The Gaza Youth Committee ( ar, لجنة شباب غزة) is a peace activism organization based in the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
. It was founded in 2010 by
Rami Aman.
As of 2019, the group had more than 200 members.
The organization is a member of
Alliance for Middle East Peace
The Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) is a group of over 100 leading non-governmental organizations working to foster reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, and between Arabs and Jews in Israel and the wider region.
One of ALL ...
.
Activity
The Gaza Youth Committee "wants a peaceful resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and an end to the Israeli siege on Gaza".
Their primary strategy for obtaining these two goals is to support local youth
and to build interpersonal relationships between Gazans and Israelis, although the group has also tried to build relationships between Gazans and West Bank residents.
The organization also holds non-violence trainings, and has held a letter-writing campaign addressed to international activists.
In 2015, the group began the initiative "
Skype
Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, deb ...
with your Enemy", in which the group hosts joint conference calls with both Palestinians and Israelis.
During the calls, participants discuss the realities of life in Gaza and Israel.
In 2018, the group held a demonstration in which they released 200 doves, each with a message of peace.
In 2018 and 2019, the group organized Skype calls between Gaza residents and American citizens during
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
.
In March 2019, the group's founder, Rami Aman, was arrested following a "Skype with your Enemy" call; he was released shortly afterward.
On
Yom HaZikaron 2019, the organization streamed the Alternative Memorial Ceremony, which took place in Tel Aviv and was organized by the Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Family Forum and Combatants for Peace, in the Gaza Strip. In June of that year, the Gaza Youth Committee organized "Peace and Freedom" cycling and foot races, which were open to both Palestinian and Israeli participants. Three GYC members were arrested after the event, and charged with "normalization".
In 2020, Aman,
Manar al-Sharif Manar al-Sharif (born 1997/1998) is a Palestinian Syrian journalist and peace activist.
Early life and education
Al-Sharif was born in Syria and raised in Damascus, Syria, although her father was from Gaza Strip, Gaza. She and her family moved to ...
, and a third GYC member were arrested, again following a
Zoom
Zoom may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Zoom (software), videoconferencing application
* Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display
* Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...
call held with both Palestinians and Israelis.
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References
External links
Official Facebook
2010 establishments in Asia
Organizations based in the State of Palestine
Non-governmental organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Gaza Strip