In This Issue:

Home: Read about Karamas current activities.

What is Karama up to? Have a look at Karamasforthcoming projects.

Karama Profiles: Meet some of our members and volunteers.

Member Profile
Shady


Shady turned 15 on Saturday the 6th of March. Karama threw a...read more

Volunteer Profile
Paddy


An absolute dynamo. That about describes our Irish volunteer, Paddy...read more

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News from Palestine

"Israel denies NGOs work permits"

Al Jazeera reported in early February, that the Interior Ministry of Israel had ceased issuing work visas to employees of Non-Government Organizations. Instead, these workers now received tourist visas, of the standard 3-month variety.

While a situation already intimately familiar to volunteers who work for Karama, particularly those who try to stay longer than 3 months, Al Jazeera states that 120 NGOs operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are now critically affected by the new policy. Workers are now virtually unable to carry out long-term projects or initiatives here on the ground, as they can't be sure to be legally permitted to remain in the territories.

In November, Karama faced a problem with one of our volunteers who attempted to renew his tourist visa, after returning from Jordan (see our volunteer Quentin's article). Our director originally sought advice and assistance from the United Nations office in Jerusalem, and it was then that he was informed about this change in Israeli occupation policy. He was told then that even UN workers were being refused work visas, and they word in NGO circles was spreading of similar issues with their workers.

It is this writer's theory that the policy is one targeted at delegitimizing the work of NGO's in the OPT, by making it illegal. Regardless of how unethical the effect of the policy will be here on the ground, the ability to market the efforts of organizations and foreign nationals, which are undesirable to the Israeli state, as illegal carries with it very powerful international connotation. This is especially true among media and social perceptions in the United States and Europe, where concern over foreign elements in their own states is a dominant one.

See the entire February 9th piece here.

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