Mairead Corrigan Maguire - Nobel Peace Laureate, 1976 - visits raided facilities of ICS and stays at the orphanage over night

Mairead Maguire, Irish Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, recently visited the Orphanages of Hebron while on a visit to the Occupied Territories to support non violent resistance there. Despite her experience with many suffering peoples, she said that she was shocked and disheartened by the havoc and ruin being created by the Israeli Army in the lives of the poorest and weakest of Palestinian society, the orphans and the poor. The orphanages are at the heart of programs run by the Islamic Charitable Institutions in Hebron, who have served the needy of that city since 1962.

Holding the Holy Quran
Inside the raided warehouse

“I was shocked and horrified to see the destruction of these Islamic Institutions. The threats of the Israeli Army and Government against Orphans must be loudly resisted by all of us concerned for a violence free and peaceful world for Muslim Children, indeed for all our children. This behavior is immoral, unethical and illegal. The Israeli Government should be held accountable by the International Community for its abuse of the rights of the children to safety and education. As occupiers of this country they have legal obligations to protect the occupied, especially women and children. “

Inside the wrecked bakery

'' The outside world, for the most part, “Maguire continues, ” is unaware of this Israeli Government’s Policy of demonization and willful destruction of the Muslim Institutions, one by one, in an attempt to destroy the spirit and resilience of the Muslim communities, not only in Hebron but throughout the illegally occupied Palestinian territories. It was for me horrific to witness how the Israeli Government’s, (and the USA/UK Governments’) War on Terrorism comes to be played out on the streets of Hebron against Orphan children. If the schools and orphanages continue to be closed down, and the military continue to destroy completely these institutions, then 7000 children will be without school and 4,500 children will be without homes.''

Having dinner at the Girls' Orphanage

In the kitchen at the Boys' Orphanage

“ The excuse given by the Army” Maguire adds, “ is that these Islamic Institutions are a front for ‘Hamas’ but the Islamic Charitable Society was established in l962, and all their financial dealings and accounting are completely open [and have been so since the founding]. “The money for the school and orphanages comes from local investments (they have their own businesses), from donors abroad and from Arab and Western countries (Prince Charles, through a UK Trust has donated towards these orphanages).”

A coffee break at the Boys' Orphanage

Looking at the wrecked oven

Inside a classroom

At the Girls' Orphanage with CPT and Internationals

“The United Kingdom has many questions to answer here too.” Maguire charges. “Tony Blair is based in East Jerusalem, (a few hours from Hebron), so he is well aware of this systematic and willful destruction of Islamic charitable institutions and his brief is to help
Palestinian economic reconstruction. How ironic whilst he is suppose to be helping businesses etc., the Israeli military are in the dead of night, spreading terror and destruction of the Islamic communities. What are Mr. Blair and the UK governments
doing about this?”

More Internationals Visit the Orphanages

At the Girls' Orphanage

Inside the raided sewing workshop

New Military Raids - ICS branches in Beit Ula & Shyukh near Hebron

Very early this morning , Thursday, the Israeli military raided two charities , branches of the Islamic Charitable Society, in Shyukh and Beit Ula villages near hebron.

The military confiscated and closed a building in Shyukh that has a school, a kitchen, a kindergarten and administrative offices. They took almost everything. The estimated confiscated material reaches more than 60,000 NIS.
It is not clear yet if the Army has orders to close the school and the kindergarten although the outside door,that was welded shut, leads to them.

The ICS - Shyukh Branch employs 30 employees that take care of a 170- student school (for boys and girls) and a 250-child kindergarten.

Whereas, the Beit Ula branch employs 67 employees that run 2 schools and 4 kindergartens. The boys' school has 190 students while the girls' school has 230 girls. The 4 kindergartens has the total of 409 boys and girls.

The Military confiscated orphans' files, examinations' papers and even students' birth certificates from the school. After finishing the raid, they welded shut the gates of the school and plastered a military order of closure for three years.

Statement of Support - United Methodist Church

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR MUSLIM ORPHANAGES IN HEBRON

WHEREAS on 26 February 2008, Israeli military forces entered buildings owned by the Islamic Charitable Society (ICS) in Hebron, ordering closure and confiscation of two bakeries, administrative and commercial buildings, a warehouse, three schools and two orphanages; and

WHEREAS on 6 March 2008, the Israeli military raided the central warehouse and a bakery, confiscating refrigerators, vehicles and other supplies intended to fill the needs of children (estimated value of the seized goods $400,000), and

WHEREAS the orphanages and schools serve 6000 needy children and house hundreds of orphans who would be left homeless and hungry if the Israeli military carries out the closure; and

WHEREAS the Israeli High Court ruled that the Israeli military failed to provide justification for closing the institutions, and whereas, the Israeli military carried out further confiscations and closure orders even after the Israeli court ruling, still threatening the orphanages; and

WHEREAS human rights organizations, Christian, Jewish and Muslim clergy, and diplomatic officials have rallied to support the orphans, and

WHEREAS Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) including Dianne Roe (whose work with CPT is a NCNY conference advance special) stayed overnight at the girls' orphanage, toured the threatened institutions and worked with a broad coalition of Israelis, Palestinians and internationals to counter the impending closure of the orphanages

The North Central NY conference of the United Methodist Church does RESOLVE to

1) Express its outcry at the Israeli invasion, destruction and theft of the properties of the
Islamic Charitable Society in Hebron.

2).Ask congressional representatives to urge the State Department to pressure the
Israeli Military Commander to rescind the order to close the orphanage .

3) Publicize our resolution (and the orphanage situation in Hebron) in local media
outlets.

4) Call on churches to include the Hebron Orphanages in prayer concern time Sundays
in June 2008, and in future Sundays as the situation develops.

5) Encourage establishing relationships between youth groups in NCNY conference and
the schools and orphanages threatened with closure.

Sponsored by the NCNY Conference Task Force on
Peace with Justice in Palestine/Israel

To read the original document, please, click here

Internationals Start Sleeping at Orphanages and Schools

Hatred and Incitement in the Palestinian Curriculum !!!

Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, PA Legislative Council member for the Jerusalem District told The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive interview on Dec. 16, 2004:

"There are some who say that the Palestinians incite and are anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic, which isn't true. There's not a single anti-Semitic word in the textbooks. But anyway, there are fads of accusations. These take on a life of their own when they keep being repeated.

"At one point, about two years ago, there was a wave of all these articles that show that Christians in Palestine were badly treated. I haven't read any recent ones at all, but I think this was a way of maligning the Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority even though I know for a fact that it is the opposite.

"The violence is not manufactured by the Palestinians. The occupation is violent. Palestinian children don't have to learn about violence from textbooks or TV. All they have to do is watch the news. All they have to do is live in an area that is bombed or shelled or where their parents are arrested or beaten up.

"Studies show that more than 80% of Palestinian children are in constant trauma. Most Palestinian children have had relatives killed and have themselves been subjected to violence. So, the reality they live in is inherently abnormal, and therefore, to say that they are being bombarded with [messages of incitement and violence], no, it seems to me that it is the occupation at fault.

"Furthermore, they are robbed of their traditional source of security and comfort, their families, since their parents themselves are vulnerable and cannot protect their children. There are all sorts of problems that these poor children have to contend with. I've always called for less violence on all television because reality is violent enough."

To see more pictures:

Schooling under occupation in Hebron

Children Under Occupation

Read about Palestinian Textbooks:

Palestinian curriculum

Read about Israeli Textbooks and Incitement:

The attitude towards Palestinians in Israeli textbooks

Military School by Gideon Levy

Racism and Hatred in Israeli Textbooks

Basic Ignorance

Child Recruitment In Israel

Hebron Orphanages and Schools on BBC

In the evening of May 27, and in one of its main news programmes, BBC covered the story of the orphanages and schools of the Islamic Charitable Society (ICS) in Hebron. A result of long and good planning by the producer Daniel Clarke and Middle East Correspondent Tim Franks of BBC Jerusalem.

In order to listen to the report, please click here.

Tim Franks

BBC Middle East Correspondent