The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice

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      • Shuruq 4.5 Olympia Arab Festival 2020
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      • Birzeit University Women’s Scholarship
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    • Palestinian Call for Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
    • Protect Your Right to Boycott! Fight Back Against Anti-BDS Legislation
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Olympia, WA remembers Rachel- Events planned for March

Posted on February 22, 2013

On Saturday, March 16th, Olympia will mark the 10th anniversary of Rachel’s stand in Gaza. It has been an extraordinary and challenging journey for the Rachel Corrie Foundation, for the Corrie family, and for those in our community and beyond who have worked tirelessly for justice and peace in Palestine/Israel, in the world, and here at home.

In this month’s launch of a special year-long Peace Works effort, we will feature multiple special events and a remarkable March 16th day of action, reflection, and celebration. We will focus on how Rachel has touched our community and the world; on all that has been accomplished these past ten years through our local, regional, national, and international peace-building; and on inspiring the work to come.

Please join us at these March events!

Saturday, March 16th – Rachel Corrie – 10 Years

Sylvester Park & The Olympia Ballroom (116 Legion Way SW, downtown Olympia) – expect a dynamic day of social action, speakers, music, dance, food, reflection, remembrance, and community!

  • 1 pm – Rally at Sylvester Park: Ten years is enough! Challenge U.S. aid to Israel and the lack of accountability for how those resources are used
  • 2:30 – 9pm – Olympia Ballroom – Keynote Speakers: Phyllis Bennis and Ramzy Baroud – 10 Years
  • Music and Dance– Batiste Dabke, House of Tarab, David Rovics, and more!
  • Community Potluck (5:00-7:00 pm) – an Olympia tradition
  • Remembrances – from Cindy and Craig Corrie and others
  • Interactive Displays- A visual feast reflecting Rachel Corrie – the writer, artist, and activist, and the continuing struggle; ten years for the Rachel Corrie Foundation; ten years for our community’s work on Israel/Palestine; and ten-years of local peace-building.

Are you interested in volunteering?  See how you can help here!

Writer, analyst, and activist on U.S. foreign policy related to the Middle East and the UN, Phyllis Bennis directs the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC and is also a fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. A journalist at the UN for ten years, Bennis remains a special adviser to top-level UN officials on Middle East and UN democratization issues. In the U.S., she works actively on global peace and with Palestinian rights movements and was a co-founder of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. Bennis has authored eight books on the Middle East and the United Nations and is a frequent contributor to U.S. and global media at the BBC, Democracy Now!, Al-Jazeera, NPR, the Nation, AlterNet, Common Dreams, TomPaine.com. and more.

Ramzy Baroud, originally from Gaza, is a Palestinian-American journalist, author, editor, former producer for al-Jazeera, and currently Editor in Chief of The Palestine Chronicle. Baroud’s work has been published in hundreds of newspapers, including The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, and nearly every English-language publication throughout the Middle East. He has been a guest on CNN, NPR, and other broadcast media. Baroud’s third book, My Father was a Freedom Fighter, Gaza’s Untold Story, published in 2010, narrates his family’s history from 1940 to the present.

 

Friday, March 15th – Where Should the Birds Fly

Olympia Film Society screening & Fida Qishta filmmaker from Gaza

6:30 pm – Capitol Theater, 206 5th Ave SE, Olympia
Event Details

We are excited to team up with the Olympia Film Society (OFS) to present this film followed by a discussion with the filmmaker Friday, March 15th. Fida Qishta is a Palestinian journalist from Rafah, Gaza, and survivor of the 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead attack on Gaza by the Israeli Military. The film tells Fida’s story of life during the past decade in Gaza and during the siege, along with the moving story of Mona, a Palestinian girl, ten-years old at the time of Operation Cast Lead. Fida will be joined by Rachel Corrie Foundation board member Sonja Wentz for discussion with the audience following the movie.
Tickets: $5.50- OFS members, $8.50- non-members

 

Sunday, March 3rd – Remi Kanazi – Spoken Word Justice

Remi Kanazi, Palestinian-American poet, writer, and human rights activist based in New York City will bring his spoken word to Olympia in a performance Sunday, March 3rd, 6 pm, at the Washington State Labor Council, 906 Columbia St. SW.

From 2-4 PM, at the same location, Kanazi will provide a Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) workshop about the Palestinian call for academic and cultural boycott of Israel, misconceptions about this call, and how to mount BDS campaigns.

Author of Poetic Injustice: Writings on Resistance and Palestine and editor of Poets For Palestine, a hip hop, poetry, and art anthology, Kanazi is a recurring writer in residence and advisory board member for the Palestine Writing Workshop. He has taught, lectured, and performed extensively throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. A member of the organizing committee of the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, Kanazi has been a featured political commentator for news outlets throughout the world. Through spoken word, he inspires audiences to discover their power to act for justice and peace in Israel/Palestine. An American-born son of Palestinian refugees who deeply feels his roots, Kanazi states, “This isn’t about me being a Palestinian or me being an Arab. It’s about a system of oppression and what’s being done to a people.” Kanazi will be available for book signing.
The events are sponsored by the Rachel Corrie Foundation. For more info, call 754-3998.

Admissions to both events are free to the public.

 

Check the Rachel Corrie Foundation website for schedule and performance updates!
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/
or call 360-754-3998 for more information.

Filed Under: Projects Tagged With: events, fida qishta, march 16, Olympia, potluck, rally, rememberance, remi kanazi, vigil, WA

VIDEO–BEHIND ISRAEL’S PERMANENT WAR ON GAZA

Posted on December 13, 2012

On November 28th, we hosted an educational event at Traditions Café in Olympia, Washington.  A panel discussion and Q&A talked about what recently happened in Gaza, and what we may expect in the future.  Below is the live video from that event:

http://blip.tv/veterans-hour/behind-israel-s-permanent-war-on-gaza-6474697

Website for full event details

Filed Under: Projects Tagged With: behind, Gaza, Olympia, permanent, traditions, video, war

Images from Olympia’s Solidarity Action with Gaza

Posted on November 17, 2012








Filed Under: News and Updates Tagged With: demonstration, Gaza, Olympia, operation pillars of defense, palestine, photos, protest, Solidarity

Our Statement on Israel’s Operation “Pillar of Defense”

Posted on November 16, 2012

The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice (RCF) is deeply saddened by Israel’s “Pillar of Defense” attacks on Gaza. We are calling for an immediate cessation of the air strikes and naval bombardment into Gaza and an end to the ongoing siege of Gaza. We also call for cessation of the rocket attacks from Gaza aimed into communities in Israel, which only derail efforts towards a ceasefire and peace to the area.

We oppose all acts of violence and urge President Obama to take a stand against these attacks and to use the power of the United States to insist that Israel as well as the de facto government of Gaza pursue all diplomatic measures possible for the sake of life, safety and security on all sides.

After a very recent visit to Gaza, Craig Corrie stated, “We have just returned to Washington DC from five days in Gaza (November 5-11) and from time in Israel where we visited a kibbutz near the Gaza border threatened with rocket fire. We are appalled by the decision of the Israeli Government (apparently supported by the U.S.) to ignore the truce that was developing. This decision unleashes more violence on those who year after year continue to suffer under the illegal siege in Gaza, and further threatens the safety and well-being of the Israeli people, as well.”

How you can help:

Join us in Olympia!
Join us at 3:30 PM today, Friday, November 16th, as we protest and march in downtown Olympia. Meet us at the corner of 4th Ave and Washington at 3:30 to collect posters and dip your hands in red paint to signify the blood we have on our hands due to our U.S tax dollars that support the Israeli military. Shortly thereafter, we will march down 4th Ave towards The Olympian to express concern about the newspaper’s coverage of the recent events in Gaza and Israel.

Contact the U.S. Department of State, White House, Senate offices, and Israeli Embassy.
Call or write the White House. Tell our U.S. officials that Americans do not support this violence against the people of Gaza, and that we do not support the support our country gives to the Israeli military for these purposes.

To contact President Obama, click here.

To contact Secretary of State Hilary Clinton call (202) 647-4000.

To contact the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco, click here.

To contact the Palestine Israel Desk at the State Department, call (202) 647-3672.

To contact your local Congress Representative, click here.

 

Thank you for all you do.

With prayers for peace with justice and an immediate cessation of violence in Palestine and Israel,
The Staff and Board of Directors
Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice
Olympia, Washington

Filed Under: Call to Action, News and Updates Tagged With: Gaza, Olympia, Operation, Pillars, Rachel Corrie, Solidarity

The Mural Speaks!

Posted on August 1, 2010

By The ORSMP Steering Committee

The Olympia Rafah Solidarity Mural Project (ORSMP) is a creative endeavor of The Rachel Corrie Foundation and Break the Silence Mural Project. The mural tells the tale of two cities linked by tragedy—Olympia, WA and Rafah, Palestine—and is expected to be the largest public art project highlighting the experiences of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation. The ultimate goal of the ORSMP is to use art, culture and technology in innovative ways to increase the strength and visibility of movements for social justice in Palestine, Israel, the U.S., and throughout the world.

Located on the north side of the Labor Temple building, on the corner of State St. and Capitol Blvd. in downtown Olympia, this 4,000 square foot mural featuring a huge, interactive olive tree, is the collective effort of hundreds of people. Beautiful and creative tree leaves were designed by local, national and international activists, artists, and social justice organizations.

ORSMP has successfully challenged physical boundaries; people unable to travel to Olympia sent digital images which were printed and included on the wall. Distances are again mitigated by the mural’s audio component whereby viewers can use a cell phone to call and hear the message of each leaf and the history, mission, and goals of each participating artist or organization. Some have included poetry, prose and/or music to express their ideas and feelings. Conceived in 2008 by Susan Greene in collaboration with San Francisco’s Freedom Archives, and created by program designer Sam Stoller, this audio/visual component is also available on the mural’s web site.

With each completed phase of the project, the mural more fully illuminates and strengthens the shared quest for justice and equality across continents, cultures and causes.

On May 8, 2010, The Mural Speaks event unveiled the mural’s audio components. Performances from representatives of mural project participants were featured, including Books to Prisoners, Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), Garden Raised Bounty (GRuB), Gateways for Incarcerated Youth, Indigenous Youth Delegation to Palestine (San Francisco), Industrial Workers of the World (Wobblies), Inmigrantes Unidos, Movimiento Estudantil Chicano de Azatlan (MEChA), Olympia Movement for Justice & Peace (OMJP), Parents Organizing for Welfare & Economic Rights (POWER), SafePlace, Stonewall Youth, The Rachel Corrie Foundation, The Olympia Rafah Sister City Project and more. Recorded audio of national and international participants were featured, including Leonard Peltier and Flowers Against the Occupation, a Palestinian organization for young women.

Live music was supplied by local musicians Southern Skies, DJ Turtledove, and Grupo Quetzalcoatl de Olympia—a vibrant local Danza Azteca group. The Bay Area group AudioPharmacy also performed.

The Mural Speaks was the finale to “The People’s Assembly: Collaboration, Networking and Solidarity” – a gathering of Olympia’s grassroots organizers to discuss the US Social Forum and strategies for moving the struggle for social justice forward.

ORSMP began in 2007 with a small group of volunteers working through the Rachel Corrie Foundation. Since then, many dedicated community members have contributed to the mural’s success which would not have been possible without their tireless efforts.

To volunteer with the Olympia Rafah Solidarity Mural Project or for more information, please email
susangreene [at] mindspring.com.

To listen to the mural audio component, call 360-252-9779.
A map of extension numbers is available on the website www.olympiarafahmural.org, at the mural, and in local businesses.

For more information on The People’s Assembly, please visit www.omjp.net.

Filed Under: News and Updates Tagged With: Olympia, Olympia-Rafah Mural Project

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The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace & Justice
203 East Fourth Ave., Suite 402
Olympia, WA 98501

Phone: 360-754-3998
Click here to email us.

MENU
  • RACHEL CORRIE
    • Rachel’s Emails from Palestine
    • Rachel’s Words in Print
    • Rachel Corrie Memorial Archive
    • The Rachel Corrie Court Trial
  • ABOUT RCF
    • Mission & Guiding Principles
    • Board of Directors & Staff
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Internship & Volunteer Opportunities
    • Contact Us
  • PROJECTS
    • A Tale of Two Cities: Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural Project
    • Gaza Projects
      • RCF Gaza Resource Page
      • Rachel Corrie Gaza Sport Initiative
      • Palestinian Cultural Palace – Youth Performances
    • Olympia Arab Festival
      • Shuruq 4.5 Olympia Arab Festival 2020
    • Peace Works
    • RCF Educational Scholarships
      • Birzeit University Women’s Scholarship
      • Rachel Corrie Memorial Scholarship
  • BDS
    • Palestinian Call for Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
    • Protect Your Right to Boycott! Fight Back Against Anti-BDS Legislation
    • Get Involved!
  • EVENTS
  • WAYS TO GIVE