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Dear Friends and Supporters, Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition needs your support! We call on you to help implement the right of Palestinians to return to their homes and land of origin. The outbreak of the Arab Spring and the calls for freedom in the Arab World make the work of Al-Awda even more important and necessary. There is a significantly heightened urgency to demand our right to return to our homes and lands in historic Palestine. Some work Al-Awda accomplished in 2011 and 2012 to keep the right to return cause alive: a.. Maintained a humanitarian aid program to Palestinian refugees. b.. Launched a Palestine Children's Rights Campaign to advocate for the release of all Palestinian children from Israeli prisons and to end the systematic Israeli terrorism, detention, torture and violence the children are subjected to. c.. Held Al-Awda's Ninth Annual International Convention in Garden Grove, California with hundreds of activists, speakers and supporters. Preparations for the tenth convention are well under way. d.. Organized speaking tours, lectures and discussions with a number of renowned experts including: Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, Tariq Ali, artist Samia Halabi, authors Susan Abulhawa, Ibtisam Barakat, and Mark Gonzales, and held community discussions about the meaning of the right to return from personal perspectives. e.. The Southern California chapters held their Fifth Annual Palestine Picnic Day drawing hundreds of community members and supporters to the event. The Houston chapter held its first Palestine picnic drawing hundreds. f.. Organized film showings including the Nakba documentaries produced by Aljazeera. g.. Organized a number of protests around the US for ending the siege of Gaza, in support of the Arab Spring, for the right to return and calling for the release of all Palestinian political prisoners. h.. Recruited over 100,000 members to Al-Awda's cause on Facebook. i.. Maintained a Palestine National Center with the goal of institutionalizing and professionalizing our work. j.. Established an Educational Resource Center which continues to grow extending its collection of over three hundred books, a documentary film archive and journals. k.. Increased local organizing for the return with the growth of existing chapters and establishment of new ones including Al-Awda Washington DC and Al-Awda Conejo Valley in California. l.. Actively participated in boycott, divestment, and sanction (BDS) actions, and will continue to do so until Palestinian rights are restored in full. m.. Held Yom El-Ard commemorations around the US n.. Al-Awda Cleveland participated in the Occupy AIPAC summit and protest in Washington, DC, in the Global March to Jerusalem and co-sponsored The Political Economy of Palestine lecture at Cleveland State University; The chapter also held a rally to mark the 64th annual commemoration of the Deir Yassin massacre. The Challenges Ahead: Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, is committed to its founding principles. The challenges to those of us living in forced exile from our homeland, and to those who support us, are greater than they have ever been! Our task continues to be to organize and educate on the rights of all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands of origin, and to full restitution of all confiscated and destroyed property in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International law and United Nations Resolutions upholding such rights. We are all called upon to make greater efforts than ever before. Here's How You Can Help Us Continue and Spread the Reach of Al-Awda's Work: Join Al-Awda's Monthly or Annual Sustainer Program: To become a Monthly Sustainer, go to: http://www.al-awda.org/sustainers.htm To become an Annual Sustainer, go to: http://www.al-awda.org/sustainers2.htm Make a Contribution: To contribute at any time, click on the PayPal Donate button at: http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html Alternatively, you can address your check or money order to PRRC, PO Box 131352, Carlsbad CA 92013, USA You can also Shop for a Donation at our website. We offer a variety of educational materials including interesting and unique books, historical maps of Palestine (in Arabic and English), educational films, flags of various sizes, and colorful greeting cards created by Palestinian children. We also offer great looking T-shirts and caps. To view our entire selection, see http://al-awda.org/shop.html Thank you for your support. We depend on it. Until Return, Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition PO Box 131352 Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA Tel: 760-918-9441 Fax: 760-918-9442 E-mail: i...@al-awda.org WWW: http://al-awda.org Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRRC) is the largest network of grassroots activists and students dedicated to Palestinian human rights. We are a not for profit tax-exempt educational and charitable 501(c)(3) organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States of America. Under IRS guidelines, your donations to PRRC are tax-deductible. To donate, please go to http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html and follow the instructions. To become a member, go to http://al-awda.org/membership.html [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:la...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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