Press Release: Congressmen View Destruction in Gaza
Thursday, 19 February 2009
http://ellison.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=210&I...

Gaza, Palestinian Territories – Two Members of Congress, Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) and Brian Baird (D-Washington) visited Gaza on Thursday to view first-hand the destruction from recent Israeli air and ground attacks, and to meet with international and local relief agencies.

The visit, which did not have the official sanction of the Obama Administration, is the first time anyone from the United States government has entered into Gaza in more than three years.

Prior to entering Gaza, the Congressmen met with the chief negotiator of the Palestinian Authority, and traveled to the West Bank city of Ramallah to meet with Dr. Riad Malki, Foreign Minister of the Palestinian Authority.

Voices from Gaza and the Galilee

Sawt el-Amel is in utter disbelief: disbelief at the scale of suffering unleashed upon the people in
Gaza, disbelief at the overwhelming support Israel’s war continues to enjoy among the Jewish
Israeli public, disbelief at the reluctant stand of the international community – including most Arab
states – in the face of such indiscriminate killing.
Due to the war, Sawt el-Amel has put its legal-aid project for Gazan workers on hold and shifted
its activities to coordinating humanitarian aid from the local Arab population in the Galilee
(northern Israel) to families in Gaza. Contributing to immediate relief action in solidarity with the
people of Gaza was the major concern expressed by Sawt el-Amel’s members in the current
situation. Therefore, activists in several Galilean towns and villages are now preparing
“emergency baskets” to be delivered to Gaza in cooperation with local organisations – namely

Please circulate this appeal widely
(Please excuse duplicates resulting from cross-posting)

Justice and Support for poor and working families in Gaza
A message from
The Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions

Sisters and Brothers:

The PGFTU has been working at all levels in Palestine and in its international relations to mobilize international support for peace in the region. This is the ultimate goal for our working families in Palestine, who labored in every way possible to bring about an end to the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian territories. This occupation is the longest and worst in the modern history.

AAUMC express our unconditional support with Mahalla in Egypt. Mahalla workers have been struggling to feed their family and fight for a life with the dignity and respect workers deserve.

Dear friends,
There is a ongoing crackdown on labor activists in Mahalla, since they staged a demonstration last October against the management's corruption:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahcarr/sets/72157608515197459/
http://arabist.net/arabawy/2008/11/26/renewed-crackdown-on-ghazl-el-maha...
http://delicious.com/elhamalawy/MahallaOctoberProtest

Following the demo, the management decreed the transfer of four activists from their positions:
1- Blogger Kareem el-Beheiri was moved to the Cairo office
2-Mohamed el-Attar was moved to the Alexandria office
3-Amal Said was moved to the company's nursery
4-Wedad el-Demerdash was also transferred to the nursery
http://arabist.net/arabawy/2008/11/09/crackdown-on-mahalla-labor-activis...

An art piece incorporating AET’s Remember These Children booklet waves in the breeze at San Francisco’s SomArts Cultural Center (Staff photo S. Powell).

SAN FRANCISCO’S SomArts Cultural Center hosted “Mexico/Palestine: Unspoken Borders” on Aug. 11 as part of a month-long exhibit on Latin America entitled “Prophecy/Healing: Artists and Communities Confront Global Crisis.”

Based on the poem “Prophecy,” painted on the walls and later read by author William Torphy, who curated the exhibit, the show comprised paintings and sculptures addressing the effects of globalization on traditional communities. An additional piece showcasing the American Educational Trust’s Remember These Children project was hung especially for the Mexico/Palestine: Unspoken Borders event.