Gush Shalom (which means in Hebrew « The Peace Bloc ») is often described as « resolute », « militant », « radical » or « consistent ». It is known for its unwavering stand in times of crisis, such as the al-Aksa intifada. For years now, Gush Shalom has played a leading role in determining the moral and political agenda of the peace forces in Israel, as well as in breaking the so-called « national consensus » based on misinformation.

Gush Shalom is an extra-parliamentary organization, independent of any party or other political grouping. Some of its activists do belong to political parties, but the Gush is not aligned to any particular party. The primary aim of Gush Shalom is to influence Israeli public opinion and lead it towards peace and conciliation with the Palestinian people, based on the following principles :

• putting an end to the occupation,
• accepting the right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent and sovereign State of Palestine in all the territories occupied by Israel in 1967
• reinstating the pre-1967 « Green Line » as the border between the State of Israel and the State of Palestine (with possible minor exchanges of territories agreed between the parties). The border will be open for the free movement of people and goods, subject to mutual agreement
   establishing Jerusalem as the capital of the two states, with East Jerusalem (including the Haram al-Sharif) serving as the capital of Palestine and West Jerusalem (including the Western Wall) serving as the capital of Israel. The city is to be united on the physical and municipal level, based on mutual agreement
• recognizing in principle the Right of Return of the Palestinian refugees, allowing each refugee to choose freely between compensation and repatriation to Palestine and Israel, and fixing by mutual agreement the number of refugees who will be able to return to Israel in annual quotas, without undermining the foundations of Israel
• safeguarding the security of both Israel and Palestine by mutual agreement and guarantees
• striving for overall peace between Israel and all Arab countries and the creation of a regional union

Contact : info@gush-shalom.org
Website : http://gush-shalom.org

The Palestinian NGO Network is a civil and democratic body, which seeks to support, consolidate and strengthen the Palestinian civil society on the basis of the principles of democracy, social justice and sustainable development. It strives for the attainment of the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people. It is a Palestinian NGO umbrella organization comprising 92 member organizations working in different developmental fields. PNGO was established in September 1993, after the signing of the Oslo Accords, with the objective of enhancing coordination, consultation and cooperation among the different sectors of civil society. Since then PNGO has become an important component of Palestinian society and serves as an essential coordination mechanism for the NGO sector at the local, regional and international level.

PNGO envisages the establishment of an independent and democratic Palestinian state based on the rule of law, social justice and the respect for human rights. In order to support the above process, PNGO will :

• contribute to the national resistance to end the occupation
• advocate for the rights of the Palestinian people locally, regionally and globally
• advocate for responsible and appropriate legislation and public policies
• strengthen coordination within the NGO sector
• strengthen democratic values within society
• strengthen civil society’s organizational capacities

Address : PO Box 2322
Ramallah, Palestine
Tel : 972-2-2963847
Fax : 972-2-2963848
Contact : pngonet@pngo.net
Website : http://www.pngo.net

Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker (GfbV), or the Society for Threatened Peoples, is an independent human rights organisation. The society has consultative status as NGO at the United Nations (ECOSOC). GfbV has 24 regional offices in Germany and country offices in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegowina, Chile, Germany, the autonomous region South Tirol (Italy), Luxembourg, Switzerland, the UK, and the US. The main focus of the organisation’s work is continuous distribution of information about the situation of persecuted and threatened peoples, through press releases, conferences, newspapers and protest action. The group also supports political refugees and members of minorities in applying for political asylum status by providing expertise, and gives background information for solicitors and courts.

Address : Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker International, 2, rue Louis XIV, L-1948 - LUXEMBOURG
Phone: +352 - 262 586 87
Fax: +352 - 262 586 88
Email: gfbv-international AT pt.lu
Website: http://www.gfbv.org/

Survival is an international organisation supporting tribal peoples worldwide. Founded in 1969, it has supporters in 82 countries. It works for tribal peoples’ rights in three complementary ways: education, advocacy and campaigns. We also offer tribal people themselves a platform to address the world. We work closely with local indigenous organisations, and focus on tribal peoples who have the most to lose, usually those most recently in contact with the outside world.

Address : 6 Charterhouse Buildings, London EC1M 7ET - UK
Phone: 00 44 20 7687 8700
Fax: 00 44 20 7687 8701
Email: info AT survival-international.org
Website: http://www.survival-international.org/

In the fall of 2000, Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel joined together to form Ta’ayush (Arabic for « life in common »), a grassroots movement of Arabs and Jews working to break down the walls of racism and segregation by constructing a true Arab-Jewish partnership.

They live surrounded by walls and barbed wirec : the walls of segregation, racism, and discrimination between Jews and Arabs within Israel ; the walls of closure and siege encircling the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip ; and the wall of war surrounding all inhabitants of Israel, so long as Israel remains an armed fortress in the heart of the Middle East.

A future of equality, justice and peace began, between them, through concrete, daily actions of solidarity to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and to achieve full civil equality for all Israeli citizens.

Contact : info@taayush.org
Website : http://www.taayush.org

The World Rainforest Movement is an international network of citizens’ groups of North and South involved in efforts to defend the world’s rainforests. It works to secure the lands and livelihoods of forest peoples and supports their efforts to defend the forests from commercial logging, dams, mining, plantations, shrimp farms, colonisation and other projects that threaten them. It produces a monthly electronic bulletin in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

Address: International Secretariat, Ricardo Carrere, Maldonado 1858, Montevideo 11200 - URUGUAY
Phone: +598 2 413 2989
Fax: +598 2 410 0985
Email: wrm AT wrm.org.uy
Website: http://www.wrm.org.uy