[Scpg] HELP PREVENT A ECOBUILT MOSQUE DEMOLITION IN THE NEGEV - A BUSTAN INSPIRED PROJECT

[lakinroe at silcom.com]

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HELP STOP MOSQUE DEMOLITION IN NEGEV 9:06am 

URGENT: STOP MOSQUE DEMOLITION IN NEGEV 4:00pm 
An eco-built mosque (the first in Israel) is slated for demolition in the unrecognized village of Wadi el Na'am. This village is one of the worst places I've ever seen on earth - surrounded 360 degrees by heavy military and industrial infrastructure, many of the citizens living there are sick, they receive no services and are 'on hold' to be relocated to a government-planned town for the past few years with no date in sight. This move requires them to relinquish all land claims, and many Bedouin are resistant, though not waging a non-violent struggle. 

The Jews and Arabs that built this mosque are Israelis from BUSTAN, international volunteers, and a diverse mix of families from the village. We're trying to stave the demolition - it is an inhumane way of forcing compliance and it seriously undermines work that many Jewish and Arab NGO's are doing to build civil society in this dry, heavily contaminated, and extremely under-resourced part of the country. 

BUSTAN calls for the Israeli government to negotiate with Bedouin leadership, these demolitions are a tactic employed by the Israel Land Administration must be resisted. It is undemocratic. Please forward to this appeal to your lists and HELP in any way you can, to stop the pending demolition. This is NOT a democratic policy. 

Devorah Brous 

URGENT 

November 17th, 2008 

Wadi Na'am, Israel 


The first mud and straw-bale built mosque in Israel received demolition orders late last week in the unrecognized Bedouin village of Wadi al Na'am, come help stop the demolition! 
Volunteers are urgently needed starting this evening (Monday November 17th) to stay in the mosque through Thursday (November 20th) to protest and document any attempt to carry out the demolition. 

To sign up for a shift, please email Tess at greencenter at bustan.org or call her at 050-371-1802, OR Josh Berer, 052 7500152, RCUV. 

If you can arrive with a car to bring people to and from Wadi Na'am that is extremely helpful. We will make every attempt to provide transportation for those who need it. 

There are 80,000 Bedouin Arabs currently living in 45 unrecognized villages in Israel that lack basic infrastructure, health care, electricity, and water access. Local Bedouins as well as Christian, Muslim, and Jewish volunteers from Israel, the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Africa have contributed to building the mosque over the last four months. 

For more information about the mosque, please see this article from August 2008: http://www.maannews.net/en /index.php?opr=ShowDetails &ID=31522 

And 

http://joshberer.wordpress .com/2008/10/29/the-straw- bale-mosque/ 

If you cannot make it, please fax or call the following officials to protest the demolition: 

Itzhak HaKohen, the Minister of Religious Service 

Fax: 02 6706157. izchakec at knesset.gov.il 



Meir Shitrit, the Minister of Interior 

Fax: 02 6408920. mshitrit at knesset.gov.il 



Zeev Boim, the Minster of Housing and Construction, and Minister responsible for the Israeli Land Authority, and the Bedouin Minority. 

Fax: 02-6496062. zaevb at knesset.gov.il 


For press inquiries: 

Mahmod Jarbeau at 057-466-2331 (Hebrew, Arabic) —resident of Wadi Na'am, served nine years in the Israeli military, director of the project 

Ra'ed Al Mickawi 052-371-1801 (Hebrew, Arabic, English)—Director of BUSTAN 

Dr. Yeela Livnat Ra'anan 054-748-7005 (English, Hebrew)—RCUV 


-- 
Devorah Brous 
973.294.8892 




"You just need to be a flea against injustice. Enough committed fleas biting strategically can make even the biggest dog uncomfortable and transform even the biggest nation." 
     ~Marian Wright Edelman