operating in Palestine, so by sourcing our stock from the Hirbawi family we’re able to support the Palestinian economy and help to preserve a significant piece of Palestinian culture.
Hirbawi kuffiyehs - Made in Palestine
The Herbawi kuffiyeh factory is the last remaining producer of genuine Palestinian kuffiyehs in the West Bank, and as well as the traditional black-and-white checkered scarf the Herbawi family also make stunning multi-coloured versions. This year, Leichhardt Friends of Hebron is very proud to announce that we’ve managed to source a selection of kuffiyehs direct from the Herbawi factory, and will have them on sale as part of the indoor market at the Festival of Friendship on June 18th.
In the meantime, you can read about the Herbawi factory here, here or here, and see beautiful photos of the kuffiyehs being made here. Kara Newhouse’s wonderful pictures will also form part of the festival’s photography exhibition.
Yasser Herbawi, founder of the Herbawi factory, photographed by his son Muhammad
Photo courtesy of UNRWA
It’s on again and it’s on Saturday 18 June 2011!
The fabulous Hebron Leichhardt Refugee Week Festival of Friendship in Leichhardt Town Hall.
An exhibition of photographs is central to our event which also features a vibrant indoor market and cafe, live music, the film Return to Gaza, and a forum to discuss the controversial Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.
For more information or to enquire about stall bookings contact
Miriam on 0414 589 643 or email hebronleichhardt@gmail.com
More details: https://hebronleichhardt.wordpress.com/fof2011
friendsofhebronsydney.org.au 
