One year after the verdict of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that took up the call of the Palestinian people to tear down the Apartheid Wall and for compensation for the devastation it has caused, a European project to strengthen solidarity with the Palestinian cause has been launched in The Hague, Netherlands.
The Wall Must Fall Project has been introduced to the public in a solidarity gathering that has welcomed some of the most active and influential Dutch organizations involved with Palestine. The project is the result of a coalition between 3 Palestinian and Dutch organizations: Stop de Bezetting, PPMS and the Palestinian grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign. The coalition emerged from the Berlin Initiative formed at the UN-ESCWA (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia) Conference in Beirut, launched on the 10th of October 2004,
Europe has experienced a wall in its heartâ a wall that separated rather than expelled and ghettoized people – and it has celebrated its fall as a victory. Now, Europe must live up to its legal, political and moral responsibilities to make this new wall fall. However, European civil society, institutions and governments are currently playing a significant role in direct and indirect support of Israeli racist policies of Occupation, land grab and expulsion. Under the cover of rhetorical disapproval of Israeli policies, close economic ties between Israel and European economies have flourished. While providing considerable political backing for Apartheid Israel, such ties are vulnerable if successfully targeted.
The synergy created by the project partners, linking the Palestinian grassroots struggle and national campaigning with international solidarity, allows the project to contribute in a unique way to global efforts which seek to support the Palestinian struggle for Freedom and Justice.
Moreover, the people of Europe have taken the initial steps in response to the Palestinian call to isolate Apartheid Israel. The dynamics and calls reminiscent of the Anti-Apartheid Movement against the South African regime are reappearing, creating the potential for fundamental changes in the context in which European collective efforts operate.
It is the aim of the project to bring different experiences and ideas together in the attempt to open up spaces of discussion, networking and strategizing on a national as well as European and global level. This seeks to engage the involvement of society at large in solidarity actions with the Palestinian struggle against the Apartheid Wall and for comprehensive boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.
The Wall Must Fall activities are thus intended to target a wide range of social and political actors and include:
- Production and dissemination of information on the Apartheid Wall and its effects in the context of continual Israeli Colonialism and Occupation. This has at its core making the Palestinian voice, analysis and calls heard across the world.
- Targeting media with updated and reliable information from Palestine and the growing solidarity movements.
- Support coordination efforts in the Netherlands, Europe and globally.
- Organize, support and promote initiatives and events to involve specific groups through lobbying, advocacy and networking.
- Organize and facilitate delegations to and from Palestine.
Where can you find The Wall Must Fall?
the project’s logistic center for activities in Europe and worldwide is based in The Hague (the Netherlands) in:
Muzenstraat 89, 2511 WB Den Haag, Nederland
Phone: (+31) 070-4262196/195 – Fax: (+31) 070-4262111
Mail: info@thewallmustfall.org – Website: www.thewallmustfall.org
In Ramallah, the Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaignâs office will coordinate the projectâs activities inside Palestine.