We abroad are used to believing that Eretz Yisrael is now almost totally desolate, a desert that is not sowed....But in truth that is not the case. |
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Rabbi David Seidenberg Contact Rabbi David Seidenberg |
URGENT: STOP MOSQUE DEMOLITION IN NEGEVClick this link to go to the usual front page for Save the Negev, or click here to go to the index. November 17th, 2008 Wadi Na'am, Israel The first mud and straw-bale built mosque in Israel received demolition orders late last week in the unrecognized Bedouin village of Wadi al Na'am! Local Bedouins as well as Christian, Muslim, and Jewish volunteers from Israel, the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Africa have contributed to building the mosque over the last four months. Volunteers are urgently needed starting this evening (Monday November 17th) to stay in the mosque through Thursday (November 20th) to protest and document any attempt to carry out the demolition. Help stop the demolition! [For Israelis:] To sign up for a shift, please email Tess at greencenter@bustan.org or call her at 050-371-1802, OR Josh Berer, 052 7500152, RCUV. If you can arrive with a car to bring people to and from Wadi Na'am that is extremely helpful. We will make every attempt to provide transportation for those who need it. There are 80,000 Bedouin Arabs currently living in 45 unrecognized villages in Israel that lack basic infrastructure, health care, electricity, and water access. For more information about the mosque, please see this article from August 2008 and this web page. [For everyone:] Please fax or call the following officials to protest the demolition: Itzhak HaKohen, the Minister of Religious Service Fax: 02 6706157. izchakec@knesset.gov.il Meir Shitrit, the Minister of Interior Fax: 02 6408920. mshitrit@knesset.gov.il Zeev Boim, the Minster of Housing and Construction, and Minister responsible for the Israeli Land Authority, and the Bedouin Minority. Fax: 02-6496062. zaevb@knesset.gov.il For press inquiries: Mahmod Jarbeau at 057-466-2331 (Hebrew, Arabic) —resident of Wadi Na'am, served nine years in the Israeli military, director of the mosque project Ra'ed Al Mickawi 052-371-1801 (Hebrew, Arabic, English)—Director of BUSTAN Dr. Yeela Livnat Ra'anan 054-748-7005 (English, Hebrew)—Regional Council of Unrecognized Villages This press release was forwarded by Devorah Brous, the founder and former director of BUSTAN. Here are her [edited] words about the demolition: An eco-built mosque (the first in Israel) is slated for demolition in the unrecognized village of Wadi el Na'am. This village is one of the worst places I've ever seen on earth - surrounded 360 degrees by heavy military and industrial infrastructure; many of the citizens living there are sick, they receive no services and are 'on hold' to be relocated to a government-planned town for the past few years with no date in sight. This move requires them to relinquish all land claims, and many Bedouin are resisting by waging a non-violent struggle. The Jews and Arabs that built this mosque are Israelis from BUSTAN, international volunteers, and a diverse mix of families from the village. We're trying to stave off the demolition - it is inhumane and it seriously undermines work that many Jewish and Arab NGO's are doing to build civil society in this dry, heavily contaminated, and extremely under-resourced part of the country. These demolitions are a tactic employed by the Israel Land Administration and must be resisted. BUSTAN calls for the Israeli government to negotiate with Bedouin leadership. Please forward to this appeal to your lists and HELP in any way you can, to stop the pending demolition. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
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