ORSMP is expected to be the largest Palestine solidarity mural in the world. It is located on the north side of the Labor Temple building in downtown Olympia. To date, this olive tree, with branches spanning 100 feet, has been completed and is waiting for its leaves to unfold.

Finally, the side of the Brotherhood tavern in Olympia, WA, is something worth looking at:

The Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural is a community building memorial honoring all who have lost their lives in struggle and all who are resisting oppression. I’m looking forward to checking it out this July when we visit folks back home. The project was just getting under way when we there the year before last.

The mural was inspired by the killing of Rachel Corrie, a resident of Olympia who was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer while defending the home of a Palestinian pharmacist and his family.  The mural tells a tale of two cities linked through tragedy, Olympia WA and Rafah, Palestine.  It is the tale of people working together for a better world. The mural uses technology and advancements in printing processes to include artists from Palestine who are forbidden to travel.

Event Marks the Completion of the Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural: 6 p.m. Saturday, May 8, Labor Temple, Olympia WA

• 4,000 square foot Multi-Media project
• Collective effort of 150 Olympia locals, national and international groups and individuals
• Uses technology to include artists from Palestine – a break in the siege on Gaza

— Olympia-Rafah Mural Project

Democracy Now! has the exclusive skinny on military spooks infiltrating groups in my occasional stomping grounds of Olympia, WA: My pal Drew Hendricks, along with Brendan Maslauskas Dunn (of Students for a Democratic Society and the Port of Oly anti-militarization group) pieced together documents from FOIA requests to out “John Jacob” who was passing himeself off as an anti-war activist. He was really John Towery, a member of the Force Protection Service at the nearby Fort Lewis military base.

Newly declassified documents reveal that an active member of Students for a Democratic Society and Port Militarization Resistance in Washington state was actually an informant for the US military. The man everyone knew as “John Jacob” was in fact John Towery, a member of the Force Protection Service at Fort Lewis. The military’s role in the spying raises questions about possibly illegal activity. The Posse Comitatus law bars the use of the armed forces for law enforcement inside the United States. The Fort Lewis military base denied our request for an interview. But in a statement to Democracy Now, the base’s Public Affairs office publicly acknowledged for the first time that Towery is a military operative. “This could be one of the key revelations of this era,” said Eileen Clancy, who has closely tracked government spying on activist organizations. [includes rush transcript]

— Democracy Now!

If I were in Olympia, I’d be buying tickets to this yesterday.

OLYMPIA, WA — DAM, a leading Palestinian hip hop group and local artists Xperience and DJ Sweetelite, will play the Capitol Theater, 206 5th Avenue SE, in Olympia, April 21st at 7:00pm. Tickets: $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased at Rainy Day Records or online through Buyolympia. Proceeds will benefit the Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural Project.

DAM is the first and leading Palestinian hip hop group. It is composed of Tamer Nafar, 27, his younger brother Suhell, 23, and Mahmoud Jreri, 24. All three members of the group were born and grew up in the slums of Lod, a mixed town of Arabs and Jews, twenty kilometers from Jerusalem.

DAM’s music is a unique fusion of East and West, combining Arabic percussion rhythms, Middle Eastern melodies and urban hip hop.

The lyrics of DAM are influenced by the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as by the Palestinian struggle for freedom and equality. DAM also draw their influence from such controversial issues as terrorism, drugs and women’s rights.

DAM was featured in the film Slingshot Hip Hop, released in 2008, which braids together the stories of young Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank and inside Israel as they discover hip hop and employ it as a tool to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and poverty.

This show is a benefit for the Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural Project. Building bridges, the mural project is a recognition of the relationships that exist between the people of Olympia, Washington, the people of Rafah, Palestine and with all who struggle and work for justice. Through cultural expression, the mural will provide visibility to strengthen the movement for social change in Palestine, the U.S. and the world. It is a project of the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice and Break the Silence Mural and Arts Project and is co-sponsored by the Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project and Gaza Community Mental Health Program. Visit www.olympiarafahmural.org for more information.

Join us for the after party at the Royal Lounge, 311 Capitol Way N. A percentage of the proceeds will support the creation the Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural. 21 and over.

For more information contact Serena Becker at 360-754-3988 or serena@rachelcorriefoundation.org.

Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

Barack Obama is “the goodest person we’ve ever had as a presidential candidate,” deemed Sarah Silverman. He is “our last hope of ending this country’s reputation as the asshole of the universe.”

And the U.S. populace is now in a drunken dance frenzy to a club remix of The Witch is Dead. That’s a good thing. Soak it up. Enjoy the moment. There’s a currently a collective sigh of relief heard around the world, even in places where people don’t expect large degrees of change. The achievement of an African American should be lauded.

I want the cynics among us to pause at least long enough to appreciate the historical significance of the incoming 44th president’s victory. I want the blind party-line enthusiasts to fess up how similar the candidates were to one another on most issues. And lastly, I want my independent-voting pals out there to honestly admit that while the differences were few, they translate into some clear divisions. And everyone should admit that they voted mostly because they were freaked out.

In 2004 I was hoping to watch the election from south of the border. A flash flood in California killed my car and cost me a bunch of money and put that dream to an end. I ended up cruising around the various election night parties of Olympia, WA, mooching free grub and brew as I went and watching people grow more and more drunk and depressed as Bush won another round. What a difference four years makes. I got to watch this election from abroad, living and working in the UK. Married, home-owning, kid having and wandering around with enough loose change to buy my own brews. And mostly I slept through the results.

Once the drunken glee fades and when the Democrat sheds the “elect” suffix from his title, we’re still see an American president in charge of a system in which 42 cents of every tax dollar goes toward war, trade inequality leads to poverty abroad, lop-sided policies on the Middle East contribute to most the leading conflicts there and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to cause civilian deaths.

As a single-issue (foreign policy) voter I did cast an absentee ballot from across the Atlantic for Barack Obama. The independent parties this election year were pathetic, but that’s a post for another time. Obama was an international contender against an isolationist agenda. While his positions on a number of issues don’t differe remarkably from those expressed by John McCain, I take the train of thought once expressed by Prof. Norman Finkelstein: There are differences between the candidates, potentially differing in the thousands of lives that could be lost depending on even slight differences in foreign policy.

So, how do we come up with a first term full of real “Change” promised by Campaign Obama? I don’t hold a lot of faith about these, but here are my top five. I was going to do four (one for each year), but I just like top five lists better, so one year will have to see two of these.

1. Fix your Middle East policy on Israel/Palestine

I’m more focused on this one because it’s my thing.

Yeah, Obama has stacked his advisers with zionists and their sympathizers up to and including his VP-elect Joe Biden. Most people I know who are interested in this issue are looking at these choices with growing disgust. Lefties are quick to point out the middle name of his choice for White House Chief of Staff much in the way Republicans enjoyed dropping “Hussein” between “Barack” and Obama.” But Rahm Israel Emanuel is just one more in a flock of an AIPAC dream team.

So what? Mr. Obama has had a topsy-turvy relationship with the question of Palestine. The guy who once accurately summarized that “no one has suffered more than the Palestinian people” with respect to the occupation has also more recently said, “I think there is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-likud approach to Israel then you’re anti-Israel, and that can’t be the measure of our friendship with Israel.” Somewhere between these he seemed to insinuate that Jerusalem is not part of the West Bank but perhaps he’s seen a map since then.

So yeah, not exactly the fiery statement people have been waiting to hear from the White House on this issue. But being that the White House has been in lockstep with Likud policy on the issue going back several administrations, it’s something. Still, it offers an entry point. A “wedge” to use the strategic parlance of our time. It’s time to start the “friends don’t let friends build illegal settlements” push. Some entirely tepid, conservative steps Obama could take to show the world he has retained some sense of rationality on this issue:

A) Demand enforcement of the Arms Export Control Act as it currently stands across the board. Easy enough. The rules are there. Use them. Israel is using aid from the U.S. for offensive purposes, not defensive. Ronald Reagan suspended shipments to Israel of cluster munitions for six years due to their use in Lebanon. Section 23 of the Arms Export Control Act. Israel is using F-16 to terrorize Gazans in sonic-boom inducing low flyovers causing deafness in infants there and stress among the populace. It has and continues to use bulldozers for home demolitions and illegal settlement expansion. And it uses gadgetry from Motorola to fuse high-explosive bombs for use in Lebanon. Again, we can cite The Gipper.

So, we’ve got an already established law and we’ve got precedence from one of the Republican Party’s most favorite of former presidents. An easy one to build on.

B) Tie monetary aid to Israel to the halting of construction of all settlements outside of its internationally recognized boarders. So as the U.S. ties aid to Palestinians to the actions of Hamas, we can see some parity by tying Israel’s funding to its illegal actions outside its own borders. The instant appearance of parity.

C) Follow the UK example on trade. Bush’s talk on Israel towing the line of the road map was mostly a bluff. There were never any penalties for Israel for not doing so. Without wanting to call the UK, or Europe for that matter, touch on the issue, they have recently put some teeth behind their policies. Outside of calling for a stop to settlement expansion, the UK is also pressuring the EU to stop importing goods (mostly agricultural) which are produced in West Bank settlements. A safe move, targeting a financial source for an illegal enterprise.

D) Follow the UK example on extremists. We could all do with less of these, anyway. Again, we can apply a degree of parity. To quote Johan Hari slightly out of context: “No more bogus ‘respect’ for fundamentalism within open societies. If you literally follow an ancient Holy Text – whether it’s the Koran, the Bible or the Torah – you will hold disgusting views about women, and you should expect to have them criticised and mocked.”

Let’s just work with the “disgusting views” angle for a second. Moshe Feiglin, leader of the Likud’s Jewish Leadership faction, got a letter from my own MP, British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, letting him know he was banned from coming to UK. The Border and Immigration Agency here concluded that Feiglin is “seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the U.K.” and cites his calls for a “holy war” against Arabs.

The new immigration rules that bar such extremists are across the board. Moshe’s name joins several fundamentalist Muslim clerics likely on “no entry” lists in the U.S. as well. Making that American list more equal-opportunity would go in lock-step with everything Obama has been saying about the U.S.’s supposed new direction. He may also want to consider adding John Hagee to the “no-fly” list. That would let people know we’re not playing evangelical favorites.

E) Let whoever becomes the next PM of Israel know that the old deals are off regarding attacks of Iran. There is a history of U.S. ties to Israeli military action. Aside from what Condoleeza Rice might have said, the U.S. can and has told Israel not to carry out attacks with a great amount of success. This makes one wonder what U.S. and Israeli officials really talk about when privately conferring on Gaza and the West Bank. More likely, her remark was aimed at conveying to Israel the Bush administration’s eagerness for it to strike when it became in the White House’s interest to do so.

The Democratic president should let Israel know that its sugar daddy is under new management and that previous deals are null and void.

2) Closing Guantanamo isn’t enough.

There are about 270 prisoners in Guantanamo prison right now, still awaiting a charge. Obama says he’s close ths place but we haven’t heard too much about what will happen to the people in this place. The smart bet says they vanish to some secret prison somewhere else. According to Clive Stafford Smith, lawyer for 50 Gitmo tenets, there are about 27,000 secret prisoners of the U.S., hidden in cells around the world. Ending the drama for one percent of these that are in Guantanamo may make a nice PR stunt, but it doesn’t really address the human rights issue that the U.S. will some day be facing at the Hague.

3) Instead of just Iraq, pull out of the War on Terror.

How U.S. imagery works: Remember those people jumping on the last helicopter out of Viet Nam? That was a success for U.S. foreign policy. Sure, better if the war had never been started but you only get to play the hand you’re dealt. A lot of people identify that image, and the internal backlash against the South Vietnamese that followed, with the presidency of Gerald Ford. The images were with him, but, really, the failure that is recalled in Oliver Stone films and popular memory is owned by Nixon and Johnson, the two that kept it going on.

No matter who pulls the U.S. out of Iraq is going to face a barrage of gory post-occupation coverage that will make imagery from Vietnam seem quaint. A similar thing will happen in Afghanistan, only plug in the Soviet comparison there. Much better would be to deride the whole War on Terror as a slight-of-hand way of dodging the actual issue and as a PR campaign to stir up hatred and justfiy other stupidities lke the “Axis of Evil.”

4) Join the rest of the world. Endorse an equal playing field and readjust who the “Us” and “Them” are. Those against “us” are those who refuse parity on these issues. Without exemption, Allow and encourage the U.S. to sign up to be subject to:

• The Kyoto Protocol
• The International Criminal Court

4) End all this unpleasantness around Cuba

Another easy win that’s been inflated over time into being an “issue.” Let’s scrap dumb embargoes and travel restrictions against this tiny island, which are out of sync from how we treat lots of places with much worse human rights records. Face it, they don’t want to do things our way. Who cares? A year later no one will even remember we had them except for a small group of pissed off people in Miami.

To reference the Wall Street Journal:

“Changing Cuba policy is a high-symbolic-value, low-political-cost way to show that [Mr. Obama] plans to conduct business differently in the world,” said Carlos Saladrigas, a Cuban-American businessman in Miami and co-chairman of a group that advocates rethinking the embargo.

5) Reframe the United States’ entire policy around Africa

This is the place that under Sarah Palin’s recommendation as VP would become a country.

A) Advance the use generic drug schemes to lower the price of medical aid.

B) Eliminate the abstinence-first policy for birth control and aids education programs. Big duh, I know. But we’ve had Big Duh for two terms now and that’s translated into a lot of suffering around the world. In many parts of Africa the spigot for valid safe sex education was shut off in 2000 just as it barely started to trickle. The lame duck has continued his policy as late as October, “quietly cutting off birth control supplies to some of the world’s poorest women in Africa.”

C) Forgive the debt. Obama recently endorsed a bailout for some of the richest people on the planet. Banks and financial institutions got Get out of Jail Free cards and their executives kept their bonuses and huge salaries for the most part. Banking institutions are to a large extent behind the continual bankruptcy of many African nations, and the lack of a chance to ever improve financially keeps many of these places in turmoil. So, while we’re in this season of giving and forgiving of the world’s most rich and powerful, let’s include a litttle somethin’ somethin’ that would actually help people leaving on the least. Quoting Africa Action:

Africa’s over $200 billion debt burden is the single biggest obstacle to the continent’s development. Most of this debt is illegitimate, having been incurred by despotic and unrepresentative regimes. African countries spend almost $14 billion annually on debt service, diverting resources from HIV/AIDS programs, education and other important needs. The U.S. and other rich countries have resisted calls to cancel this debt, instead proposing partial solutions that are inadequate and impose harsh economic policies on indebted countries. Africa Action’s Campaign to Cancel Africa’s Debt mobilizes pressure on the U.S. government to push for 100% debt cancellation for all impoverished African countries without harmful conditions.

$200 billion? That’s it? Compared to what we’ve given to the banks and to start a war in Iraq, that’s walking-around money.

That’s term one. I’m betting all these will still be unticked four years on. See you then.

Where: The Olympia Community Center (222 Columbia St NW, Olympia, WA) Multipurpose Room B
When: November 29, 2007, International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
Time: 7 p.m.

Please join the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice for a film presentation and discussion looking at the expulsion of Palestinians from their land and how it relates to the local history of Native Americans. Gary Peterson, faculty at the Evergreen State College, will speak about the “hidden histories” of the indigenous inhabitants of the area, and a film will be shown about the Nakba (meaning “catastrophe”), in which over 60% of Palestinians were expelled from their land in 1948.

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is observed by the UN on November 29th each year to focus on the lack of self-determination and sovereignty for Palestinians. On this day in 1947, the General Assembly adopted resolution 181(II), the Partition Resolution, that provided for a “Jewish State” and an “Arab State” in Palestine. Palestinians, who now number more than 8 million, still do not have sovereignty and live primarily in territories occupied by Israel since 1967 (including East Jerusalem), in Israel proper, in neighboring Arab States, and in refugee camps in the region.

This event is in conjunction with the Olympia-Rafah mural project, an effort to reveal, through art, the connections between global struggles for peace and justice, as well as to honor the efforts of all marginalized peoples to tell their stories and claim the human rights denied to them.

Questions? Please contact the Rachel Corrie Foundation at (360) 754-3998 or OBSCURED EMAIL ADDRESS.

The Olympia-Rafah Mural Project is an official recognition, by the people of Olympia, Washington, of the sister city relationship that exists with the city of Rafah, Palestine. Through the act of creating a collaborative public mural, we will express our desire for Palestinian self-determination, which is rooted in honoring the common struggles for global justice faced by marginalized people everywhere. By upholding rights for all, we seek to break down barriers to understanding, increase visibility for Palestinian people, encourage imagination, embrace the hope and courage of Rachel Corrie, and bring people together in one voice for change.

My peeps in the Olympia Port Militarization Resistance made Democracy Now this morning:

15 Arrested in Olympia While Blocking Military Convoy

In Olympia Washington, 15 anti-war demonstrators were arrested over the weekend while attempting to block a military convoy carrying Stryker vehicles. The protests were organized by the Olympia Port Militarization Resistance which aims to stop the U.S. military from using the Port of Olympia to ship equipment to Iraq. Protest organizers also accused police of brutalizing dozens of peaceful demonstrators and journalists. On Saturday police dressed in riot gear repeatedly used pepper spray and batons to break up the protest.

A statement from the OPMR follows:

Rob Whitlock has photos here.

The Daily Olympian has its story here.

Release from Olympia Port Militarization Resistance:

To see all contacts for OPMR, go here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thirteen arrested while containing military convoys traveling through Olympia; community brutalized by Olympia Police Department

November 10th, 2007 – Thirteen anti-war demonstrators were arrested while attempting to contain Stryker vehicles from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division from moving through the streets of Olympia, Washington. Three of the arrests took place at the intersection of 4th and Plum St. in downtown Olympia. Ten arrests took place at Union Street and Plum Street near the on ramp to I-5 North where anti-war demonstrators were in lock-down with PVC pipes locking their arms together.

With a commitment to non-violent actions, Olympia Port Militarization Resistance aims to end Olympia’s participation in the illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq by stopping the US military’s use of the Port of Olympia. As of 3:10pm all thirteen are being held at City of Olympia Police Department Municipal Jail.

Before arrests were made dozens of protesters and bystanders report being brutalized by the Olympia Police Department (OPD). At 8:30am OPD appeared at the port in full riot gear, just over an hour later police were using batons and pepper spray on demonstrators blocking the shipment and bystanders as well.

Jeremy Pawloski who is reporting for the Olympian Newspaper for demonstrations since Monday, November 5th was witnessed being assaulted by police officers. Caitlin Esworthy reported seeing Pawloski struck in the upper body and shoved him back six feet. Tony Overman, photographer for The Olympian newspaper, was pepper sprayed according to eyewitness accounts. He was previously embedded with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry division while they were deployed in Mosul, Iraq.

When asked for badge numbers police officers refused to comply with the law that requires individual officers to identify themselves. Some officers also covered up their badge numbers. Alex Dunn reported being reported being struck by a police baton in the face and his right side repeatedly. The officer who was assaulting him said to the effect ” Do you want some more son? Do you want some more?” Another officer knocked the wind out of him when he struck him in the gut at which point Alex attempted to escape the abuse. Police then grabbed him from behind and pepper sprayed him at point blank range.

Kelly Beckham, one of numerous anti-war demonstrators directly sprayed in the eyes with pepper spray, said, “I was in agony because I didn’t know what was happening. I couldn’t see anything and they had to carry me away. I was really angry. They wouldn’t let the medics approach anyone who had been hurt. This is nothing compared to the suffering of the Iraqi people.” Alex Patia, 18 year old said, “I have been through lots of painful medical procedures and I was in the most pain I have ever felt in my life, but I want to see an end to this war and my actions today are my patriotic duty.”

Many protesters wore goggle to protect themselves from chemical attack. Andrew Yankey reported the officer in charge giving the orders, “Take off their goggles. Spray under their goggles.” He also witnessed police stealing water from demonstrators, drinking it and laughing at demonstrators as they were in agony. Pepper spray causes immediate swelling of the eyes, severe pain, upper body spasms, difficulty breathing, coughing and may cause severe allergic reactions in some individuals. Repeated exposure can cause long lasting changes in vision.

Olympia Port Militarization Resistance is caring for community members affected by the brutality inflicted upon them and will not be deterred in their non-violent struggle to de-militarize the Port of Olympia.

Looks like OPD is going to be spending another year in court. Go team!

Two ‘masters of the written word’ on war and occupation

Dahr Jamail & Suheir Hammad

Where: Olympia, WA, Capitol Theater
206 5th Ave SE, Olympia, Thurston, Washington 98501
When: Sunday Nov. 4 at 5:00 PM
Tickets: Available at buyolympia.com and Rainy Day Records

Here are a couple of video clips of these fantastic word herders in action:

• Poem spoken by Suheir Hammad
• Dahr Jamail at World tribunal on Iraq

Still, as impressive as this spectacle is, one could only imagine how cramped the park would be if their were markers representing all the Iraqis killed by US policy as well.

I took some snaps, which follow:

Updated: Photos added

On 17 April the Olympia, Washington City Council voted 4-2 against official recognition of the Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project. Of the few news organizations following the story, that was the headline. But it wasn’t really the news.

Possibly noteworthy was that more than 300 people attended the standing-room only public hearing on the project. People waited outside the building to get in to comment and observe. Forty-eight people spoke in support, 24 people expressed opposition. Hundreds of letters and emails flooded the city on the topic. Numerous phone calls also came in, according to council members.

What remains worth exploring, examining and scrutinizing was why the city council vote went as it did, and what was said by citizens during the open hearing on the matter. For anyone seriously studying current American popular opinion on the Middle East, a trove has been collected in Olympia during the last couple of months. Collect it, save it, dissect it with a scalpel.

April has been a punishing month in the U.S. for endeavors that recognize Palestinians as human beings. A sister city request failed in Olympia. Eighteen photographs in an exhibit featuring work by children from the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank were stolen from a Boston public library. Meanwhile, scare tactics and overt intimidation were once again employed, this time in South Florida, to coerce a theater company into canceling the play My Name is Rachel Corrie.

As an active participant in the Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project nearly since it began in late 2003, I have my own preference as to how things should have gone in Olympia. The scant headlines run by Olympia’s daily newspaper and picked up by the Associated Press and Reuters paint our attempt at official recognition as a failure. Fair enough. But on the other side of the world, in a battered, cramped town where most the inhabitants remain refugees from some other part of Palestine, Khaled Nasrallah saw it differently. “You really succeeded,” he wrote in an email after watching the digital video with others in Rafah. “It was my pleasure to see all of you in the meeting.”

I have to take Khaled’s view. People who live through the kinds of things that have happened in Rafah know something about recognizing the fleeting instances in our lives where some degree of victory can be found. His family’s home was destroyed by an armored and armed Caterpillar D9 bulldozer for the sole reason that the military it represented wanted to expand a buffer zone and was (in violation of international law) demolishing all the houses in the area. In one attempt by the military to destroy Khaled’s home, Olympia native Rachel Corrie was killed.

When people in Rafah have stood up to demand recognition of their right to exist, let alone their humanity, they’ve historically faced guns, bombs, fighter jets, tanks, sniper towers and bulldozers. Considering that, I think we in the U.S. can take a few wagging tongues, each alloted three minutes of microphone time in a city hall. And if it gives our friends in Rafah some sort of comfort to see us confront and grapple with the creeping phobias and racist stereotypes prevalent in our own communities, then he’s right, we found some measure of success.

After the vote against the sister city project we received a few emails. One was from a Eugene, Oregon, resident who said he’d like to know “what was at play when the City of Olympia voted against it,” and asked, “How can that be: in the home area of Rachel Corrie??!!”

It’s worth mentioning that a group of people in Madison, Wisconsin, tried to take their sister city project with Rafah official a couple of years previously and were met with even more hostility and ultimately a negative vote from their city council. Why does this happen? In the end, and in both cases, our critics had fewer people in their ranks, but they were scarier.

Rather than recapping the play-by-play here, I’ll just tell you where to find the main criticisms and our responses. You can see them at the project’s website (see link at the end of this article). Members of the sister city project authored a document in the form of a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) in response to letters sent to the city council before the vote. As no one speaking against the proposal that evening offered anything new, these responses stand firm. The city council video (link provided below) also contains numerous articulate rebuttals to the critic’s claims at the meeting.

Instead, I’d like to focus on the general perceptions stated by opponents of the project and the resulting vote. What people in Rafah saw, via the Internet, was nothing new. It was yet another example of how there is really no way allowed for them to connect with the outside world. Palestinians are told that they must follow certain rules before they can be apart of the global community. What these rules are seems to shift depending on the situation. The Israeli military also has rules it’s supposed follow vis-a-vis international law, but these folks don’t seem to pay much mind to that.

The rules shifted in Olympia on 17 April. For the last year and a half, project participants in Rafah and Olympia have worked to meet both the letter and spirit of the requirements regarding sister city relationships with both Sister Cities International and city regulations. As Olympia City Management Assistant Diamatris Winston and Sister Cities International pointed out, we met those requirements. Some letter writers and public speakers, without offering any sort of findings to the contrary, simply ruled that we didn’t. With its vote, the Olympia City council sided with these people.

A number of speakers in opposition complained that the project lacked an Israeli component, stating that they’d support one that included an Israeli town as well as some “compatible city in the West Bank or in Gaza,” indicating that they would prefer that this were an Israeli sister city project that could, perhaps, include some token recognition of a Palestinian entity. In short: if we changed the name and entire scope of our project and told our participants in Rafah to help us find a better town than theirs, preferably one in Israel, then they would endorse it. The Olympia City Council sided with these people.

There are currently three officially recognized sister city relationships between U.S. and Palestinian communities. In one instance, the partners in a project to bind the West Bank town of Bethlehem with Burlington, Vermont, worked to include a relationship with Arad, Israel. There are about 40 official sister city relationships in all between Israeli and American cities. No one is demanding in these circumstances that a Palestinian component must be required. But in Olympia, critics declared that official recognition of any Palestinian community is entirely dependent trilateral relationship with an Israeli community. We offered to help out and lend our knowledge of the process to anyone interested in organizing a sister city relationship with an Israeli town, and that our projects could work on several joint events once they got up and running. This wasn’t enough. Again, double standards are nothing new for Palestinians who attempt to play by our rules.

Aside from the fact that no one in the entire span of our project’s existence has ever approached us about establishing an Israeli sister city (and no one has since the council meeting), there is an offensive element to this notion. It insinuates that Palestinians must only be considered in light of their Israeli neighbors in every aspect of life, as though they are not deserving of the same rights of identity and self-determination as anyone else. That’s what our critics brought to the table and to which the Oympia City Council agreed.

In the public hearing, speakers used the word “divisive” even more often than they dropped “terrorists” or “Hamas.” After four years of open, public existence in the community, either organizing, sponsoring or cosponsoring events that have attracted hundreds of individuals, the sister city project suddenly became a divisive issue in the last month and a half, mostly by people who hadn’t given our project a single thought one month before, and really won’t one month later.

I’ve been giving this notion of divisiveness some thought in recent days. Like my friend Khaled in Rafah, I wasn’t able to be at the city council meeting in person. I watched it via the little three-by-two-inch video screen on the city’s website. I’m working on a contract with an organization in Morocco that encourages cross-cultural exchanges between the U.S. and Middle East and North African nations. It was weird watching people I knew in my hometown make their cases on that small screen, but it gave me some idea of how the rest of the world would see the debate that took place there.

It’s been a tense couple of weeks here in Morocco. During the weekend before last a suicide bombing shook Casablanca. These bombers — alleged to be loosely tied with an organization calling itself “Al-Qaida of the Islamic Maghreb” in nearby Algeria — tend to target local community centers, secular organizations, internet cafés, places where men and women and boys and girls of any background can congregate.

Another like-minded group seems to have emerged in Gaza, emboldened by the chaos, increased poverty and isolation that U.S. and Israeli sanctions and the confiscation of public funds have brought. This other group, “The Sword of Islam,” seems to be targeting Palestinian community centers, secular organizations, Internet cafés, places where men and women and boys and girls of any background can congregate. The goal these groups seem to be striving for is isolationism and segregation, to make people fearful of places that connect them to the outside world or to one another. Through fear, it is sometimes said, control can be exerted.

In Rafah, the Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project fosters communication and people-to-people bonds among men and women of all faiths in an open manner. Our organization supports the Rachel Corrie Youth and Cultural Center and a number of other community centers in Rafah where men and women and boys and girls of any background can congregate, use the Internet to reach the world outside the prison-like conditions of Gaza, study, create art and connect.

The people in Olympia speaking out against official status for this sister city relationship chimed in on some familiar themes. They warned against open communications between people and in favor of mistrust, which ultimately leads toward the same path: isolation, segregation and fear. And the Olympia City Council sided with these people.

Yet I still agree with Khaled; a degree of success was achieved.

Over the years I’ve developed a sort of inkling that if the road map to any sort of lasting peace in the Middle East actually did include a detour through the United States, it would find a more suitable route through Olympia, Washington, rather than Washington, D.C. There’s nothing peaceful about the latter. Spend a day on D.C.’s Capitol Hill and another amid dense thickets of pine trees of Olympia’s Capitol Forest and then tell me which one gave you a greater sense of peace.

But the road map should wind through more towns than Olympia. The conversation that took place was too important. It needs to happen elsewhere and it needs to be archived. In readily available public records and video now sits a time capsule from 17 April 2007, of public sentiment in Olympia, Wash., on the Middle East. It’s there for anyone to study one year, five years or fifty years from now. The process should be repeated everywhere. I would encourage people in towns across the United States to find connections with Palestinian communities. Develop the bonds and personal connections. Visit their homes and invite them to yours. Then, when the paperwork and documentation has all been laid out, take it to your city council for official recognition and see who shows up and says what. The results will say far more about the citizens in our country than they will about those in Palestine.

“In keeping with its commitment to open government, the Olympia City Council is pleased to provide online access to live and archived City Council meeting videos, minutes, and agendas.”

• The meeting’s Agenda
• The background material that will be presented for our item (which seemed to have not been read by the majority of the council).
• Video of the meeting available here. (Warning: some freaky, racist anti-Arab statements lie within, as well as a lot of powerful statement in support of ORSCP)
• Or paste this into iTunes under the podcast section>subscribe to podcast
to have it download to your computer: http://olympia.granicus.com/ViewPublisherRSS.php?view_id=2
• Minutes of meeting available here.

Flickr photos of the meeting are here: Link

Some blogging on the vote:
• What This Town Needs
• Gabi Clayton ~ Inside the outsider

The following was compiled to address questions raised by Olympia City Council members and some members of the community regarding the Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project and official recognition of the work of its volunteers by the Olympia City Council. These were prepared by volunteers and board members of the sister city project in April 2007. The City Council is slated to vote on official recognition at its April 17 meeting.

A version of this FAQ can be found at the ORSCP website here: http://orscp.org/olympia/?page_id=167

You can download a printable version of this document here: orscp.org/olympia/downloads/ORSCP_FAQ.pdf

What are the City of Olympia’s guidelines for recognizing sister city relationships and conducting such relationships?

In 1987, the City of Olympia adopted Resolution M-1234 establishing a sister city affiliations policy that includes criteria for selection of such relationships. A copy of this policy is available at the City of Olympia website. According to the website, “By terms of Olympia’s sister city affiliations resolution, requests for sister city relationships in Olympia originate by the community. Before the City Council will consider the request, the requesting group must be incorporated with an established board of directors, a structure in place for the organization (not the City) to plan and carry out sister city relationship activities, and the financial means to do so without using City funds.” Council members and city officials have stated that the Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project has met all of the requirements of this affiliations policy.

What is the financial impact of an official Olympia-Rafah relationship for the city?

The Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project (ORSCP) recognizes that the city budget must focus on other spending priorities. The ORSCP budget already submitted to the City Council requests no city financing. As a registered 501(c) nonprofit charitable organization and registered charitable organization in Washington State, ORSCP has and will remain a self-sufficient entity. Our support comes from members of the community who are energetic about working on our projects and seeing them continue. Relationships between any two cities can only be enhanced by that kind of actual community involvement. The project will continue to rely on that volunteer support. After a four-year history, there is no reason to expect that city funds would ever be needed to maintain ORSCP. We would hope that as the project develops that city officials will be available to welcome guests to Olympia and to participate in local ORSCP created and financed events when such guests are present.

ORSCP programs and projects actually generate revenue for Olympia by bringing customers to Olympia businesses. We have sponsored or cosponsored numerous casual and first-class events that have brought thousands of people into the downtown area. These include our Winter Celebration fundraisers and the Rachel Corrie Foundation Peace Works conference, a four-day event that highlighted Arun Gandhi appearing before a packed house at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. In years to come, we look forward to continuing this strong tradition of bringing to the community events with broad appeal.

What is the financial impact of an official Olympia-Rafah relationship for the city?

The Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project (ORSCP) recognizes that the city budget must focus on other spending priorities. The ORSCP budget already submitted to the City Council requests no city financing. As a registered 501(c) nonprofit charitable organization and registered charitable organization in Washington State, ORSCP has and will remain a self-sufficient entity. Our support comes from members of the community who are energetic about working on our projects and seeing them continue. Relationships between any two cities can only be enhanced by that kind of actual community involvement. The project will continue to rely on that volunteer support. After a four-year history, there is no reason to expect that city funds would ever be needed to maintain ORSCP. We would hope that as the project develops that city officials will be available to welcome guests to Olympia and to participate in local ORSCP created and financed events when such guests are present.

ORSCP programs and projects actually generate revenue for Olympia by bringing customers to Olympia businesses. We have sponsored or cosponsored numerous casual and first-class events that have brought thousands of people into the downtown area. These include our Winter Celebration fundraisers and the Rachel Corrie Foundation Peace Works conference, a four-day event that highlighted Arun Gandhi appearing before a packed house at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. In years to come, we look forward to continuing this strong tradition of bringing to the community events with broad appeal.

What is the mission of the Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project?

ORSCP actively promotes and fosters friendships between the people of Olympia, Washington, and Rafah, Palestine, for the purpose of strengthening cross-cultural awareness and understanding, international cooperation, justice, and peace. ORSCP works with people in Rafah to create lasting friendships across borders and to bridge cultural gaps through popular education, advocacy, communication, and community exchange. These friendships help us to educate ourselves, increase awareness, and demonstrate solidarity in a common struggle for a just and prompt peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Who are the members of ORSCP?

The work of ORSCP is carried out by community volunteers who organize at monthly meetings, in smaller committees, and individually. While not an official membership organization, those who carry on the work of ORSCP and support its mission come from a broad spectrum of the community economically, racially, ethnically and religiously. Through its already four-year old history, ORSCP has welcomed support and participation from many different people, young and old, those with connections to Israelis and Palestinians, and those new to the issues faced by both peoples. A Board of Directors provides oversight and ensures that the vision and mission of ORSCP is pursued. An Advisory Committee that includes state legislators, clergy, community leaders, and specialists on Middle East affairs provides expertise to help shape ORSCP programs and policy.

Who is invited to participate in ORSCP?

Monthly ORSCP meetings are held at The Olympia Center on the first Thursday of each month, 7-9 PM, and are open to any in the community who wish to learn about, support, and contribute to this work. There are small and large ways for community members to participate. The potential for the Olympia-Rafah relationship grows as people bring their creative ideas for it to the table. ORSCP provides and supports educational and cultural events that stem from the Olympia-Rafah connection or relate to it. These events are always publicized in the community as thoroughly as possible and are open to the public.

How does ORSCP conduct community outreach?

Monthly meetings are held in a community space, The Olympia Center (meetings are on the 1st Thursday of each month at The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia Street, at 7 pm). These are regularly publicized at the ORSCP website, through the ORSCP list-serve, and in brochures and other promotional material. ORSCP events and fundraisers are frequently covered in The Olympian and other local papers, on radio stations, through TCTV programming, on event announcement calendars such as FOR and TC Pro-Net, and more.

ORSCP participants and supporters have spoken to organizations, college classes, and elsewhere in the community and are available to do so in the future. Presentations cover aspects of the sister-city experience (as in a recent presentation by Will Hewitt about the Rafah Artists’ Association), experiences of members in Rafah, and dimensions of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. After the Palestinian elections in January 2006, ORSCP sponsored a talk by Evergreen State College Professor Dr. Steve Niva who provided analysis of the recent Palestinians elections.

Has ORSCP reached out to the Olympia Jewish community?

ORSCP has since its inception had members and supporters who are part of the Olympia Jewish community. As we do our work, the religious affiliation of members is not generally uppermost in our thinking. We do, however, recognize the often strong and diverse views that Jews and many others hold about Israel and Palestine. We continuously strive to connect with all members of our community, to welcome their participation in ORSCP, to explain and discuss our work, to respond to concerns, to provide information about ORSCP events and projects, to join in bringing shared concerns to local legislators, and to participate in educational and social events provided by segments of our Jewish community.

ORSCP members have initiated conversations with Rabbi Seth Goldstein of Temple Beth Hatfiloh. We provided a liaison between ORSCP and the local chapter of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom (part of the national Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace whose mission is to educate and mobilize American Jews in support of a negotiated two-state resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict). While in Israel and Palestine, all of our delegates make connections with Israeli Jewish friends who, also, work for a just peace. The ORSCP Advisory Committee has several Jewish members, and the work of ORSCP has the support of national and international organizations whose memberships include Jewish participants.

ORSCP’s outreach has extended to many faith groups with representatives building connections with those in the Muslim and Christian communities, as well, and attending events sponsored by interfaith organizations.

Would a sister city bond with Rafah be offensive to others in the community who are pro-Israel?

If by “pro-Israel,” we mean those who are in favor of Israelis enjoying safety, security, and freedom to travel and to live their lives in peace, we believe all those involved in ORSCP are pro-Israel. We wish these things for our Israeli and Palestinian friends alike. We do not believe that wanting these things for one people negates the desire for them to be shared in equal measure by another people. We hope through continuing education and communication that those who feel any threat or fear about the prospect of a sister city relationship with Rafah, will come to see that it is in actuality a project in the interest of Palestinians, Israelis, and, also, Americans.

Isn’t ORSCP taking sides in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict?

ORSCP takes the side of equal rights, freedom, safety and security for both Palestinians and Israelis. The work that we do benefits Israelis as well as Palestinians.

The U.S. Department of State’s website says, “Israel also has a large stake in the success of a democratic Palestine. Permanent occupation threatens Israel’s identity and democracy.” We agree with the U.S. Department of State, the international community, and numerous human rights organizations that an end to the Israeli occupation is a basic requirement for a just, secure, and enduring peace for all in the region. That view is shared by Israeli groups such as Coalition of Women for Peace (nine Israeli women’s peace organizations), Gush Shalom, and the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.

The United States shares a deep friendship with Israel. ORSCP seeks friendship with Palestinians, as well. The ORSCP position is that cultural exchanges and people-to-people connections can break isolation and promote better understanding that fosters an environment more conducive to change. In the end, Palestinians and Israelis must find solutions. Through our work, we hope to support them in doing so.

Won’t granting of official status mean that the city council is taking sides in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict?

Not at all. By approving official status for ORSCP, the Olympia City Council is as Resolution M-1234 states, “providing citizens of Olympia with an opportunity to give service to and derive benefit from a community project of international scope.”

Won’t ORSCP be divisive to the community?

ORSCP has been informally working in Olympia for more than four years. We have been active and visible. Many have shared with us that our being here enriches the community in immeasurable ways. We have encountered and worked alongside those who sometimes have different views, but our relationships and exchanges have nearly always been constructive and cordial. We have had support from a broad spectrum of the Olympia community as demonstrated by attendance at our major events. While official status will afford us new opportunities and lend hope to those in both Palestine and Israel who search for solutions, we see no reason why official status will alter how we interact with the Olympia community or how it interacts with us. We hope that in time more and more people will come to see that for our own sakes and for the sake of all the world’s children, we must be globally engaged in efforts like ORSCP that encourage movement toward mutual understanding, respect, and support.

Why have a sister city with a Palestinian community?

Communities naturally want to learn about other communities. The City of Olympia is being asked to recognize this curiosity and to encourage exploration and understanding of others in the world. We must refuse the temptation to close ourselves off because of fear and distrust rooted in ethnic, racial and religious reasons. Groups in both Olympia and Rafah are working together to overcome these. That is a positive thing. It is a dangerous path, if we continue ranking people worthy of connecting with on the basis of ethnic or religious backgrounds. As ORSCP works to break down stereotypes of Palestinians, tolerance is cultivated in our own community.

In recalling its history, Sister Cities International (SCI) states, “While approaches and attitudes have changed, one underlying theme remains – the value of local citizens reaching out to each other globally. Despite the international climate, individual citizens reached out and discovered the reality behind the rhetoric. A sister city friendship ended the Cold War for many individuals in 1973, not the Soviet government’s collapse in 1991. Burlington, Vermont addressed the Palestinian and Israeli conflict by forming a tripartite city relationship. Images of African countries moved beyond stereotypes of helplessness and isolation. Instead, images developed of emerging nations undertaking municipal improvement and economic growth. Concerned international citizens included themselves in the picture of modern diplomacy. The grassroots tradition remains strong in all sister city programs – a testimony to its founders’ early vision and success.”

What about the creation of a sister-city relationship with an Israeli city?

Members of ORSCP are fully supportive of a sister city relationship between Olympia and an Israeli city or entity, providing that the Israeli counterpart is in Israel proper, within internationally recognized pre-1967 borders. We and, also, the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, with which we are associated, are willing to provide information to help in establishing such a relationship. We believe that such an effort should be citizen driven, as is ORSCP.

Should an Olympia-Israeli sister city project develop, ORSCP would envision gradual steps to connect our two Olympia groups and those in Rafah and Israel, in a manner agreeable to all the participants.

We reject the idea that approval of ORSCP official status should be contingent on an Israeli sister city being added to the relationship. SCI lists over forty U.S. sister city partnerships with Israel. Clearly, there were no demands on those projects to add a Palestinian counterpart.

Isn’t this a politically motivated sister city project?

ORSCP is drawn to this project because of the relationships people in Olympia have developed with people in Rafah. We hope to share a side of U.S. citizens that does not get much play in Middle East media. Furthermore, we hope to introduce to more Americans the culture and lives of a people whom we read so much about in our daily newspapers and, yet, understand so little. Through the simple act of participating in sister city activities, we can get to know one another better. That is motivation enough for us to do this work.

However, we, also, can not stand by and ignore the dire situation in Israel/Palestine and the relationship of our own government and our own selves to it. That situation calls for our attention and action. Participating in a sister city effort with Rafah provides one avenue for contributing to some breakthrough, in Israel/Palestine and here in the U.S.

People-to-people relationships and human connections that are not abstract illuminate a situation and help us understand the broader political forces at play. It is well documented in history that this makes a difference. If this represents being political, then we plead guilty. Our long-term vision is of Israelis and Palestinians living in peace and cooperation to their mutual benefit. We strongly believe that a just peace that respects the human rights of all is in the interest of Israelis and Palestinians alike. We, also, strongly believe in the power of people-to-people, and community-to-community connections and friendship to advance the goal of an enduring peace.

Who will we be connecting with in Rafah?

A computer programmer, a pharmacist, an accountant, a graphic designer, a woman in charge of a local community center and after-school program for children, a group of women involved in a needle point circle, a college student, a teacher, an administrator for a mental health organization, a physician, and a group of artists. These are some that have been or are currently involved in sister city events or projects in Rafah. We hope to continue to expand the circle of participants in both our communities. Sometimes the thing we most forget when thinking of places like Rafah is just how much normal living continues in spite of the situation.

By giving approval, won’t the city be endorsing Hamas?

Sister city relationships do not endorse political parties.

ORSCP is not tied to any political or partisan organization in Rafah. Our participants in both communities understand that ORSCP is a sister city endeavor aimed at people-to-people connections.

However, it is a misconception that Rafah is controlled by Hamas. Rafah was one of only two districts in Gaza where a majority of voters chose Fatah over Hamas in the 2006 PLC election. Fatah is the representative party for that community. According to Jennifer Loewenstein, Visiting Fellow, Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University, “Rafah is also the only area in the Gaza Strip that has been almost entirely untouched by the factional in-fighting between Hamas and Fatah. This is because of the popularity of the people in the municipality … According to the Mezan Center for Human Rights which now has a branch office in Rafah, the city is now controlled effectively by Fatah and its affiliates.”

Our connections with Rafah municipality officials are with those described as political independents with a long history in the community.

However, to re-emphasize, ORSCP is in no way connected to the ever shifting political scene in Rafah any more than it is to that in the United States. By approving official status for ORSCP, the City of Olympia would not be endorsing Fatah or Hamas, anymore than the City of Rafah would be endorsing the Bush administration, Republicans or Democrats.

Wouldn’t official status for ORSCP be an endorsement of terrorism?

In no way could the connection be made. ORSCP in numerous publications, brochures and on its website publicly states not only that violence is deplorable, but also expresses the call for a just and lasting peace for all in the region. Furthermore, we believe that such a fear comes from the general misconceptions and phobias about Arab peoples and Muslims that must be addressed in our own communities. A charge that any interaction with the civilian populace of a community such as Rafah constitutes an “endorsement of terrorism” is more of a reflection on the people making it than on the project itself. Terrorism, no matter its funding, trappings, sources or rationale is deplorable. So are blanket accusations about an entire people being untrustworthy solely because of their religious beliefs or ethnicity. Distrust, fear and misunderstandings lie at the root of hatred and violence.

In both Rafah and Olympia, we seek to introduce ourselves and our communities to one another in the hopes of bringing, in even some small way, a bit more understanding between people.

Didn’t the occupation in Gaza end with the removal of Israeli settlements there during the Disengagement in 2005?

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Certainly the lives of people in Gaza improved slightly and temporarily with the pullout of Israeli settlers and military in the summer of 2005.

Gaza is a cramped area for its 1.4 million inhabitants and one of the poorest places on earth. No matter what else can be said, “disengagement” was a positive move by the Israeli government to minimally improve safety and security for its own people and to offer some relief for Palestinians living under occupation in Gaza. ORSCP delegates and members personally witnessed some of the changes that resulted there, namely the removal of internal checkpoints and access to the seacoast and land on which approximately 8,000 settlers had lived illegally under international law. They, also, however, witnessed the continuing control that the Israeli military and government hold over Gaza which, in fact, makes it a prison. Rafah, which has a large population of refugees displaced from various locations, and the rest of the Gaza Strip still are occupied.

Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., wrote in July 2006, “The Israeli occupation of Gaza never ended, despite the hype of last year’s ‘disengagement.’ The New York Times quoted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert saying that Israel will continue to act militarily in Gaza as it sees fit. ‘We will operate, enter and pull out as needed,’ he said. The withdrawal of soldiers and settlers from within the territory of the Gaza Strip represented a change in the form of occupation, not an end to occupation. After the “pull-out” Gaza remained besieged and surrounded, and Israel has remained in complete control of all aspects of Gazan life. Israel has continued to control the Gaza economy, withholding $50 million or so Palestinian monthly tax revenues, prohibiting Palestinian workers from entering Israel, and controlling the Israeli and Egyptian border crossings into and out of Gaza for all goods and people. Israel continues to forcibly limit the range of Gaza’s fleet of fishermen. It still controls Gaza’s airspace and coastal waters, and continues to prohibit construction of a seaport or rebuilding the airport.” In 2006, Israel continued its air strikes and ground attacks on people and infrastructure throughout Gaza. Nightly barrages of sonic booms caused by low-flying military aircraft over Gaza’s population centers caused additional terror and sleepless nights.

Gazans are still not permitted travel to the West Bank. All funds for public services, internally or internationally generated, are still not in Palestinian control and construction remains restricted by Israeli military authority. Sadly, disengagement did not bring an end to occupation of Gaza either for the Palestinians living there, or for the Israelis who have responsibility under international law for the well-being of those they occupy. Gaza is under siege and remains one of the occupied Palestinian territories.

Why does violence persist in Gaza after disengagement?

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice told reporters prior to disengagement, “…we also recognize that the economic revival of the Palestinian territories is a key element for peace. That means that when the Israelis withdraw from Gaza it cannot be a sealed or isolated area, with the Palestinian people closed in after that withdrawal. We are committed to connectivity between Gaza and the West Bank (Israel proper is in the middle), and we are committed to openness and freedom of movement for the Palestinian people.”

Instead, in the aftermath of disengagement, Gaza has absolutely remained a “sealed” and “isolated area, with the Palestinian people closed in. ORSCP delegates have witnessed this.

Furthermore, after the election of Hamas in January 2006 in what was universally praised as a free and democratic election, the international community chose to punish and isolate Palestinians even further for the result: exercising their right to elect their own government. As this situation was developing, Jaber Wishah of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights stated, “This [isolation] will hurt the goal of two states living side by side…it will increase the frustrations of the Palestinian people here in Gaza.”

According to the World Bank, Palestinians are currently experiencing the worst economic depression in modern history. Unemployment has reached 40 percent, and by April, 2006, 79 percent of Gazan households were living in poverty. Approximately 830,000 of Gaza’s 1.4 million population rely on the United Nations for food. Exacerbating Gaza’s socioeconomic decline was Israel’s attack on Gaza’s only power station last June. The plant, which was destroyed, supplied 45 percent of the electricity in the Gaza Strip.

In short, poverty, isolation, lack of import/exports, jobs, salaries, and a diminution of hope all contribute to the despair that results in violence.

What sort of delegation plans does ORSCP have?

In order to keep the relationship between our two communities strong, ORSCP intends to continue to have at least one delegation per year either from Olympia to Rafah or from Rafah to Olympia.

Past delegation efforts have been very successful in building the sister city relationship and in creating interest in the project in both communities. In August 2003, Emma Perlman went to Rafah for two months where she volunteered in a summer camp, worked with a high school girls’ class and brought back the first fair-trade embroidery to be sold in Olympia. In spring 2004, four Olympians traveled to the region. Due to the tight restriction at the border into the Gaza Strip, only one was able to reach Rafah. In June 2005, Khaled, Samah and Sama Nasrallah, came to Olympia from Rafah, spent several days in the area, and spoke at a community event at St. John’s Episcopal Church.

In late 2005 and early 2006, four delegates from ORSCP, Serena Becker, Siouxzie Morrison, Trent Lutzke and Rochelle Gause spent two months in Rafah furthering our educational and fair trade work, exploring new potential connections with organizations and gathering ideas from interested residents in Rafah. They were joined for part of that time by Will Hewitt, who worked with ORSCP counterparts in Rafah. Back in Olympia, he recently framed, displayed, and discussed art from the Rafah Artists’ Association. In June 2006, Fida Qishta, Director of the Rachel’s Way Youth Center in Rafah visited Olympia. Most recently ORSCP and the Rachel Corrie Foundation hosted Mohammed Abu Asaker, a Palestinian friend of Rachel Corrie’s from Rafah who is now doing graduate study at American University.

What about the safety of delegations?

Delegates are thoroughly oriented to the situation in Israel and Palestine. They and their support team prepare carefully for different contingencies. We consider and continually review the situation on the ground before delegates travel and when they are present in Israel and Palestine. A support system that includes a variety of contacts in the U.S. and in Israel/Palestine is developed before each trip. In times of extreme duress, we do not send delegates into Gaza. Our Palestinian hosts are extremely protective and provide regular briefings and guidance about the situation. Despite problems of access, there are internationals who continue to safely visit Gaza.

No guarantees of absolute safety can be made. Delegates sign a release, assuming responsibility for their decision to travel to Israel and Palestine.

What sort of fair-trade projects does ORSCP work on?

The goal of fair trade is to work with marginalized producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to security and economic self-sufficiency. In Rafah, according to the most recent report from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), over 50% of the population is experiencing food insecurity. Even the smallest income can make a large difference to the people in Rafah.

ORSCP has worked to sell craft-work, olive oil and art made by Palestinians in Rafah in locations around Olympia. We offer items for sale at sister city events and at Traditions Café and World Folk Art. In the past, ORSCP has brought olive oil to the South Sound from Palestinian producers. We have brought needlework to sell in Olympia from the Center for Disabled Persons and women’s collectives in Rafah, such as the General Union of Palestinian Women.

In coordination with our 2006 delegation, a series of pastels were created by Rafah artists in the Palestinian Artists Association. The finished pieces were brought from Rafah ORSCP delegates, have been on display in Olympia during Arts Walk, and are currently being exhibited in Traditions Café. The works are being sold to support the Rafah Art Association. These small projects represent only a part of potential fair trade opportunities we look forward to developing.

Why Rafah?

The idea for a sister city relationship with Rafah originated with Rachel Corrie before she left Olympia for the Gaza Strip in January 2003 as she considered meaningful ways to continue the work once she returned to the U.S. In Rafah, Rachel continued to talk about the possibility of a sister city relationship and began to take small steps towards it. When she was killed in March 2003, members of both communities were moved to carry on that effort. Olympia has a unique connection with Rafah through Rachel Corrie.

Some ask why we choose to have a sister city in such a troubled place. It is because the need is acute. Rafah continues to be the poorest city in all of the West Bank and Gaza. Rachel chose to go to Rafah because she understood it was the most forsaken area of the occupied territories. Simply bearing witness to the situation there shines an international spotlight on what it means to live in Rafah. That is a powerful thing in itself. Finding solutions for Israel and Palestine can have far-reaching ramifications. That is something in which we hope to play a part.

Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice and the Department of State have been emphasizing the need for people to people projects with those in the Arab world. For example, in 2001, the U.S. government launched Friendship Through Education (FTE) to help U.S. school children network and learn from Islamic counterparts overseas. Through the YES program students from Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Syria, the West Bank, Tunisia, and Yemen have lived in the U.S. for a year with host families and attended leadership summits.

Isn’t this just about the death of Rachel Corrie?

To the contrary, ORSCP was inspired by the life of Olympia native and human-rights advocate Rachel Corrie, but continuation of the project is about the current, active participants who bring a wide array of ideas about how people in our respective communities can connect with one another.

Rachel was dedicated to social justice and acutely aware of the impact of the Israeli military occupation on Palestinians living in Rafah and of American responsibility for that occupation. She believed in the possibility of our two communities learning a great deal from each other. Rachel wrote, “I continue to believe that my home, Olympia, could gain a lot and offer a lot by deciding to make a commitment to Rafah in the form of a sister-community relationship. Some teachers and children’s groups have expressed interest in e-mail exchanges, but this is only the tip of the iceberg of solidarity work that might be done. Many people want their voices to be heard, and I think we need to use some of our privilege as internationals to get those voices heard directly in the US, rather than through the filter of well-meaning internationals such as myself.” In 2003, when Rachel was killed while attempting to protect a Palestinian family’s home from demolition, people in both Rafah and Olympia started to work towards making that vision of a sister city relationship a reality.

As Rachel would want, the focus is on the people of Rafah and Olympia.

Is this what council members were elected to do?

City Council members and the City of Olympia have many things to attend to. Reviewing and approving sister city requests is in the purview of the Council as noted at the City’s website. This is not about the Olympia City Council making foreign policy; but it is about the City Council exercising its authority to support Olympia developing essential connections to the rest of the world. Happily a project like ORSCP, which requires so little investment of time or money from the city, has the potential to make important gains toward world peace and stability.

As Sister City International states, “As the world becomes smaller, communities and individuals are facing opportunities and challenges that increasingly require a global perspective. They are realizing the importance of forming international partnerships that foster economic development, cross-cultural exchange, and global cooperation…A sister city program enables the citizens of both communities to become directly involved in international relations in unique and rewarding exchanges, which benefits all those involved.”

Won’t this create a precedent for a plethora of sister cities?

We hope so! Rather than a problem, we would view more sister-city relationships with Olympia as an opportunity for our community to grow in our understanding of and connection to the world and in our ability as a community to contribute to a better world for all. Madison, Wisconsin, a city with similarities to Olympia has, in fact, nine sister city relationships — with Ainaro, East Timor; Arcatao, El Salvador; Bac Giang, Vietnam; Camaguey, Cuba; Freiburg, Germany; Managua, Nicaragua; Mantova, Italy; Obihiro, Japan; and Vilnius, Lithuania.

Of course, any sister city group should take on the burden of the project development in full, so as to make it as trouble-free as possible for the City of Olympia.

Why is official status for ORSCP important?

Only through obtaining official status with the City of Olympia can ORSCP become a member of Sister Cities International (SCI), “the leading citizen diplomacy organization geared toward helping communities seize the opportunities and overcome the challenges of this new global era.”

Membership in SCI provides benefits that will enhance the project in numerous ways. At their website, SCI states, “Sister Cities International opens numerous doors to the world, enriching your community through educational exchanges, business development opportunities, and information sharing on issues such as healthcare and the environment…These partnerships allow your community to creatively learn, work and solve problems through cultural, educational, municipal, business, professional and technical exchanges and projects.”

Benefits of SCI membership include:

• Official listing in the Sister Cities International Directory, a subscription to all Sister Cities International publications including quarterly issues of the Sister Cities International Newsletter, and access to instructional guides covering all aspects of local program development.
• Opportunity for ORSCP programs to receive Sister Cities International-administered grants and to participate in programs such as Wheelchairs for Peace.
• Opportunity to apply to the Sister Cities International Network for Sustainable Development.
• Access to the Members Only section of the enhanced Sister Cities International Web site, www.sister-cities.org.
• Instantaneous translation for e-mails and documents.
• Opportunity to network with all members of Sister Cities International to share and access program information through a comprehensive database and search engine.
• Recognition through Sister City International’s competitive Annual Awards Program.
• Opportunities for youth to compete locally and internationally in a Young Artist Competition.
• Participation in the SCI annual conference with discounted membership rates and voting rights.
• Opportunity to participate in all Sister Cities International activities and governance processes.
• Support from a state coordinator, as well as national SCI staff.
• Private consultation services from SCI professional experts.

SCI has launched a Congressional campaign encouraging Congress to enact a five-year program that will provide seed grants to programs across the United States for exchanges with their sister cities around the globe. When funded, it will create 4,320 international citizen exchange opportunities each year, resulting in 21,600 international exchanges over five years. Additionally, it will help sister city organizations reach out to communities in Islamic countries by targeting 500 Islamic exchanges each year.

Adnan Abu Al Su’ud, ORSCP member in Rafah and Assistant Coordinator of Projects and Programs at the Palestinian Association for Development and Reconstruction wrote, “It’s really exciting to hear that we’re getting closer the Olympia city council official status. I can’t imagine that council members would vote against this. If they did so, God forbid, to us it would seem to be a vote against the great principles that the U.S. was established on: freedom and democracy.”

Presentation
When: Friday, January 26
Where: The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St NW, Multi-Purpose Room B
Time: 7:30 PM
Find out more about this exciting project by visiting the Break the Silence section of The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice website.

Rachel Corrie from Rafah, February 27, 2003

* * * REGISTER NOW * * *

Peace Works Conference

Cultivating a Just and Enduring Peace for the People of Palestine and Israel

April 22-23, 2006

South Puget Sound Community College, Olympia, Washington

Pre-Conference Activities

FREE

In Lecture: Arun Gandhi, Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi

April 20, 2006, 7 PM

Washington Center for the Performing Arts, Olympia, Washington

REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Putting Justice into Action: Exchanging Organizing Strategies and Addressing Issues of Identity and Oppression in Our Solidarity Work

April 21, 2006

The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington

DONATIONS ACCEPTED

Jerry & Sis Levin

April 21, 2006, 7 PM

United Churches, Olympia, Washington

A special presentation about a project to promote nonviolence as a means for creating a more stable peacemaking environment in the Holy Land and elsewhere.

Registration

Space will be limited so please don’t delay! Visit our registration page to find out how to register.

Child care will be available.

Lodging

For lodging information, please visit our lodging page.

Organizational Co-sponsorship

We are now seeking organizational and individual conference supporters who will help make it possible for us to bring exceptional speakers while also keeping the conference accessible to students and low-income participants. Please ask your organization to become a sponsoring organization providing financial and other support. Download a co-sponsorship form.

Please visit our Co-Sponsors page to see our current list of generous supporters.

How to Help

• Become a sponsoring individual by making a tax deductible contribution to support the conference: Make check payable to the Rachel Corrie Foundation and designate “Peace Works” in the memo. Mail to Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, P.O. Box 12149, Olympia, WA, 98508 or use our convenient credit card option with Groundspring.

• Ask your organization to become a sponsoring organization providing financial and other support. Download a co-sponsorship form.
• Plan to attend the entire inaugural Peace Works Conference or one or more of the events.
• Tell your friends!

Contact

General information

If you have questions about the conference, please contact Alice at alice@rachelcorriefoundation.org

Volunteers

If you want to volunteer, please contact Erica at can@drizzle.com

Joseph Lelyveld reviews For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire

“Actually, it appears, all Captain Yee had to do to attract suspicion was to interced repeatedly at Camp Delta on behalf of the prisoners, as their chaplain, when he sa their guards being unnecessarily—and, he came to feel, deliberately—provocative: i handling Korans during cell searches, for instance, or taking detainees out of thei cells in shackles for interrogation just as the hour arrived for prayer. He had als begun to meet regularly with the forty or so Muslim servicemen on the base, for he was their chaplain, too. Since the mess halls didn’t provide halal food, some of the found it convenient to gather in the captain’s quarters for meals. Among thes American-born or naturalized Muslims were some who brought back stories o prisoner abuse from the interrogation rooms, where they were assigned as interpreter but which were off-limits to the chaplain, who soon began keeping a “personal journa of the atrocities that I was hearing about in the interrogation rooms and on the blocks. Some of this abuse the interpreters not unreasonably took to be abuse of Muslims a Muslims—for instance, wrapping prisoners in an Israeli flag, or playing a compac disc of verses from the Koran to set the scene for an interrogation session, only t drown it out with screeching rock music. The prisoners were also left chained in fetal position for hours.”

— The whole thing is here.