Summer Peace Team in West Bank Now

Summer Peace Team in West Bank Now

Michigan Peace Team has a six person peace team in the West Bank currently to work with Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals in the nonviolent movement to end the occupation.

The team is made up of women and men from Detroit and Lansing and range in age from 27 to 67 years old.

Both Palestinians and Jewish Israelis have invited MPT to work with them. This
is a critical time, as the presence of internationals is needed to help deter
further violence.

The goals of the summer peace team:

watch checkpoints to deter human rights abuses;

help stop illegal home demolitions which devastate families and
villageswhen Israeli bulldozers come at any time day or night;

assist local people who organize nonviolent conflict resolution
workshops;

join other internationals to serve as mediators and interveners
in times of crisis;

document human rights violations that occur in refugee camps,
villages, etc.;

assist with the educational programs for Israeli and Palestinian
children;

and of course, experience and learn from the people so that we
can bring home firsthand understandings of the conflict.

Although hundreds of peace & human rights activists have been deported from
Israel, MPT is one of the few NGOs in the world who has been able to get every
team member into the occupied territories.

Our team was delayed in reaching their home base in Jerusalem the first day
because they arrived on the day of one of the largest traffic jams in Israeli
hsitory. Why? The rock band Pink Floyd, which performed in the peace village of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salaam to make a statement against the occupation. Pink Floyd has a hit album called "The Wall". After discussions with Palestinian
peace activists and Israeli refusinks (soldiers who refuse to serve b/c of the
illegal occupation), the band participated in an act of civil resistance and
graffitied the illegal wall being built by Israel.

They spraypainted it with quotes from their song "no thought control" and
"tear down the wall".

Photo by Magnus Johansson, AP

Read about Pink Floyd's actions:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4831.shtml

Upon return from the Palestine/Israel, peace team members are willing to speak
to your organization about the work of Palestinian, Israeli, and international
peacemakers. Please contact the MPT office to set up a speaking engagement for your organization.