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News Brief No. 27, Nov. 9, 2000
Bethlehem 2000 Project to host a Joint Japanese-Palestinian Dance Performance for the Children of Bethlehem.
In a gesture of solidarity with Palestinian children and people, Peace Boat, a Japanese Organization and a partner of UNESCO for the International Year for the Culture of Peace, is visiting major Palestinian cities and carrying out a series of activities. Hosted by the Bethlehem 2000 Project, a Peace Boat delegation will visit Bethlehem. A core group of fifty people will join in a Peace March from Dheisheh camp to Aida camp where a group of forty dancers will perform a peace dance. The same dance, which is part of the Organizations project with UNESCO -for Peace, was performed at the United Nations in New York as part of the Millenium Peace Day Celebrations. A ceremony will follow where children will receive a gift of the balls of peace. The aim of this program is to entertain Palestinian children who are currently suffering from extreme and sometimes traumatic conditions, caused by the daily Israeli military aggression. The Ibdaa Palestinian dance group, of the Dheisheh Refugee Camp situated near Bethlehem, will also participate with a performance of dances from the Palestinian folklore. The event will take place on Tuesday 14 November 2000, at 3:30 p.m., at Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem. Other delegations of the Organization will visit the cities of Ramallah and Gaza. In each of the two cities, they will join the Peace March organized by the General Union for Palestinian Students (GUPS), and visit the wounded Palestinians in hospitals, in an expression of support and solidarity with the Palestinian people and children, victims of Israeli military aggression. Peace Boat is an organization that aims at promoting peace, human rights and the protection of environment through peace education and international cooperation activities. Founded in1983, it has visited over fifty different countries and organized over thirty voyages. Their solidarity with the Palestinian people, that dates back to the early eighties, has further been strengthened with the recent signing of a partnership agreement for the International Year for the Culture of Peace with the General Union for Palestinian Students (GUPS). While expressing its pleasure to host such a solidarity event, Bethlehem 2000 Project re-affirms its determination to continue to pursue its role with the Bethlehem community. |
