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News from the Region
Legacies of 1948 Delegation

About the Delegation

The Legacies of 1948 Delegation is in Israel and Palestine from May 26 - June 7, 2008 and is jointly organized between the American Friends Service Committee and Interfaith Peace-Builders.

The year 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of both the founding of the state of Israel and Al Nakba - the Palestinian term for "the Catastrophe" of 1948 when 750,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes in what is now Israel. This delegation will focus on the pivotal role of 1948 in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The group will tour the ruins of Palestinian villages within Israel and Palestinian refugee camps which testify to the events of 1948. The group will meet with Palestinian and Israeli activists, historians, and public figures who will share perspectives on the past 60 years and consider prospects for peace and historical justice.

The Delegates

- Miryam Rashid, Chicago, IL
- Yotam Amit, Chicago, IL
- Luisa Blanco, Forked River, NJ
- Michael Brown, Takoma Park, MD
- Alison Castel, Philadelphia, PA
- Nora Graham, Evanston, IL
- Travis Green, Albuquerque, NM
- Dave Grishaw-Jones, Santa Cruz, CA
- Wendy Hartley, Nevada City, CA
- Leonor Keller, Haverford, PA
- Cathleen Krahe, Carbondale, CO
- Eric Lundblade, Haverford, PA
- Paula Roderick, Chicago, IL
- Chris Rogers, Flourtown, PA
- Samee Sulaiman, Brooklyn, NY
- Shakeel Syed, Culver City, CA
- Ed Thompson, Northbrook, IL
- Pat Westwater-Jong, Bolton, MA

Quick Facts

During the delegation, delegates will. . .

• Attend one-day pre-departure orientation in Washington DC
• Travel in the West Bank & Israel
• See how the continuing Israeli occupation of Palestinian land & the current cycle of violence affect Palestinians & Israelis
• Learn from Palestinians about their nonviolent resistance to the occupation
• Learn from Israeli peace activists about their work for a just end to the occupation
• Visit selected religious and cultural sites
• See how the Separation Wall impacts Palestinian communities & livelihoods
• Visit and/or stay in Palestinian & Israeli homes
• Dialogue with Israelis & Palestinians who have a variety of cultural, religious, & political perspectives
• Examine the US role in the conflict

When the delegates return they are invited to. . .

• Support Israel/Palestine peace efforts in their community
• Serve as educational resources on the conflict

Delegation Leaders

Miryam Rashid is the Program Director of the Middle East Program at the American Friends Service Committee in Chicago. She completed an MA in Middle East Studies from the University of Chicago in 1998. Miryam lived in the occupied West Bank for five years and was involved with Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations from 1998 to 2000. Her research and educational work at non-governmental organizations in Washington and Chicago has focused on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and US policy in the region. Miryam last co-led an American Friends Service Committee and Interfaith Peace-Builders delegation to Palestine and Israel in November 2006.

Michael F. Brown is Communications Manager at the Institute for Middle East Understanding. Previously, he was a Fellow at the Palestine Center, Executive Director of Partners for Peace, and Washington Correspondent for Middle East International. Michael lived and worked in the Gaza Strip off and on between 1993 and 2000, with the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. He also spent weekends away from Gaza working with the Christian Peacemakers Team in Hebron. Michael has served on the Board of Interfaith PeaceBuilders since its establishment.

Delegation Sponsors

The American Friends Service Committee works for peace in Israel and Palestine by promoting self-determination and equal rights for all. Active in Palestine since 1949, the AFSC is currently working on Faces of Hope: A Campaign Supporting Nonviolent Resistance and Refusal in Israel and Palestine. One part of Faces of Hope is Ziyarat az Zeitoun (Arabic for Visiting the Olives)—an educational and advocacy project that highlights Palestinian culture and current political realities through focusing on the Palestinian olive harvest.

Since 2001, Interfaith Peace-Builders has taken 19 delegations and almost 250 people to Israel/Palestine.  Our delegates have returned to North America and engaged local, regional, and national communities by speaking, writing, and organizing to educate others about their experiences.  In July 2006, after 5 years as a program of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, IFPB became an independent program working in close partnership with FOR.

Upcoming Delegations

2008 Olive Harvest Delegation: November 8 - 22, 2008
See reports from the last Olive Harvest Delegation >

For More Information

AFSC Middle East Peace building Program
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Email: israelpalestine@afsc.org
Phone: (215)241-7874 Fax: (215)241-7177
http://www.afsc.org/israel-palestine/default.htm

Interfaith Peace-Builders national office
4545 42nd St. NW, Suite 209
Washington, DC 20016
E-mail: middleeast@forusa.org
Phone: (202) 244-0821 Fax: (202) 244-6396 Http://www.forusa.org/programs/ipb/default.html

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