Brooklyn For Peace
Israel-Palestine Committee

Photograph by Jo Freeman

Brooklyn For Peace joined a national demonstration in Washington on June 10, 2007, on the 40th anniversary of the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, to call for:

• An end to US military, economic, diplomatic, and corporate support for Israel's illegal military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem; and

• A change in US policy to one that supports a just peace between Palestinians and Israelis based on equality, human rights and international law, and the full implementation of all relevant UN resolutions.

United for Peace and Justice, and the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, and were the co-sponsors of the event, which was endorsed by more than 300 organizations.

Brooklyn For Peace's position statement sets forth our stance supporting a negotiated two-state solution that satisfies the aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians and achieves a permanent peace.

  See additional photos, and a report from one BFP member. 
 

Learn More and Get Involved

The Brooklyn For Peace Israel-Palestine Committee strives to provide accurate and unbiased information about the conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories.

We organize forums and other events to encourage an exchange of views among all Brooklyn residents, many of whom have roots and family connections in Israel or Palestine.

The Israel-Palestine committee meets monthly on weekday evenings. Anyone interested in our work is welcome to attend a meeting to learn more about getting involved. Email us or call 718–624–5921 for information about the date and time of our next meeting.

Ongoing Activities

Sale of Olive Branch Palestinian Olive Oil: Available Now!

This delicious, organically grown oil is produced in Palestine. Proceeds support farm families and contribute to Brooklyn For Peace. Learn more about how to order

Thanks so much to those who have ordered Olive Branch Olive Oil for themselves and friends, and in so doing have made an important contribution to the struggling Palestinian economy, as well as to Brooklyn For Peace. 
 

Outreach to Decision Makers

We arrange face-to-face meetings with Brooklyn Congressmembers urging them to them to support bills which advance peace in Israel-Palestine. We also encourage members to communicate by letter, telephone, and e-mail with elected officials. 
 

Israel-Palestine Action Alerts

Brooklyn For Peace regularly issues Action Alerts via email. 
 

Israel-Palestine Reading Group

The Israel-Palestine Reading Group meets monthly on a weekday afternoon; discussions are also held at I-P committee meetings based on recent news. See the reading list. For information on the next meeting email us at is.pales@brooklynpeace.org. 
 

Recent Activities and Events

May 2007: Alice Rothchild, M.D., a Jewish Ob-Gyn Physician, shared her view of Palestine and Israel through the lens of health care and human rights, and read from her book Broken Promises, Broken Dreams: Stories of Jewish and Palestinian Trauma and Resilience. DVD of this program is available on request.

April 2007: Dorothy Naor, Israeli Peace Activist, spoke about the effect of the Occupation on both Israeli's and Palestinians. DVD of this event is available on request.

March 2007: Jeff Halper, Director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, spoke about the current situation in the Middle East, in a talk entitled "On the Brink of 'Apartheid'?".

March 2007: Norma Musih, Assistant Director and one of the founders of Zochrot ("remembering" in Hebrew), an Israeli organization which has as its mission to open a dialogue about the Nakba — what Palestinians refer to as the "Catastrophe" or "Cataclysm" of 1948 — with both Palestinians and Jews, from her personal experience as a Jewish Israeli about the meaning of the Nakba, reconciliation, justice, and the work of Zochrot.

November 2006: Theatre party to see "My Name Rachel Corrie", play based on the diary of a young Jewish-American woman whose protest against the Israeli occupation of Gaza led to her death.

October 2006: Peace Fair workshops featuring Michael Massing "The Storm Over the Israeli Lobby", eyewitness reports from Israel and Palestine by the "Wheels of Justice", the Tel Rumeida Project, and Jews Against the Occupation; and "Socially Responsible Investing: A Tool for Change: by the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility".

August 2006: Rally Calling for Cease-Fire in Lebanon and Gaza
In response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, BFP organized a march through Fulton Mall followed by a rally at Borough Hall, calling for an immediate cease-fire. See a complete report

Read statements by Carolyn Eisenberg and by David Tykulsker http://www.brooklynpeace.org/

Open meeting — July 2006
An opportunity for Brooklyn residents to air concerns and plan outreach and action projects in response to the widening hostilities in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon.

Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories — March 2006
Brooklyn's Vox Pop coffee shop was the setting for appearances by two recent visitors to Israel/Palestine: Anna Baltzer, author of the recently released Witness in Palestine: Journal of a Jewish Woman in Occupied Palestine and Seth Tobocman, an artist who contributed to Three Cities Against the Wall. Mr. Tobocman presented his drawings of his experience in Israel-Palestine. A DVD of Ms. Baltzer's presentation is available for loan upon request.

Forum — February 2006
Phyllis Bennis, a fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies, and a founder and co-chair of the U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation, addressed the question of how the American peace movement can respond to the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the Israel-Palestine conflict. She fielded questions from a large and energetic audience at Park Slope United Methodist Church. A DVD of this forum is available for loan upon request.

Report from the "Frontlines" — February 2006
Hekmat Bassisso Naji, born in Gaza, and now living in Ramallah on the West Bank and working with the American Friends Service Committee shared her perspective on conditions in Israel/Palestine.

Brooklyn Peace Fair Workshops — October 2005
The Israel-Palestine Committee sponsored two activities: "Stepping into Their Shoes", a workshop involving Israel-Palestine role play facilitated by Nancy Goldner, a licensed therapist; "Perspectives on Israel and Palestine", a presentation jointly offered by BFP, the Palestine-Israel Education Project, and Al-Awda Youth.