Oxfam International has released a list of partner organizations and allies in the occupied Gaza Strip who can be media contacts for journalists.
EWA JASIEWICZ
LUBNA MASARWA
RAMZI KYSIA
GRETA BERLIN
Jasiewicz, Masarwa, Kysia and Berlin work with the Free Gaza Movement, which is sending a ship, the Dignity, from Cyprus today to Gaza. The group states: “The ship is on an emergency mission carrying in physicians, human rights workers and over three tons of desperately needed medical supplies donated by the people of Cyprus. Coordinating with the Gaza Ministry of Health, the doctors will be immediately posted to overburdened hospitals and clinics upon their arrival.
“The Free Gaza Movement sent two boats to Gaza in August 2008. These were the first international boats to land in the port in 41 years. Since August, four more voyages were successful, taking parliamentarians, human rights workers, physicians, and other dignitaries to witness the effects of Israel’s draconian policies on the civilians of Gaza.”
The group’s web page features up-to-date information and contacts with others in Gaza.
ALI ABUNIMAH
RAMI ALMEGHARI
Abunimah is author of the piece “We Have No Words Left,” just published by the Guardian in Britain.
He is co-founder of the Electronic Intifada web page and is author of the book One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse.
Almeghari is a contributor to the Electronic Intifada writing from Gaza.
NORA BARROWS-FRIEDMAN
Barrows-Friedman is with Flashpoints Radio and has done extensive reporting on the Israeli-occupied territories. She was last in Gaza in June. She said today: “I’ve been on the phone much of the weekend doing interviews with people in Gaza. The people there are filled with panic and terror — and this comes after a prolonged siege that deprives them of needed food, medicine, clean water, electricity — the basics of life.”
LAILA EL-HADDAD
A freelance journalist currently in the U.S., El-Haddad writes the “A Mother From Gaza” blog.
JUSTIN ALEXANDER
Alexander is a Middle East analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit. He just wrote the piece “The Assault on Gaza Will Not Stop Rockets, but Could Influence the Israeli Elections,” which states: “Israel’s past military responses to the rocket threat, although massively disproportionate, have … been largely ineffective. It demolished buildings and leveled large areas of farm land in the northern part of Gaza to reduce the cover available for rocket crews. It fired over 14,000 artillery shells in 2006, killing 59 Palestinian civilians in the process, in what was framed as a preventive tactic to make it more difficult for rocket crews to operate. It launched major and prolonged incursions such as Operation Summer Rains in June 2006, devastating infrastructure such as the Gaza power station and killing hundreds. But still rocket fire continued, and in fact intensified in response to any increases in Israeli hostilities.
“Instead, the only effective way of preventing rocket fire has been ceasefires, such as the one Hamas (but not other factions such as Islamic Jihad) observed from November 26th 2006 to April 24th 2007.”
For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
