FICR January-February 2011 Newsletter

FICR January-February 2011 Newsletter

From the Program Coordinator:

Events currently taking place in the Arab world are unprecedented.  The spontaneous uprising in Tunisia has given impetus and courage for people in other Arab countries to rise up.  After the ousting of the president of Tunisia, the Egyptian people are calling for their president to step down.  King Abdullah of Jordan has appointed a new Prime Minister and asked his entire government to resign.  People in Algeria and Yemen have also taken to the streets, but what may happen there and in other Arab countries is not evident yet.  The winds of change are blowing in the Middle East.

As we continue to follow the events in the Middle East, we see more and more Palestinian land disappearing, more land being confiscated and new settlement housing is being built.  The Israeli military occupation is becoming more entrenched in all of the West Bank, especially in occupied East Jerusalem.  The latest evidence of this is the destruction of the Shepherd Hotel in the middle of Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli plans to build housing for Israelis and Jews in its place.

It is in this context that the Friends Center seeks to provide an opportunity for Palestinians and Internationals to dialogue on certain relevant issues.

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