Norcal Sabeel
See our new website at: norcalsabeel.org
Port of Oakland, 2021
NorCal Sabeel is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, San Francisco Bay Area–based group dedicated to organizing and participating in events that advance peace and justice for both Palestinians and Israelis. Our mission is to advocate for Palestinian human rights and to amplify the voices of the Palestinians. We condemn all acts of violence against human life, whether committed by states, individuals, or groups. NorCal Sabeel is affiliated with Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA).
NorCal Sabeel
P.O. Box 9301
Berkeley, CA 94709
UPDATES
READ recent articles about Sami Abu Shehadeh’s visit to the U.S. Abu Shehadeh is one of only 10 Palestinian citizens of Israel in the Israeli Knesset (Parliament):
“Oakland Pastors Support Palestinian Struggle.” Oakland Voices. May 19, 2022.
“Palestinian Citizen of Israel Reflects On Being a Member of the Knesset.” Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. May 13, 2022.
DEMAND that FIFA suspend the Israeli Football League until it ends its Apartheid in the sporting world. Join FOSNA and Just Peace Advocates in this campaign. You can learn more and sign here.
LOOKING FOR A SOCIAL JUSTICE JOB? FOSNA: Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) is hiring! They are seeking a Communications and Campus Outreach Coordinator. To learn more and apply, click here.
SAVE THESE DATES::
Friday, June 24, 2022, 6-9:00 P.M. in Oakland: MECA’s celebration of chef REEM ASSIL's book release: ARABIYYA: Recipes from the life of an Arab in Diaspora. Music and small bites by Reem's! Tickets available here.
Sunday, September 11, 2022. The SOLANO STROLL is back! More information to come.
WATCH these videos:
Inside Israeli Apartheid: A Video Report from Mondoweiss. (2022). This excellent 22-minute video shows how Israel has established an apartheid system and controls and oppresses Palestinians living in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, as well as refugees.
Israel Palestine Apartheid Explainer. (2022). This short, but very informative, video from Amnesty International explains why Israel is an apartheid state.
Obaida: A Short Film, from No Way to Treat a Child, about a Palestinian child’s experience of Israeli military arrest.
Boycott is a documentary from Just Vision about the impact of anti-boycott state legislation intended to penalize individuals and companies that boycott Israel because of its human rights abuses. It focuses on three Americans who challenged these laws.
LISTEN to Speaking of Palestine Radio Show:
On May 2, 2022, there was an update of current life for Palestinians living in apartheid Israel, including part of a talk given recently in the Bay Area by Sami Abu Shehadeh, one of just ten Palestinian legislators in the Israeli Knesset (Parliament)
On April 18, 2022, Reverend Michael Yoshii spoke extensively Palestine, including Wadi Foquin, a Palestinian village in the Occupied West Bank that is under constant threat of losing its land to illegal Israeli settlers.
On April 4, 2022, the show focused on examining the Amnesty International report on Israel being an apartheid state.
On March 21, 2022, there was an interview with FOSNA’s new director, Jonathan Kuttab, and an update on how the world responds to Palestine.
On March 7, 2022, the show discussed the International Solidarity Movement, the war in Ukraine, and how there is a double standard in how events in Ukraine and Palestine are reported on.
Listen live to these shows on KBBF 89.1 FM from 4:00-5:00 p.m. every first and third Monday of the month. These shows will be repeated on the second and fourth Mondays respectively. Older shows can be heard here.
READ these recent damning reports about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, including how Israel is an apartheid state:
Amnesty International’s Report: Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: A Cruel System of Domination and a Crime Against Humanity (2022). “The investigation details how Israel enforces a system of oppression and domination against the Palestinian people wherever it has control over their rights. This includes Palestinians living in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), as well as displaced refugees in other countries.” The report can be found here.
Three Palestinian organizations’ Assault on Gaza in Numbers (2022), about the impact of Israeli’s bombardment of Gaza on civilian Palestinian lives and livelihoods, which can be found here.
Human Right’s Watch’s A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution (2021) can be found here.
(Earlier reports can be found under Resources.)
JOIN the Ride for Palestine on July 17, 2022, organized by Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA). For more information and to register and/or support the event, go here.
WATCH to the Webinar: Now What ? The Two State Solution is Dead- Now What? with Jonathan Kuttab, Jeff Halper, and Noura Erakat on January 14, 2022. Co-sponsored by Nonviolence International and Just Peace Advocates.
WATCH Irish MP, Richard Boyd Barrett, calling out the double standards on Ukraine and Palestine
CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSPERSON about HR 2590, Rep. Betty McCollum’s recent bill: Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act. You can find who your congressperson is here.
VISIT Who Profits
An independent research center that investigates the commercial involvement of Israeli and international corporations in the Israeli occupation of Palestine and Syria. It provides first-rate information on companies and can be helpful when making BDS decisions. Additional information about BDS can be found on our web site here.
CHECK OUT Defense for Children International (DCIP)
This organization defends children’s rights by offering free legal aid, documenting violations of international law, and advocating for greater protections for Palestinian children living in the Occupied West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.
CHECK OUT The US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI)
This is a U.S. campaign focused on a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions. It is a response to the call of Palestinian civil society to join the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. Additional information about BDS can be found here.
Resources
For a variety of resources, check out these links:
Books about Palestine
Books for children about Palestine
Films
Websites and Blogs
Speaking of Palestine Radio SHow
Letters
Visit Palestine
Due to the pandemic, many organizations have postponed in-person trips to Palestine and replaced them with virtual visits.
Here are four in-person trips that are available in 2022:
Sabeel is offering a Spring Witness Trip to the Holy Land from May 13-20, 2022, led by Sabeel founder Rev, Naim Ateek.
Am I My Neighbor’s Keeper? Christ at the Checkpoint in Bethlehem, Palestine, is offering this conference May 26-29, 2022.
Joint Advocacy Initiative (JAI) is offering a Journey for Justice visit from July 30-August 7, 2022.
Friends of Wadi Foquin is planning a pilgrimage. For more information, contact Rev. Mike Friedrich deaconmike99@gmail.com or Rev. Emily Lin pastoremalee@gmail.com.
The U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) has important information and guidance under Ethical Travel to Palestine & Challenging Apartheid Tourism
Christ at the Checkpoint: Bethlehem, Palestine
TAKE ACTION
Contact Your Congressperson to Support Rep. Betty McCollum’s Very Important Bill Focused on Palestine
HR 2590: Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act, which was introduced by Rep. McCollum in April 2021.
Please urge your congressperson to support Rep. McCollum’s bill and sign on as co-sponsors. If they already have, please thank them for their support. To locate your congressperson, go here.
Contact Congress About Efforts to Criminalize Support for Palestine
Thirty states have anti-BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) laws that criminalize support for the boycott of Israel, saying that it is anti-Semitic, which it is not. The BDS movement was initiated in Palestine by civil society as a peaceful response to the Israeli occupation; it was inspired by the impact of boycotts in ending apartheid in S. Africa. More information can be found here.
Facebook, We Need to Talk
Join the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) campaign calling on Facebook to allow users to hold the Israeli government accountable. You can find more information here.
Confront Christian Zionism
Christian Zionists are among the most active and vocal supporters of Israel and its apartheid policies toward Palestine. FOSNA has a valuable toolkit for activists and local leaders for challenging Christian Zionism. It includes historical, theological, and political information about Christian Zionism, along with practical strategies. Find the toolkit here
Support Professor Rabab Abdulhadi
Dr. Abdulhadi is a scholar and activist who is the director of Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas/Race and Resistance Studies in the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. She is an outspoken critic of Israel's treatment of Palestinians. She has been subjected to a vicious campaign by the pro-Israel Lawfare Project, which has initiated a lawsuit that seeks to silence and intimidate her and others and dismantle the program at SFSU. Get more information and help Dr. Abdulhadi
ONGOING EVENTS
Confront Christian Zionism and Support Palestine
FOSNA has a valuable toolkit for activists and local leaders to use when challenging Christian Zionism. Access the toolkit
Oakland-Palestine Solidarity Mural
The Oakland-Palestine Solidarity Mural is an international solidarity and community-building project created under the auspices of NorCal Sabeel, the Estria Foundation, and Art Forces. With its diverse, international team of artists, the mural connects the Bay Area and the United States to Palestine by linking shared histories of colonization, environmental injustice, and the exile of indigenous peoples. View the mural across the street from Uptown Body and Fender, 401 26th St., Oakland.
Oakland-Palestine Solidarity Mural
PAST EVENTS
Tea for Palestine
Tea For Palestine, hosted by Norcal Sabeel on Dec. 5, 2021, was a great success. We were able to send substantial checks to the following three organizations that support Palestinian children: Defense for Children International–Palestine (DCI-P), Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), and Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF). Thank you to the many people who joined us and/or donated.
Stop Censoring Voices for Palestine
Did you miss Stop Censoring Voices for Palestine, our Dec 15th webinar? No problem! View the recording here! Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum is one of the few politicians who is willing to speak out about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians (she has sponsored three bills on this) and we invited her to speak in the webinar. She was unable to join us, but she sent us a letter of support, which you can read here.
Block the Boat
In early June, 2021, a coalition of organizations successfully stopped the Israeli cargo shipping company, Zim, from docking in the Port of Oakland: members of the longshoremen union refused to unload the ship. This action was led by AROC and Palestine Action Network (PAN), of which NorCal Sabeel is a member. The boycott lasted for several days and activists blocked all gates into the dock. Many truckers expressed their support of the action.
San Francisco Protest for Palestine
On Saturday, May 15, 2021, thousands of activists came out to support Palestinians, who were being violently attacked by Israeli forces in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank. The Palestine Action Network (PAN), of which NorCal Sabeel is a member, and other organizations, joined together for a community mural painting, rally, and march. The event was originally planned to be a commemoration of the Nakba (Catastrophe), but after Israel began its attacks on Gaza and the West Bank, the organizers redirected the event to be a protest of Israeli violence.