(Freedom Theatre, Jenin)
"I put my hope in the youth, whose
resiliency and capacity for growth seems unending. Investing in them
now is our best chance for salvation"
Harry Belafonte
The FFIPP Internship program supports not-for-profit organizations in
Palestine/Israel, such as human rights, peace and justice organizations
as well as centers for art, culture and research.
This program will also provide invaluable skills and knowledge for the
volunteers as they engage in learning, teaching, and research in local
communities and organizations.
Information in French.
(FFIPP Interns , summer 2007)
Summer 2008 Program
Session I: June 1 - July 4
Session II: June 29 - August 1
* An orientation program and an educational tour of Palestine/Israel that include visits and meetings in Jaffa, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Bilin, Ramallah, Tel-Aviv, Kibbutz Lohamei HaGetaot, al-Ghabisiyya (destroyed 1948 village), Nazareth, Dheisheh refugee camp and settlements around Jerusalem.
* One month of working as a volunteer in a grassroots organization, a research organization, or human rights organization in the occupied Palestinian territories or in Israel.
* Meetings with Palestinian and Israeli student activists for peace and justice.
Deadlines to apply: April 30
Recommended books to be read before joining the internship program:
1. The Iron Cage by Rashid Khalidi, 2006
2. The Road Map to Nowhere, by Tanya Reinhart, 2006
3. The Modern Middle East: Revised Edition by Albert H. Hourani, Phillip Khoury, and Mary Wilson, 2004
4. King Abdullah, Britain and the Making of Jordan (Cambridge Middle East Library) (Paperback) by Mary Christina Wilson, 1990
5. The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe (Paperback), 2007
6. The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon, Grove Press, 2004
7. The Selected Writings of Eqbal Ahmad, Columbia University Press, 2006
Fees:
Housing fee: $100 per session to be paid prior to departure
Application fee: $10, to be submitted with application (non refundable).
It can be paid on line via the Donate button.
Travel Insurance that covers emergency medical and health expenses overseas is mandatory (can be purchased on line or via a travel agent).
Housing will be provided and local students will assist the interns at different locations.
Application process:
For University/College student ONLY.
1) Apply on line or download an application. Pay $10.00 application fee by check, paid to ffipp-usa, P.O.Box 2091, Amherst MA 01004 or via the Donate button
2) Email us your resume to info@ffipp.org
3) Each applicant must forward a recommendation form to
the three references (at least two must be faculty) along with a stamped envelope addressed to FFIPP-USA. The letters may also be sent directly by email to info@ffipp.org or by FAX to 413-256-3536.
FFIPP will not be able to accept an applicant without receiving three letters of recommendation.
4) Sign and send the Internship agreement
Interns art work, Nablus, 2006
Participating Organizations in Palestine/Israel
Ibdaa center Dheisheh Refugee Camp, Bethlehem.
Ibdaa is a grassroots initiative of Dheisheh Refugee Camp. Founded in 1995, Ibdaa serves over 1,200 children and young people annually through various programs, while providing job opportunities to over 25 families in the camp. Ibdaa's mission is to provide an environment for the camp's children and young people to develop their abilities, creativity and leadership skills through social, cultural and educational activities not otherwise available. Ibdaa strives to empower children and instill in them the confidence and strength necessary to face up to their difficult future, while educating the international community about the Palestinian refugee issue.
http://www.dheisheh-ibdaa.net/
Kayan Feminist Organization, Haifa
. Kayan, which means "Being" in Arabic, is a feminist organization established by Palestinian Israeli women. Founded in 1998, Kayan is a capacity-building non-governmental organization devoted to women's development, and offers a wide array of courses, knowledge-based trainings, mentoring programs and activities with women's groups and associations, with non-profits, and with the public. Current strategies for women's empowerment and gender-equity include: Grassroots Skills and Capacity Building, Knowledge-Based Training, Civil and Legal Demands, Networking and Coalitions, International Advocacy. Kayan organizes, educates and motivates women to be vocal, visible and participatory members of society.
http://www.kayan.org.il/
The Alternative Information Center, Jerusalem, Bethlehem. The Alternative Information Center (AIC) is a joint Palestinian-Israeli organization which prioritizes political advocacy, critical analysis and information sharing on the Palestinian and Israeli societies as well as on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In doing so, the AIC promotes responsible co-operation between Palestinians and Israelis based on the values of social and political justice, equality, solidarity, community involvement and respect for the full inalienable national rights of all Palestinian people. http://www.alternativenews.org/
The Freedom Theatre, Jenin. The Freedom Theatre is an independent, dynamic, community-based center which encourages normal childhood by targeting behavior, knowledge concepts and practices. http://www.thefreedomtheatre.org
(FFIPP Interns in Jenin, summer 2007)
Rabbis for Human Rights , Jerusalem. Rabbis for Human Rights is the rabbinic voice of conscience in Israel, giving voice to a Jewish tradition of human rights. It promotes justice and freedom, while campaigning against discrimination and inhumane conduct. http://www.rhr.israel.net/
B’Tselem, Israel. The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories was established in 1989 by a group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists, and Knesset members. It endeavors to document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel. http://www.btselem.org/English
Project Hope, Nablus. Project Hope is a non-profit volunteer organization whose goal is to provide a participatory, educational space for Palestinian youth and children. Committed to the principles of international humanitarian law and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, our aim is support children denied access to basic services by providing educational and recreational activities, medical and humanitarian relief and practical training that can empower them with hope and skills for the future. http://www.projecthope.ps
FFIPP Interns teaching at Project Hope, Nablus, summer 2006
Bilingual Summer Camp in Shaknin, Israel.
The Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem, ARIJ, Bethlehem. Founded in 1990, the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable development in the occupied Palestinian territories and the self-reliance of the Palestinian people through greater control over their natural resources. http://www.arij.org
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA
, Jerusalem. The OCHA office in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) was established in late 2000. The office was established in response to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the West Bank and Gaza caused by military incursions and closures - mobility restrictions imposed on the Palestinian civilians, local and international service providers. http://www.ochaopt.org/
Baladna - Arab youth organization, Haifa. Baladna aims to strengthen Arab youth's understanding of democracy and gender equality, to foster pluralism and tolerance, and to enable a discussion and debate about Arab Palestinian history, grievances and culture. http://momken.org/baladna/en/
Machsom Watch, Women for Human Rights in Israel. http://www.machsomwatch.org
Freedom & Culture Tent – English summer camp, Sakhnin, Israel.
Combatants for Peace, Palestine/Israel. http://www.combatantsforpeace.org/
(FFIPP Interns, summer 2007)
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR). Physicians For Human Rights-Israel was founded in 1988 with the goal of struggling for human rights, in particular the right to health, in Israel and the Occupied Territories. Human dignity, wellness of mind and body and the right to health are at the core of the world view of the organization and direct and instruct our activities and efforts on both the individual and general level. It was established during the first months of the Palestinian uprising in the Occupied Territories by a group of Israeli and Palestinian physicians. http://www.phrusa.org/healthrights/phr_israel.html
Yesh Din, Israel. An organization of volunteers who oppose the continuing violation of Palestinian human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. http://www.yesh-din.org/site/index.php?page=about.us〈=en/
The Palestinian Initiative for the promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy, MIFTAH, Jerusalem and Ramallah. MIFTAH, is a non-governmental non-partisan Jerusalem-based institution dedicated to fostering democracy and good governance within Palestinian society through promoting public accountability, transparency, the free flow of information and ideas, and the challenging of stereotyping at home and abroad. http://www.miftah.org/
Bimkom - Planners for Planning Rights, Israel. Bimkom strives to achieve the right to equality and social justice in matters of planning, development, and the allocation of land resources, and assists communities and minorities affected by social and economic disadvantage and by civil rights' discriminations to exercise their rights in this area. http://www.bimkom.org/aboutEng.asp
Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, GCMHP, Gaza City. The Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) is a Palestinian non-governmental, non-profit organization established in 1990 to provide comprehensive community mental health services - therapy, training and research - to the population of the Gaza Strip. http://www.gcmhp.net/
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, ICAHD. ICAHD is a non-violent, direct-action group originally established to oppose and resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian houses in the Occupied Territories. As our activists gained direct knowledge of the brutalities of the Occupation, we expanded our resistance activities to other areas - land expropriation, settlement expansion, by-pass road construction, policies of "closure" and "separation," the wholesale uprooting of fruit and olive trees and more. The fierce repression of Palestinian efforts to "shake off" the Occupation following the latest Intifada has only added urgency to our efforts. As a direct-action group, ICAHD is comprised of members of many Israeli peace and human rights organizations. All of our work in the Occupied Territories is closely coordinated with local Palestinian organizations. http://www.icahd.org/eng/
Treatment & Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture, TRC, Ramallah. The TRC is a Palestinian non-governmental, non-profit organization, which was established to provide psychosocial services to survivors of politically-motivated torture and violence, to their families and to their communities. http://www.trc-pal.org/ /
Gisha, Israel. Center for the Legal Protection of Freedom of Movement is an Israeli not for profit organization that seeks to protect the fundamental rights of Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories by imposing human rights law as a limitation on the behavior of Israel's military. http://www.gisha.org/
What Interns say
This internship has opened me up on many levels. I saw the reality of the Occupation in Palestine and was forced to question my own country's (and hence my own) part in what is happening there. Working with a number of organizations I gained a sense of the peace movement in Israel and Palestine and also of the smaller, more local efforts, such as children's centers, to address the disadvantages Palestinians face.
Summer 2006 student intern, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
When I saw the Deheishe refugee camp, I thought it was not true. Just imagine. There are 11,000 refugees there and a segregation wall around them. But, what is the most surprising is that there in Ibdaa, the community center in the Deheishe refugee camp, you also find the most open-minded people, the most free-thinking people and the friendliest people you have ever met. For me, Ibdaa needs to exist as long as the Palestinians rights won't be recognized. We mustn't forget that Palestinian Rights are also our rights, so Ibdaa is also the place where our own freedom is surviving.
Summer 2007 student intern, Institute of Political Studies of Bordeaux, France
Though the situation here is dismal, it is encouraging to know that there are so many Israelis and Palestinians here who are working towards peace. During my session here, I will be working with the Freedom Theatre in Jenin, contributing my time to a wonderful organization that has already given many children here the chance to participate in and create art. Needless to say, my life has been changed much since arriving here a week ago, so in the fall, I will tell my peers at Georgetown and in Shanghai about my experiences here in the hopes that we can translate the peace movement I have found here to around the globe.
Summer 2007 student intern, Georgetown University
For me it was a great opportunity to get in contact with Israel and Palestine. I had the chance to do research and to work on my final thesis, but more importantly it was a way to get in contact with people, be it Palestinians, Israeli or other international students, who worked in the same field. By this experience I understand much more of the political and social situation in the Occupied Territories and about life in the Middle East in general (during the internship I also had the chance to visit Jordan and Egypt).
Summer 2006 student intern, University of Bologna, Italy
Past Internship Programs
Summer 2007 Internship
FFIPP Student Internship for Human Rights and Just Peace in Palestine/Israel and the Middle East, Summer 2007
Thirty students from seven countries - France, Italy, Germany, Holland, China, Canada and the US - participated in the Summer 2007 program. They come from universities such as Colby College, Columbia University, University of Bordeaux, Sorbonne University, University of Michigan, Swathmore College, Yeshiva University, Emory University, Smith College, Harvard University, Earlham College, Umass Amherst, University Pennsylvania, Portland State University, Princeton University, and University of Arizona.
Photos: Interns visited the remains of the 48 village Saffuriyya and the city of Nazareth (photos by Ann-Lise)
Each student participates in a weeklong orientation program before being placed in an organization to do internship. The orientation program includes visits and meetings in Jaffa, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Bilin, Ramallah, Tel-Aviv and Nazareth. During the orientation week the students stay at the guesthouse of the Ibdaa Cultural Center in Dheisheh refugee camp.
Students did internship and volunteer work in following organizations: Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem in Bethlehem, Rabbis for Human Rights in Jerusalem, Freedom Theatre in Jenin, Israeli Committee Against House Demolition, Project Hope in Nablus, Ibdaa Cultural Center in Dheisheh refugee camp, Kyan a feminist organization for Israeli Palestinian women in Haifa, Arab American University in Jenin, Alternative information Center in Jerusalem, Palestinian Farmers union in Ramallah, and summer camp in Shaknin, Israel.
Photos:Summer 2007 interns Suhad and Dorit