Daniel Barenboim Given Honorary Palestinian Citizenship

The full article is available here.

Lawmaker Mustafa Barghouti said he lobbied Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to make Barenboim a citizen.

Barenboim deserved a Palestinian passport, Barghouti said, because the conductor had shown "solidarity with Palestinians under the most difficult circumstances."

"It was a nice gesture," Barenboim said in a telephone interview from Berlin.

At least one Israeli lawmaker wanted action taken against barenboim for his acceptance of the honor. "'It's a disgrace to the state of Israel that a man like Barenboim holds Israeli citizenship, and it would be fitting for it to be revoked,' Yakov Margi of the Shas party told the Maariv daily newspaper's Web site."

Madison-Rafah Sister City Project Hosts Film Series

Last night I attended the first of 4 film screenings sponsored by the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project. The topic was "Refugees of the Nakba: Then and Now." The evening included the 1950 British documentary "Sands of Sorrow" and excerpts from the 2004 documentary "Until When ..." After the screenings, there was a discussion that included the perspectives of two Palestinian members of the Madison community.

Upcoming screenings are:

January 27, 2008: The Occupation Understood
showing of "Occupation 101" (2006)

February 10: The Wall: Final Borders of Apartheid?
showing of "The Israeli Wall in Palestinian Lands" (2004), "Building the Wall at Abu Dis" (2006), and "Endless Checkpoints" (2006).

Feburary 24: The Worst of All: Gaza Strip and Rafah
showing of "Gaza Strip" (2002) and "ISM Rafah" (2006)

All showing are at 7:00 p.m. at Escape Java Joint at 916 Williamson. For more information contact Paul Beckett at snkbeckett@yahoo.com.

Stealing From Children: Azzoun Children’s Park Further Threatened by Impending Demolition

This article is from the website of the International Solidarity Movement, dated December 8th, 2007.

"Only a few months from now the entire children’s park on the outskirts of Azzoun will be in ruins, demolished by the Israeli Occupation Force (IOF). The reason given is the lack of building permit from the Israeli authorities, even though the park is located on Palestinian land." Read the rest of the article.

Why a Madison, WI chapter of Playgrounds for Palestine

When Susan Abulhawa came to Madison for the Wisconsin Book Festival in fall 2007, I was able to interview her on my radio program, A Public Affair, on community radio WORT. Having read her novel, "The Scar of David," I felt moved to offer to help the group that she founded, Playgrounds for Palestine. Susie invited me to come to Philadelphia to meet members of the PfP board, and to join the board as the founding member of a Madison chapter. I was able to tack a visit to Philadelphia onto a work trip to NYC, and agreed to found a Madison chapter. Madison is a prime location for a PfP chapter since there is already a lot of activity around and high level of awareness of Palestinian issues. I look forward to engaging people already active on Palestinian issues to work on PfP projects, and also to reach out beyond those existing networks to draw others in.

Starting the chapter

On December 16, 2007 I traveled to Philadelphia to meet with PfP's board...