Hello Family & Friends,
An important opportunity has come up for myself, who serves as the Case Coordinator on Israel/OPT/Palestine cases for Amnesty International USA and my friend and colleague Edie Garwood, who serves as the Country Specialist for Israel/OPT/Palestine. We will be traveling to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories this May.
We will participate in a delegation specifically looking at
· The Israeli military court system
· Incarceration
· Political prisoners with a special focus on the detention of Palestinian children by the Israeli authorities in the occupied territories
We will meet with key organizations working on the front lines, such as
· Addameer,
· Defense for Children International – Palestine
· New Profile
· Individual human rights defenders and prisoners
We will also visit prisons where many Palestinian detainees from the occupied territories are processed, and observe a court hearing.
Edie and I will stay in the region after the 'official' delegation ends to meet with the Executive Director of Amnesty International – Israel and the director for their work on human rights violations within the OPT to discuss their work and specific threats and obstacles they face when working in a hostile environment. They have mentioned taking us in the field to see areas of concern on which they work regarding
· The demolition of entire Bedouin communities and
· The detention of asylum seekers
Upon our return, we will share our findings by
· De-briefing the staff and members of AIUSA
· De-briefing the staff in London
· Writing blogs and doing other public outreach
· Meeting, along with AIUSA's MENA Advocacy Director, with State Department officials upon our return through Washington, DC
Amnesty International USA is supporting us as much as they can, which we greatly appreciate, but because of all the amazing work AIUSA is doing, they cannot fully fund our trip. So, we are reaching out to those who we know care about human rights and the good work Amnesty International does to guarantee those rights for everyone equally and who care about justice and the end of oppression – especially against children, to help support our trip to the region.
Please consider giving what you can. Any amount donated is appreciated and no amount is too small. All donations will be used frugally and will pay for our hotel, meals and transportation during the official delegation as well as the extra stay-on days. Donations will also help with tips along the way for our guides and to help the families who open up their homes for us to stay while we're there.
Click here to donate - http://goo.gl/zEUHNb. To save the credit card processing fee, you may also write a check, made payable to 'Alicia Koutsoulieris', and mail it to:
Mission to Israel/Palestine
c/o Alicia Koutsoulieris
PO Box 533855
Orlando, FL 32853
Thank you very much. Both Alicia and I are grateful for your heartfelt support and will be sure to let you know our mission findings upon our return. We will also set up private briefing for those who have donated as well as presentations for AI groups, student groups, classes, faith groups, etc … upon request.
Regards,
Alicia & Edie
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