Read "Ramallah Friends Schools update" and suggestions for action and response.

World Ministries:
Ramallah Friends Schools

Suggestions for Action and Response:
Working for Peace, Standing in Solidarity

As Friends, we have a long-term connection with people in the Ramallah community. Friends missionaries from the U.S. were first led to Ramallah in 1869. Today, there are two campuses of the Friends School, which serve 1,000 students. A small number of Friends meet for worship each week. And, the Friends Play Center at the Amari Refugee Camp serves 50 preschool children.

It is especially important to nurture our connections with Friends in Ramallah during this time of crisis and difficulty. Our thoughts, prayers and actions do make a difference, and there are many things we can do to offer encouragement and work for peace.

Things you can do to work for peace.

Education Resources
Financial Gifts
Writing Letters
Links to Church, Ecumenical and Interfaith Organizations
Direct Action
Connecting with Palestinian & Israeli Peace Groups

Educational Resources

There are many good resources that can help you learn about the history and current issues in the Palestinain/Israeli conflict. It is important to seek out sources from both sides of the conflict. Listed below are some helpful links to specific publications, as well as organizations who focus on education.

Headline/Current News

BBC Middle East News: news.bbc.co.uk/
Ha'aretz: www.haaretzdaily.com/
The Alternative Information Center: http://www.alternativenews.org/- a joint Palestinian-Israeli project which publishes magazines and special reports on human rights issues both in the Occupied Territories and inside Israel's borders.

Action Alerts and Articles of Notice

Christian Peacemaker Teams - you can subscribe to a listserve with weekly updates from the CPT team in Hebron, or you can check their website for current information and photos. www.prairienet.org/cpt/

American Friends Service Committee - www.afsc.org
The text of a speech given by Jean Zaru, clerk of the Ramallah Friends Meeting, in March, 2002 can be found on the Middle East Programs page of the AFSC site. The title is, "A Testimony of Suffering and Hope."

An Epistle from the International Quaker Working Party on the Israel-Palestine Conflict, written June 30, 2002, can also be found on the Middle East Programs page of the AFSC site.

Current News from the Friends Schools

Receive regular updates from Colin & Kathy South, current FUM Field Staff at the Friends Schools by writing and requesting that you be added to their email list: csouth@palnet.com.

Receive the printed bi-annual Friends Schools Newsletter by filling out the response form on this website.

History and Background Materials

Timeline - brief but good overview of the history of the conflict on the BBC website.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2001/israel_and_palestinians/timeline/

Curriculum packet - designed for high school classroom study, but also easy to read straight through. Very Good piece approximately 30 pages total. Only gives information up through 1993, so does not include information on current dimensions.
http://www.umich.edu/%7Eiinet/cmenas/outreach/StudyUnits/israeli-palestinian_conflict/

Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee - www.adc.org
There are many good resources on this site. Colin & Kathy South especially recommend a film from their video library titled, "Frontiers of Dreams and Fields".

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Financial Gifts

We request and encourage your support for the Ramallah Friends Schools. Contributions to the scholarship fund can be made through the web or mailed directly to:

Ramallah Friends Schools Scholarship Fund
Friends United Meeting
101 Quaker Hill Drive
Richmond IN 47374-1980

Gifts for the Ramallah Friends Schools General Fund are also welcome. All contributions will be forwarded directly to the Ramallah Friends Schools.

The Friends Play Center at the Amari Refugee Camp is also in need of support. This program provides pre-school children a safe place to play and learn basic math and reading skills. Contributions can be made through this website or mailed to the FUM address listed above and clearly marked for "Ramallah Friends Play Center."

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Writing Letters

WRITE TO FRIENDS IN RAMALLAH:
Corresponding with Friends in Ramallah is encouraged. Your letters and emails of encouragement will do much to nurture the connection of Friends around the world. Hearing from people outside of Palestine and knowing of your prayers and concerns mean so much to our Friends in Ramallah. The following addresses can be used for correspondence:

Jean Zaru, clerk
Ramallah Friends Meeting
PO Box 1325
Ramallah, Palestine
Via Israel

Violet Zaru
Friends Refugee Play Center
PO Box 1180
Ramallah, Palestine
Via Israel

Colin South
Ramallah Friends School
PO Box 66
Ramallah, Palestine
Via Israel
csouth@palnet.com

WRITE TO ELECTED GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS:
The Friends Committee on National Legislation has helpful material for letter-writing calling for peace and an end to the current reoccupation of Palestinian areas of the West Bank. Please pray for Israeli and Palestinian groups that are working for peace, justice and an end to the occupation, as well as for the well-being of all affected.

Here are some general guidelines.

CONTACTING U.S. POLICY-MAKERS
You can easily find how to contact for your own U.S. Senators and Congresspeople at http://government.aol.com.

To begin, here are four important people to address:
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvanian Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Phone: (202) 456-1414 -- Fax: (202) 456-2461
E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov

Vice President Dick Cheney
(The White House, as above)

Condoleezza Rice National Security Advisor
(The White House, as above)

Secretary of State Colin Powell
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Phone: (202) 647-4000 Fax: (202) 261-8577
E-mail: secretary@state.gov

CHOOSING HOW YOU WISH TO COMMUNICATE
Not all contacts get the same attention. Opinions vary about what kind of communication makes the biggest difference. The following scale of effectiveness, although not scientific, is said to generally apply:

E-mail or petition: Least effective (sometimes disregarded, as government mailboxes get overfilled.)
Faxed message: 10 times more effective
Personal phone call: 100 times more effective
Personal letter: 1000 times more effective (though note, mail may be delayed to Congress) Personal visit: Most effective

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Links to Church, Ecumenical and Interfaith Organizations

Behind the news: Visions for peace - Voices of Faith, is a publication providing church, ecumenical and interfaith information, resources and analysis on issues of current global concern. There is a special issue on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict which gives statements and responses from a variety of faith communities, information on humanitarian relief, and links to a variety of peace groups.

You can find this at: http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/behindthenews/bulletin16.html

Churches for Middle East Peace has worship and prayer resources for congregations. http://www.cmep.org

The Shalom Center: http://www.shalomctr.org/index.html.

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Direct Action

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of Mennonite and Church of the Brethren congregations and Friends Meetings that supports violence reduction efforts around the world. They have a team that has been in Hebron since 1993. They send 4-5 delegations to Hebron each year.

Contact CPT
PO Box 6508
Chicago, IL 60680
312-455-1199 ** 312-432-1213 (fax)

To learn more about their programs or receive news or discussion of CPT issues by e-mail, fill out the form found on the WEB page: http://www.prairienet.org/cpt/

Program for Congregations

CPT also has a program called, Campaign for Secure Dwellings, which connects congregations in the US with villages and families whose homes are being threatened with demolition. Learn more about this program from their website: http://www.prairienet.org/cpt/.

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