About us
ICAHD Finland is a human right organisation working to replace Israeli apartheid and occupation with a democratic system that respects international law and guarantees equal rights for all. ICAHD Finland does not take sides in party politics.
ICAHD stands for Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. ICAHD was founded in 2009 as the Finnish branch of the Israeli organisation. ICAHD Finland is an autonomous organisation, and takes part with other ICAHD branches in formulating common policy.
The Israeli organisation was established in 1997. In May 2005 ICAHD became the first Israeli organisation to support the Palestinian call for an academic and cultural boycott, expanded in July 2005 to the comprehensive BDS call. In 2012 ICAHD became the first Israeli organisation to endorse a democratic one state solution.
ICAHD founding member Jeff Halper was nominated for the Nobel peace prize in 2006 together with Ghassan Andoni, a founding member of the International Solidarity Movement. ICAHD has branches abroad in Finland, Germany, Great Britain and the United States.
ICAHD Finland publishes reports, articles and videos, and communicates with journalists and politicians ICAHD Finland brings Israeli, Palestinian and international experts to Finland, and takes part in rebuilding of homes demolished by the occupation forces on the occupied West Bank.
ICAHD Finland is a member of the European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP).
ICAHD Finland drafted its first strategy in 2016. (In Finnish.)
In 2012, ICAHD Finland delivered a petition to the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Defence signed by 255 prominent Finnish political, academic and cultural figures calling to end arms trade and military cooperation with Israel.
In 2013, ICAHD Finland published the report Suora tie miehitykseen about the complicity of the corporation Veolia in the violations of international law on the occupied West Bank. We campaigned for an end to contracts with Veolia by the Helsingin Region Transport Authority HSL. Based on the report, Helsinki city council member Yrjö Hakanen started a motion to end contracts with Veolia. The global campaign against Veolia’s complicity ended in victory in 2015, when Veolia ended its operations on the occupied territories.
In 2014 ICAHD Finland published the report Siirtokuntayhtiöt SodaStream ja Ahava – Rikosvastuu ja Euroopan unionin velvoitteet about the complicity of companies operating the illegeal Israeli settlements with violations of international law and ending import of their products.
In 2017 ICAHD Finland chair published the book Israeli apartheid, which covers the history of the apartheid regime in Israel/Palestine in light of international law and South African history.
We have organised numerous events about Palestine/Israel. In particular, we have worked together with the Hakunila international organisation and the Finnish Peace Committee to organise the series of events called Peace forum. ICAHD Finland brought Israeli Apartheid Week to Finland in 2014.
Our guests have included head of ICAHD Jeff Halper, scholar Norman Finkelstein, journalist and activist Ali Abunimah, historian Ilan Pappe, a leading figure in the unarmed popular resistance in the village Ni’lin Said Amireh, former head of Institute for Jewish Policy Research Antony Lerman, analyst Mouin Rabbani, journalist Gideon Levy, head of the Balad party Jamal Zahalka, journalist Amira Hass, playwright and poet Samah Sabawi, journalist Max Blumenthal, head of the Israeli Committee for the Palestinian Prisoners Anat Matar, refugee organisation BADIL representative Rania Madi, Coalition of Women for Peace and WhoProfits member Inna Michaeli, PACBI representative Samia Botmeh, journalist and filmmaker Lia Tarachansky, journalist David Sheen, Gaza’s Great March of Return initiator Ahmed Abu Artema, refusenik and American Friends Service Committee Israeli program head Sahar Vardi, and Institute for Policy Studies in New Internationalism Project head Phyllis Bennis.
Contact
Chair Syksy Räsänen
icahd@icahd.fi