Week 50: Right of Return Online Gathering

On December 14th we learned about the Palestinian Right of Return. Our guest was Umar al-Ghubari of Zochrot.

More about our guest:

Coming soon

Activism Time

Kumi Action is at:
https://kuminow.com/rightofreturn/#kumiaction

First, you can watch The Village Under the Forest, a 54-minute documentary that tells the story of Lubya, the village described above. Screen it for your class, your church group, your family, your school club, etc. You can purchase the video online for less than US$8, or rent it for US$3: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/villageundertheforest/78181601. Watch a trailer here: https://youtu.be/ISmj31rJkGQ. 

But please don’t stop with a film screening! Lubya is just one of the many destroyed Palestinian villages that have been covered with the JNF forests funded by overseas donations. If you look at these forests on Google Maps you see reviews that praise these locations for their beauty and recreational opportunities. The stories, rights, and villages of Palestinians are being buried online just as they are in real life. Alert other travelers to the true stories of the lands they are using by leaving a review on Google Maps.

We suggest you leave a 1 or 2 star review that says something like: “While this is a beautiful area, the truth is that this forest was planted over destroyed Palestinian homes and villages and is land that rightfully belongs, according to international law, to those refugees and their descendants. I encourage everyone to urge the JNF to both acknowledge and right these wrongs so that Jews and Palestinians may live in peace as neighbors.” 

Lavi

You can write a review of Lavi (South Africa) Forest and tell the story of Lubya here: https://goo.gl/maps/aV2iC1Rb1Kz

Canada

You can learn about Canada’s donations by watching:

“Three Palestinian Villages Are Buried Under Canada Park”: https://youtu.be/98EHGWGqpsk .

“Canada Park in Israel”: https://youtu.be/yHRbR7nMxN4 part 2: https://youtu.be/NrhaglA5c_w 

Then leave a review of Ayalon Canada Park at: https://goo.gl/maps/eVevSStrgCB2 

Great Britain and the United States

You can watch “Stop the JNF” to learn about Brittania Park and USA Independence Park: https://youtu.be/QUrlojwSWI8 

You can write a review of Britannia Park at: https://goo.gl/maps/NAEz5Gosotk 

Or a review of USA Independence Park at: https://goo.gl/maps/b5GUerFcH5x 

Lifta

Finally, Lifta is one of the few Palestinian villages to not be entirely leveled. It is now a park, popular with Israeli Jewish citizens who use its pools for pleasure and for their ritual ablutions. If you read the reviews they are overwhelmingly positive, with no mention of the injustice done to its owners. Watch a short video on Lifta from BADIL called “Sons of Lifta” https://youtu.be/L7afYef4bSQ, then leave a review at: https://goo.gl/maps/3spdukNt5Sp 

Share a photo of your film screening and/or Google Maps reviews on social media. Include a link to this page of the Kumi Now website along with the hashtags #KumiNow and #Kumi50.

From the Presentation/Chat

Coming after the session.