School children in Palestine are defying the Israeli military curfew (placing entire cities under house arrest) in order to go to school. The right to an education is included in the International Declaration of Human Rights. Un-fortunately the simple act of going to school has deadly consequences for Palestinian children. Last year 216 students and 17 teachers were killed and 2514 were injured by the Israeli army. Already this year several children have been injured or killed since the school term began.  On October 4 a 15-year old youth was shot dead and a 12-year old boy was in critical condition after being shot in the head. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has accused Israel of depriving a generation of Palestinians the right to an education. They report that 580 schools have closed already leaving more than 226,000 without access to education. In addition 9,300 teachers are denied access as well due to curfews, road closures, and movement restrictions. As an alternative people are secretly holding classes in basements or places of worship or in alleyways. Since teachers cannot get to the schools parents are filling that role as best they can.

Many people remember that during the first Intifada in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were denied an education with little or no chance of making up those lost years. Today getting an education is considered to be a means of non-violent protest against the illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza by Israel, but at a very high cost.

v      Support an end to the Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza by Israel.

v      Write your elected officials and protest the violations of international law and the 4^th Geneva Convention by the government of Israel.

v      Organize a rally to protest the violations of the rights of children.

v      Support Palestinian children through organizations working for justice and human rights with your prayers and gifts.

v      Educate yourself by checking out websites and documentation of events via the Internet.

v      Pray without ceasing.

Society was divided into warring camps suspicious of one another. Where no contract or obligation was binding, nothing could heal the conflict, and since security was only to be found in the assumption that nothing was secure, everyone took steps to preserve himself and no one could afford to trust his neighbor.

                                                                        Thucydides

Nonviolence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our very being.

                                                                        Mohandas Gandhi

This insert is brought to you by Sabeel-Jerusalem, a grassroots ecumenical Christian organization that works for peace and justice in Israel/Palestine. For more information see our website: www.sabeel.org