Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions
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| Founded | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Founder |
Jeff Halper Amos Gvirtz Rabbi Arik Ascherman Meir Margalit Yoav Hess Yael Cohen |
| Focus | "Israeli demolition of Palestinian houses in the Occupied Territories" |
| Location |
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Area served
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Israel, Palestinian Territories |
| Method | "non-violent, direct-action", domestic and international advocacy, rebuilding of demolished homes, developing informational materials and tours |
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Key people
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Jeff Halper – Director/Coordinator Salim Shawamreh Hibat Mahroum |
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Employees
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8 |
| Website | www |
The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) is a group opposed to Israeli settlements, which describes itself as "an Israeli peace and human rights organization dedicated to ending the occupation of the Palestinian territories and achieving a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians."
ICAHD says it uses non-violent, direct-action means of resistance to end Israel's policy of demolishing Palestinian homes in the occupied territories."
ICAHD was founded by eight activists (see box), among whom was Jeff Halper, a long-time human rights advocate and professor of Anthropology, who serves as ICAHD's Director. Halper describes ICAHD as "a critical, 'radical' organization which can envision a single democratic state in Palestine/Israel."
ICAHD's activities, which are based on nonviolent direct action, include exhibits, films, workshops, tours of the occupied territories, publication of books and articles on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, international advocacy.
ICAHD also organizes the rebuilding of demolished Palestinian houses using a network of Israeli, Palestinian and international volunteers. In April 2012 founding member Meir Margalit estimated that the organisation had rebuilt 1,000 homes including 200 in East Jerusalem.
In addition to rebuilding demolished Palestinian houses, ICAHD often takes legal actions on behalf of Palestinians whose houses have been demolished or are threatened with demolition (see example of Aqabah).
Members of ICAHD have been arrested numerous times by the Israeli army and police for attempting to prevent the demolition of Palestinian homes. Most recently, on 3 April 2008, ICAHD Coordinator Jeff Halper was arrested for the eighth time while nonviolently protesting the bulldozing of the home of the Hamdan family in a Palestinian neighborhood of Jerusalem – a house that had already been torn down once by Israeli authorities and had been rebuilt by ICAHD.
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Wikipedia