An Israeli raid in Bethlehem killed a young man in Dheisheh refugee campand Israeli forces closed Al-Aqsa mosque to worshipers today (Friday) aftera gun battle between Israeli occupation forces and Palestinian resistancefighters (although it is not clear what actually happened in thisincidence, closing the mosque is unprecedented in its long history).Our friend Jack Shaheen died age 81. He worked diligently to challenge andexpose the virulent attempts in mass media and Hollywood to paint Arabs as“billionaires, bombers or belly dancers”! We lost other friends this week.Darlene Wallach tried to help Gaza fisherman facing routine attacks fromthe Israeli navy. In November 2008, she and Andrew Muncie and the lateVittorio Arrigoni were kidnapped by the Israeli Navy, imprisoned, thendeported. Darlene talked about her experience on Democracy Now:https://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/21/us_activist_detained_in_israeli_jailWe are reminded that people who do good deeds like Darlene and Jack leavethe world a little better than they found it and are remembered as heroes.At my age, I see my own friends die and feel a bit lonely sometimes butthen I think of all the hundreds of new (many younger) people I meet everyyear and I see the renewal of hope. Yesterday, the results of the uniformexams for high school graduates were announced. Children of martyrs andchildren of political prisoners got excellent grades. We look forward towelcoming some of those at Bethlehem University as we build a future thatthose who departed would be proud of.The Palestine Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability and thePalestine Museum of Natural History at Bethlehem University are seekingvolunteers and students of all ages and backgrounds interested inrevolutionizing research and in protecting people and nature in Palestine.Master or undergraduate students seeking to do high impact researchprojects are especially needed now. Living under difficult circumstances isa challenge but also an opportunity (your actions carry more weight). Youcan also help us from where you are. Just email info@palestinenature.org orcall  970 (0)2-2773553 and let us discuss how you can join the team ofvolunteers and staff.‘Gaza will be unlivable next year, not 2020 as the UN says'https://972mag.com/gaza-will-be-unlivable-next-year-not-2020-as-the-un-says/128598/Sign and publicize this call for a world-wide campaign for Gaza:http://we4gaza.org/2017/07/12/prova/Why is Mahmoud Abbas letting children die in Gaza?https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/why-mahmoud-abbas-letting-children-die-gazaIsraeli suit against family of Palestinian attacker takes collectivepunishment to new extremehttp://mondoweiss.net/2017/07/palestinian-collective-punishment/Mennonite Church central committee supports dis-investment from allentities supporting Israeli occupationhttps://mennopin.org/2017/07/07/mennopin-press-release/Steve Feldman: On the ground with Israelis and Palestinianshttp://www.journalnow.com/opinion/steve-feldman-on-the-ground-with-israelis-and-palestinians/article_7357d884-6660-11e7-b80e-2b5303d8137e.htmlPalestine Expo a huge success – held 8 & 9 July 2017https://www.palestineexpo.com/Stay Human& Come visit us in occupied PalestineMazin QumsiyehA bedouin in cyberspace, a villager at homeProfessor and (volunteer) DirectorPalestine Museum of Natural HistoryPalestine Institute of Biodiversity and SustainabilityBethlehem UniversityOccupied Palestinehttp://qumsiyeh.orghttp://palestinenature.orgJoin me on facebook https://www.facebook.com/mazin.qumsiyeh.9