It’s been about 1 year since I last asked you to make a contribution to the efforts of courageous Palestinians and Israelis for peace. I am now asking once again. This time to support the efforts of an amazing group of young people in Gaza – mostly in the twenties who work under the title:
The Gaza Youth Committee
These are the young people who last year during the height of the weekly March of Return along the Gaza Israel border came and released 150 doves with messages of peace tied to their legs written by the children Gaza.
Now they are planning a bicycle ride of about 150 riders who will ride along the border with banners calling for PEACE & FREEDOM. These are very brave people. One of the leaders of the group, Rami, has already been called into the Hamas internal security for questioning 5 times in the last weeks. They have not stayed behind the scenes – they have come out in public, on Facebook and other social media and have exposed their activities – including continuous skype meetings with Israelis who live on the other side of the border.
We have to help them. I am contributing $100 myself. We need to raise $2000 immediate to help them and I hope that we can raise a lot more and then have a reserve for their future activities.
PLEASE HELP THE GAZA YOUTH COMMITTEE
Online contributions:
Please make a contribution online with a credit card or via Pay Pal
Gaza Youth Committee
In the US contributions are tax deductible when made online or by check written to:
The Friends of IPCRI, Inc.
c/o Lila Bricklin
229 W. Upsal Street, Apt. 614,
Philadelphia, PA 19119
USA
The following is the proposal that the Gaza Youth Committee wrote for this activity.
| Title of the Initiative: |
| The Gaza Peace and Freedom Riders |
| Project Idea/Description, Goals, and Outcomes: |
| The Gaza Youth Committee will organize a youth bicycle ride for peace and freedom. Some150 participants representing Gaza’s youth – young men and young women who are committed to nonviolence coming from the different 5 governorates in Gaza Strip will participate. The Gaza Peace and Freedom Riders will be enlisted through the very active social media in Gaza and by our partnership with the different local organizations and active groups inside the city. The Gaza Peace and Freedom rides will ride from the center of Gaza city to the border of Gaza with Israel. Carrying banners of “Peace and Freedom” the idea is to enlist wide public support for civil society actions aimed at supporting peace and freedom for the people of Gaza and our neighbors across the border in Israel.
The Gaza Peace and Freedom Riders is a complementary action for “The Dove Initiative” which was conducted 10 months ago on the borders of Gaza Strip with a participation of women, men, families, youth and children who were calling for peace and freedom through launching more than 100 doves to the Israeli side, carrying peaceful messages from the people and children in Gaza Strip to the people on the Israeli side of the border.
The Gaza Peace and Freedom Riders will coordinate a parallel event with Israeli peace supporters on the Israeli side of the Israel Gaza border that will be held at the same time. Goals: · Encouraging the relationships and friendships between the people in Gaza Strip and Israelis.
· Delivering positive ideas from the different people inside Gaza Strip and Outside it by using social media.
· Encouraging voluntary spirit in conducting public activities.
· Protecting the youth from losing their lives and start to let them concentrate on their skills and future.
Outcomes: · Youth networks with new friends from the Israeli peaceful community will be stronger and able to be practiced on land. · Israeli, Palestinian and international media will share this event instead of sharing only the violence-bloody actions. · Raising the possibilities of living in peace in the mind of young people in Gaza and Israel. · Promotion for voluntary spirit · This event will increase the number of the friends and people in Israel who are really need peace and stopping the conflict. |
| Target Audience:
Description of Audience |
|
The youth in Gaza Strip and the Israeli Community
|
| Project Timeline and Activities: |
|
Timeline: one month after funds are raised
Activities:
– Skype meeting with the partners in Israel for developing the idea and organizing the advertising sides of the event to reach most of the Israeli minds. – Meetings will be held among initiative team to distribute the missions to them and to announce for the activities and collect the participants. – Coordination inside of Gaza with the key figures who belong to our committee in the 5 governorates. – Procurement team will prepare the uniforms, banners and refreshments for the participants. – The communication team will be in touch with the concerned people for organizing the roads for the event.
|
| Budget Summary: | ||
| Item
|
Units | Amount (USD)* |
| Refreshments (Water & Juice) | For 150 Participants | $350 |
| Uniforms ( T-Shirt) | For 150 Participants | $500 |
| Medallions | For 150 participants | $500 |
| Banners and Publicity | For all Five areas | $800 |
| Total Amount | – | $2,100 |
| Organization’s participation | Initiative team members are volunteers | |
Mohammed Safi, 27 years old, is one of the founders of the Youth Committee in Gaza Strip, conducted and participated in many voluntary social activities with his friends and partners for increasing the internal peace and developing the skills of the different categories in society by joining many online meetings and supportive activities with families, women, children and youth to reach the main goal which is creating new generation of leaders and decision makers can lead the different aspects of society and stop the blood of the people both internally and both sides.
Mohammed participated in the last protest which happened in Gaza Strip, as many of the youth in the city, entitled “We Need To Live” against the controllers of the city according to the worst situation which negatively affected all the aspects of life and vanished all the dreams of the most of the youth, arrested by the security of Hamas and got bad treatment for weeks which resulted losing his eyesight.
The Youth Committee started its connections to create public opinion over his case, which was not seriously recognized by the leaders in Gaza Strip and Ramallah, by its members and strong supportive from most of the people in the city, so from the 9thof April 2019 until the 15th of April 2019 many official agencies contacted us such as the presidency office, ministers, factions’ leaders and international human rights organizations for helping him in providing medical referral paper to get his eyesight back, however that the Palestinian leadership in Gaza Strip and Ramallah do not respond on these kinds of issues rapidly.
Furthermore, many of our friends and partners abroad in General and in Israel in particular contacted us with their hearts and feelings for supporting Mohammed and in covering the hospital expenses which is considered as real miracle for most of the people in the world but not for the Peace Fighters in Gaza Strip and Israel, one of them is Mr. Jeff Parness, who sent a very huge and powerful positive spirit to Mohammed and other youth, who are in real need for love and peace in their lives, through his peaceful ideas and vision, NEVER GIVE UP and to continue distributing, educating and planting the peaceful ideas inside the minds of the people.
Finally, the Youth Committee in Gaza Strip represented by Mohammed Safi and its members send the greetings to our friends and partners in the whole world and stress the implementation of its activities to increase the peaceful spirit and awareness inside the peoples’ minds for stopping the blood both sides and in creating new generations of decision makers and leaders to decrease the conflict.
