Educational Flyers and Resources

60 Years Since 1948: Resources for Education and Reflection by American Friends Service Committee (May 2008)

Dual Occupations Leaflet
Highlights how US occupation forces in Iraq have adopted tactics used by Israel to occupy Palestinian lands. Produced by the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation , a diverse coalition of 120 member organizations which is represented on UFPJ's Steering Committee.

Articles and Analysis

Cherie Blair's Sister Joins Battle to Break Gaza Blockade, by Rachel Williams, The Guardian (August 5, 2008)

Talking Points: U.S. Trying to "Legalize" Permanent Occupation of Iraq; Shifting Discourse on Israel-Palestine by Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies (June 2008)

Bennis Talking Points: Middle East Talks in Annapolis: Photo-Op or Talk-Fest
by Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies (November 2007)

Bennis Talking Points: 2007 Bush Middle East Plan
by Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies (July 2007)

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid Discussion Guide and Resources
President Jimmy Carter's book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid has been an important contribution to the discussion of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the United States. The AFSC has gathered several resources to help in this discussion including an AFSC-produced reading and discussion guide. (2007)

Background Information and Resources on Gaza/Lebanon Crises
Analysis and statements from those calling for peace. (Summer 2006)

Palestinian Elections Now
by Edward Said, CounterPunch (June 17, 2002)
Six distinct calls for Palestinian reform and elections are being uttered now: five of them are, for Palestinian purposes, both useless and irrelevant. Sharon wants reform as a way of further disabling Palestinian national life, that is, as an extension of his failed policy of constant intervention and destruction. He wants to be rid of Yasser Arafat, cut up the West Bank into fenced-in cantons, re-install an occupation authority -- preferably with some Palestinians helping out -- carry on with settlement activity, and maintain Israeli security the way he's been doing it. He is too blinded by his own ideological hallucinations and obsessions to see that this will neither bring peace nor security, and will certainly not bring the "quiet" he keeps prattling on about. Palestinian elections in the Sharonian scheme are quite unimportant.

Background to the Israel-Palestine Crisis
by Stephen R. Shalom, Z Magazine (May 2002)
What are the modern origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Why the US Supports Israel
by Stephen Zunes, Foreign Policy In-Focus Policy Report (May 2002)
In the United States and around the world, many are questioning why, despite some mild rebukes, Washington has maintained its large-scale military, financial, and diplomatic support for the Israeli occupation in the face of unprecedented violations of international law and human rights standards by Israeli occupation forces. Why is there such strong bipartisan support for Israel's right-wing prime minister Ariel Sharon's policies in the occupied Palestinian territories?

Saying 'No' to Oppression
by Rami Kaplan, The International Herald Tribune (April 30, 2002)
Israel's occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip can in no way be considered democratic. It oppresses 3.5 million people, denying them their basic human rights. My refusal to militarily participate in this occupation, on the other hand, is most certainly a democratic act.

US Aid: The Lifeblood of Occupation
by Matt Bowles, Left Turn (March/April 2002)
Israel has maintained an illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip (Palestinian territories) for 35 years, entrenching an apartheid regime that looks remarkably like the former South African regime Palestinians into small, noncontiguous bantustans, imposing closures and curfews to control where they go and when, while maintaining control over the natural resources, exploiting Palestinian labor, and prohibiting indigenous economic development. The Israeli military (IDF) -- the third or forth most powerful army in the world-- routinely uses tanks, Apache helicopter gunships, and F-16 fighter jets (all subsidized by the U.S.) against a population that has no military and none of the protective institutions of a modern state.

The Expulsion of the Palestinians, 1947-1948
by Robin C. Miller, Palestine Chronicle (January 31 2002)
The "Palestinian refugee problem"--that is, the human tragedy created by the Israeli expulsion of the Palestinians from their homeland, Palestine--remains a seemingly insoluble aspect of the Middle East puzzle. Yet the expulsion of the Palestinians was an inescapable outcome of the United Nations' 1947 decision to partition Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states the following year. (The Arab state never came into existence.)

Former Peace Team Member Discusses U.S. Failures under Clinton Administration
by Wendy Lehman, For The Record (March 14 2001)
There is a "ferocious battle" going on between Israel and the Palestinians, said Robert Malley at a 7 March 2001 Center briefing. Malley, former special assistant to the president for Arab-Israeli affairs, was not referring to the recent violence in the Occupied Territories and Israel. Instead, he was addressing the "conflicting interpretations of what happened" during the past seven years, and even six months, of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. His discussion focused on U.S. failures in the Oslo process and the weak strategy of the Palestinian negotiators.

Palestinian Refugees Must Be Allowed to Choose
by Elia Zureik, Los Angeles Times (August 10th 2000)
In 1948, 800,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled out of fear from their homes in what is now Israel, and they never have been allowed to return. Today, these refugees and their descendants number more than 4 million. More than any other factor, the dispossession and suffering of the Palestinian refugees have fueled the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. And more than any other factor, their fate is the key to its resolution.

US Brokerage: From Madrid to Hebron (Part 1)
by Naseer Aruri, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth Middle East Affairs Program (1997)
The period of U.S. Brokering in the Middle East between October 1991 and January 1997, begins and ends with two separate documents ostensibly offered as assurances by two secretaries of state -- James Baker III and Warren Christopher. These documents had the effect of altering the very diplomatic landscape of the Palestine-Israel conflict by extracting unprecedented concessions from the Palestinian leadership while legitimizing Israeli rejectionism, which had been repudiated by the world community since the 1967 war. The United States, which has been associated with that rejectionism and which has managed to Marginalize all alternative peace proposals by various impartial bodies, has finally been able to assign itself as the catalyst in what has become known as the "peace process."

US Brokerage: From Madrid to Hebron (Part 2)
by Naseer Aruri, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth Middle East Affairs Program (1997)
The impasse, which was created by Israel's refusal to come to terms with its status as occupier and by U.S. unwillingness to give concrete meaning to its letter of assurances, was finally resolved at the expense of the Palestinians.

Organizations

MERIP: Middle East Research and Information Project
The Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) was established more than 30 years ago. The original conception of MERIP was to provide information and analysis on the Middle East that would be picked up by the existing media. MERIP is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Washington, DC. A completely independent organization, it has no links to any religious, educational or political organizations in the US or elsewhere. Since 1996, MERIP has maintained one of the most informative websites on Middle East politics, culture and society.

Al-Awda: The Palestinian Right to Return Coalition
Al-Awda: The Palestinian Right to Return Coalition Al-Awda is a broad-based, non-partisan, global, democratic association of grassroots activists and organizational representatives. Our objective is to educate the international community to fulfill its legal and moral obligations vis-à-vis the Palestinian people. Al-Awda develops, coordinates, supports and guides, as needed, global and local grassroots initiatives for action related to Palestinian rights.

A Jewish Voice for Peace
A Jewish Voice for Peace is a diverse and democratic community of activists inspired by Jewish tradition to work together for peace, social justice, and human rights. We support the aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians for security and self-determination.

Foundation for Middle East Peace
A nonprofit organization dedicated to informing Americans about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and assisting in a peaceful solution that brings security for both peoples.

Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel
Adalah (Justice in Arabic) is the first non-profit, non-sectarian Palestinian-run legal center in Israel. Established in November 1996, Adalah serves the Palestinian community nationwide, over one million people or 20% of the population.

The Alternative Information Center
The AIC is a Palestinian-Israeli organization which disseminates information, research and political analysis on Palestinian and Israeli societies as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while promoting cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis based on the values of social justice, solidarity and community involvement. The Alternative Information Center activities and publications offer a critical discussion of the political realities which have been created since the Oslo Accords and their implementation, with special attention given to radical democratic struggles, critical perspectives on the colonial nature of the State of Israel, and the Authoritarian features emerging in the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestine Chronicle
Palestine Chronicle is an independent internet magazine, dedicated to addressing issues and offering perspectives rarely seen in mainstream western media. These issues include the plight and welfare of Palestinian refugees, as well as other displaced and oppressed people around the world. We are committed to democracy and freedom of expression, and we encourage contributions from people who are genuinely concerned with the specified above. However, we deeply oppose any form of literature that expresses religious or racial intolerance. Palestine Chronicle does not speak on behalf of any political or religious party. Palestine Chronicle is written and constructed solely by volunteers from various places around the globe with a common purpose, bringing to light the suffering of humankind everywhere, from Palestine, the Middle East and Beyond.

United Nations Department of Political Affairs
The Division for Palestinian Rights in the United Nations Department of Political Affairs (DPA) works to heighten international awareness of the Question of Palestine and gains wider recognition of and support for the achievement of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

Palestinian Liberation Organization: Negotiations Affairs Department
The NAD, which provides the institutional backing for Palestinian negotiators, is the address of all Palestinian activities related to negotiations with Israel and is the focus of Palestinian technical and political preparation for negotiations. The technical, policy, legal and political input that we provide to the various committees and teams enable them to make informed decisions on interim and permanent status issues, reflecting the Palestinian position vis-à-vis all the issues currently being negotiated with Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister’s Office
The Prime Minister's office assists the Prime Minister in his duties and responsibilities, and coordinates inter-Ministerial activities, in accordance with Government decisions, and priorities as determined by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's Office is also responsible for the following important State activities: Government Companies Authority, Central Bureau of Statistics, Government Press Office, Civil Service Commission, Government Publications Bureau, State Archives, Anti-Drug Authority, Government Names Committee and the Atomic Energy Commission.