This Cahier contains 21 articles, published in three languages (Arabic, French and English), evoking the daily reality and mobilisations of Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and Israel, around crucial social questions: What does it mean to be 20 today in Palestine? How do young Palestinians see the future? What space for digital expression and resistance? What is the reality for the LGBTQIA+ community in Palestine? What are the environmental consequences of colonization in the Jordan Valley? The editorial work was coordinated by the REF team and a Steering Committee that includes several member organisations (Engagé.e.s & Déterminé.e.s, iReMMO, CRLDHT, CARI, Comité pour le développement et le Patrimoine, Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine).
The Palestinian question has returned to the centre of the international political stage. As the new Cahier du REF devoted to Palestinian Resistance was being sent to the printer, a deadly conflict erupted once again in the Middle East between the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank, and Israel. Since 2013, the different issues of the Cahiers du REF have been giving voice to Mediterranean civil societies, allowing them to share their analyses and field observations, their hopes and concerns, but also to talk about their practices, the concrete initiatives they are implementing and the struggles they are waging for justice and equality. This Cahier is the culmination of a process of collecting testimonies from Palestinian and international civil society actors, which began in October 2022 during the visit of a REF delegation to Palestine.
As we publish this Cahier, our Palestinian partners and their families, including many of the authors and photographers of this Cahier, are under fire from bombings in Gaza and are fighting daily for their survival in unspeakable conditions. Palestinian civil societies, which work in all fiends (education, health, culture, agriculture, sport, media and many others), which carry out peaceful resistance on a daily basis, have for long years been calling on the world governments to take a stand to ensure that international law is respected. They are a fundamental player in proposing solutions and building the future... This issue of the Cahier du REF attests this in every way.
We invite you to discover these articles, which reflect a diversity of analyses and perspectives. We are delighted to share these important voices today, and would like to thank once again all those who worked with us on it *.
You can find the link to this Cahier, in high definition : here
We thank you for the audience you can give to this publication (interviews and articles, support in organizing public events, information exchange meetings with the authors, etc.).
My colleague Soufyane Kastali (s.kastali euromed-france.org), REF’s communications and advocacy officer, and I, are at your disposal.
Best regards,
* This document is supported by CCFD-Terre Solidaire and the Agence Française de Développement. The ideas and opinions presented are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of all REF members and institutional partners.