Palestine

The Jerusalem Center for Women
The Jerusalem Center for Women (JCW), a Palestinian non-governmental women’s center located in East Jerusalem, was established in March 1994. Parallel to its establishment, Bat Shalom, an Israeli women’s center in West Jerusalem, was created. Though JCW and Bat Shalom carry out joint Palestinian – Israeli programs through the JERUSALEM LINK, their coordinating body, the two centers operate independently, maintaining executive and organizational integrity. Such an arrangement is the first time that a Palestinian and an Israeli organization have worked so closely together for the advancement of women and human rights in the region, as well as for the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. To read more, click here: JCW.

MADRE's Palestine Campaign
Ibdaa is a cultural exchange and human rights center in Deheishe Refugee Camp that enables children to develop the skills and political vision to build a brighter future for themselves and their community. MADRE has helped Ibdaa develop the camp's only progressive, co-educational kindergarten and one of the only socially sanctioned meeting places for women. Ibdaa's dance and creative writing programs, girls' leadership training, language courses, and community organizing workshops enable young people to address the poverty and political turmoil that circumscribe their lives and definitively as the gates of their camp. Every activity at Ibdaa teaches values of human rights, democratic process and respect for women's rights, creating an environment where young people learn to channel their fears and frustrations into progressive demands for change. Ibdaa's Education for Democracy program and media and computer literacy training gives them the skills to pursue those demands. In early October 2000, Ibdaa launched an emergency trauma counseling program to help children, parents and teachers in Deheishe cope with the psycho-social impact of the current violence on children. Ibdaa's organizers understand that the psychological harm inflicted on children in times of war can be even longer-lasting than physical wounds. They are working to address this crisis today - for the sake of these children and for the sake of future prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. For more information, click MADRE's Palestine Campaign.