Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights

About Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights

Our mission: Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights works to support nonviolent efforts toward an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and to recognize political and human rights and dignity for all Palestinian people. We also seek to achieve a mutually agreeable resolution to the injustice done to the Palestinians expelled from their ancestral homes. To accomplish these goals, we work through educational outreach to make vital information accessible to our members, the media, political leaders and the general public. MVPR believes that a lasting peace will come when all people in Palestine and Israel enjoy security, prosperity, justice and respect.

What we do: To fulfill our mission, the MVPR Planning Group devises specific actions as events unfold from week to week. In general, we work to educate the public (collaborating with education and religious institutions upon request), and encourage MVPR members to contact our leaders in furtherance of peace, justice and equality for all people living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean.

We organize rallies to disseminate information and urge support for Palestinians suffering from Israel’s siege of Gaza and its repressive policies in the West Bank, actively manage a Facebook page, perform street theatre, and participate in various peace and justice fairs in the state. We organize panel discussions on Israel/Palestine several times per year to be aired on channel 5 of the Portland Media Center. We encourage, and provide information about, travel opportunities to Israel and the West Bank. In addition we sell calendars each fall featuring the work of Palestinian artists, and throughout the year we sell Palestinian olive oil in Southern Maine and in the Penobscot Bay and Downeast regions of Maine.

Rights denied to Palestinians:

The Right to marry and live with the person they choose and to bring their family together in the home of their choice without fear of their homes being arbitrarily demolished by bulldozers

The Right to dig wells on their own land or otherwise gain access to adequate clean water

The Right to protection against unreasonable intrusions and searches, and against arrest and imprisonment without due process of law

The Right to own property that cannot be seized and given to others on the basis of religion or ethnicity

The Right to their children’s protection from unwarranted arrest, abuse and imprisonment

The Right to freedom of movement throughout the Palestinian territories, as well as to other countries, whether for medical, educational, political, professional or personal purposes

The Right to non-discriminatory planning, zoning, construction, development, provision of public services, and use of scarce area resources

The Right to protection & redress against discriminatory racism, including denial of educational opportunities as well as abusive and violent actions by military, police, and hostile settlers

The Right to nonviolent protest against unfair laws and policies without state harassment, arrest, & imprisonment

The Right, internationally guaranteed by UN Resolution 194, “to return to their homes [from which they have been expelled from 1947 to the present] and live in peace with their neighbors”. (Resolution 194 has been affirmed over 110 times since it was approved in 1948.)

The Right to national self-determination within their own land

The Right (for Palestinian citizens within Israel) to enjoy the same political and economic rights accorded to Israel’s Jewish citizens so that they are no longer rendered second-class citizens.

How you can help:

Become better informed by getting on MVPR’s email list, making frequent visits to our Facebook page, browsing key websites, and reading core texts. (See below for websites and texts.)

Email or call our Congressional delegation or write a letter to the editor expressing your support for Palestinian rights.

Share informative flyers, postcards and articles made available at our rallies with family, friends, and co-workers. Share our Facebook posts.

Display a button and/or bumper sticker promoting Palestinian rights.

Donate to MVPR and support our efforts to bring to light the denial of Palestinian human rights so that we can then advocate more effectively for those rights.

Websites we recommend:

(alphabetized)

www.adalah.org

Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel

Promotes human rights in Israel in general and the rights of the Palestinian minority, citizens of Israel, in particular (around 1.5 million people, or 20% of the population). This work also includes promoting and defending the human rights of all individuals subject to the jurisdiction of the State of Israel (e.g. Palestinian residents of the OPT). Adalah is the first Palestinian Arab-run legal center in Israel, and the sole Palestinian organization that works before Israeli courts to protect the human rights of Palestinians in Israel and in the OPT.

www.acri.org.il/eng

Association for Civil Rights in Israel

Israel’s oldest and largest human rights organization and the only one dealing with the entire spectrum of rights and civil liberties issues in Israel and the Occupied Territories. ACRI is committed to promoting the universality of human rights and defending the human rights and civil liberties of all, regardless of religion, nationality, gender, ethnicity, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic background.

www.btselem.org/English/index.asp

B’Tselem

The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories strives to end Israel’s occupation, recognizing that this is the only way to achieve a future that ensures human rights, democracy, liberty and equality to all people, Palestinian and Israeli alike, living on the bit of land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

www.dci-palestine.org

Defense for Children International-Palestine

The only Palestinian human rights organization specifically focused on child rights. DCIP is guided by the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), as well as other international, regional and local standards. DCIP supports and advocates for the child population: investigating and documenting grave human rights violations, holding both Israeli and Palestinian authorities to account, and providing legal services to children in urgent need.

www.eyewitnesspalestine.org

Eyewitness Palestine

"See the land of Palestine/Israel. Connect with Palestinian and Israeli peace-builders. Learn frameworks and strategies for justice. Act to build bridges between people and movements." (From web homepage)

For information about upcoming 2019 delegations: www.eyewitnesspalestine.org/2019-delegations-flyer-download

www.jai-pal.org/en/

Joint Advocacy Initiative / The East Jerusalem YMCA and YWCA of Palestine

The widely accepted understanding of advocacy is an "action aimed at changing the policies, position and programs of governments, institutions or organizations" and a "social change process affecting attitudes, social relationships and power relations". (from web homepage)

JAI is involved in related campaigns. For information about current and upcoming campaigns: https://www.jai-pal.org/en/campaigns

www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org

Jewish Voice for Peace

Inspired by Jewish tradition to work together for peace, social justice, equality, and human rights.

www.mecaforpeace.org

Middle East Children's Alliance

Protects the rights and improves the lives of children in the Middle East through aid, empowerment and education. In the Middle East, MECA provides humanitarian aid, partners with community organizations to run projects for children, and supports income-generation projects. In the US and internationally, MECA raises awareness about the lives of children in the region and encourages meaningful action.

www.pchrgaza.org/

Palestinian Center for Human Rights

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) based in Gaza City. The Centre is a non-profit company, dedicated to protecting human rights, promoting the rule of law and upholding democratic principles in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). It holds Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations.

www.palestinelegal.org

Palestine Legal

An independent organization dedicated to protecting the civil and constitutional rights of people in the U.S. who speak out for Palestinian freedom. It has been particularly active in protecting the rights of students on college campuses to organize on behalf of justice for Palestinians and to bring speakers of their choice to campus.

www.uscpr.org

US Campaign for Palestinian Rights

A US coalition of hundreds of groups working to advocate for Palestinian rights and a shift in US policy. The coalition is bound by commonly shared principles on Palestine solidarity as well as anti-racism principles.