Due to the urgency of the situation, the Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolition will issue a letter to the Israeli Civil Administration requesting a delay in the demolition due the holiday and explaining that the families and lawyers are unable to deal with the matter this week.

Since December 2009, when settlers from Halamish furthered their illegal confiscation of the villagers land and the Israeli army refused to protect the villagers, the villagers joined the unarmed struggle against the occupation, or the Popular Struggle. Since then, they received ten housing demolition orders. The previous orders targeted the homes of leaders in the struggle and were issued several months in advance of the date of demolition. On the other hand, the two new orders were issued just one week in advance, falling on the first day of a week long holiday where no lawyers are working. ”These housing demolition orders have been placed on these houses in order to put further pressure on us to stop the demonstrations and the resistance,” said Bassam Tamimi, one of the leaders of the resistance and a previous recipient of a housing demolition order.

In honor of Change.org’s Blog Action Day, I combed social networks and blogs for the Top 10 Climate Change Videos. The response was astounding and I’ve highlighted here the Top 10. Please let me know which videos you liked and share them with your friends! Thanks to everyone who made and helped me find these great videos.

Top 10 Climate Change Videos

1. “A New Sound – Green For All”

Who: Green for All – “Green For All is a national organization working to build an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty.”

Where: Found thanks to Tova Ramer on the Compassionate Action Network (Ning).

Why: This in-your-face video starts off rather jarring, grabbing your attention with effective sound and cinematography–but that’s just the beginning. The best part about this Top 10 Climate Change Video is that it provides a solution, the green economy, and makes a connection between climate change and lifting people out of poverty, Green for All’s mission.

2.”Face the Music”

Who: Oxfam -”A confederation of 14 organizations working with over 3,000 partners in more than 70 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice.”

Where: Found by searching viddler, a video hosting alternative to YouTube.

Why: Using colorful animation and sounds, this video is effectively communicates the difference between developing and developed countries’ contribution to climate change. I especially love this video because you don’t need to know English to get the message. This video reaches across many boundaries in a fun and straight forward way making it a Top 10 Climate Change Video.

3. “David Keith’s unusual climate change idea”

Who: David Keith – Environmental Scientist at the University of Calgary and Canadian Geographic’s Environmental Scientist of the Year in 2006.

Where: TED.com

Why: Of course, who doesn’t love a TED talk — especially one about creating a huge ash cloud to deflect the sun’s rays. Out of this world.

4. “The Big Ask“

Who: The Big Ask is a campaign started by Friends of the Earth Europe that brings together people from 18 countries, all with the goal of getting their countries to reduce carbon emissions 40% by 2020.

Where: I found this heart wrenching video via Max Gladwell.

Why: Big real and virtual impact. When this video was created on August 10, 2009, more than 6,000 people took part in the recording of video clip in Ostende on the Belgian coast, making it the largest climate change event ever organized in Belgium.

5. “Stop Global War-Ming”

Who: A group of hopeful youngsters who want the world to divert massive defense resources into a world-wide joint effort to restore the planet.

Where: 1minutetosavetheworld.com – A short film competition on climate change inviting entrants and viewers from all over the world.

Why: This video shows how entering online contests can help virally spread a good video and a great message. By joining the 1minutetosavetheworld.com video contest, these kids were able to virally share their climate change cause and engage people around the globe. Way to go!

6. Al Gore‘s Introductory Tour of Google Earth’s climate change tour

Who: Google Earth – An amazing 3D program that lets you travel anywhere on earth and view satellite images, maps, and 3D street views.

Where: YouTube.

Why: Just released three days ago, Google Earth’s climate change tour helps drive home the need to act now by helping people visualize the effects of climate change now and in coming years. A must download and share.

7. “Flat”

Who: Nitsana Bellehesen – Breast Fest Film Festival

Where: Nitsana Bellehesen showed this video at the Hub Tel Aviv, an incubator for social entrepreneurs in Israel (and my office).

Why: I love this futuristic view of how pollution is affecting our bodies. As a part of the Brest Fest Film Festival, this video is a call to action! Today is the LAST DAY to vote for your favorite film (I hope you’ll vote for FLAT) — so be a part of Blog Action Day and help spread the word about the effects of pollution on humanity’s future by voting now!

8. Sir David Attenborough: The Truth About Climate Change

Who: The legendary broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough.

Where: Television and the YouTube via ToughLoveforX.

Why: I love David Attenborough. Something so soothing about his approach, even when the subject is nothing less than alarming.

9. “The Most Terrifying Video You’ll Ever See”

Who: Greg Craven

Where: YouTube

Why: Over 7.5 million views. This brilliant viral marketing campaign  led to over 7 million views and a book deal for the creator. While the content is well thought out, logical and unique ( l like the homemade quirky feel), the title itself is enough to generate big traffic. Keep this kind of title copy in mind if you’re trying to mass market a video or article and you’re sure to see results.

10.  Neglected SkyAward: Winner in the 5th Annual Media That Matters Film Festival

Who: John Cooney and Citizens for Global Solutions

Where: Media That Matters Film Festival

What: Fast paced animation, simple and effective.

Since I’ve decided to take my blogging skills to a new level and join the league of video bloggers in January 2010, I’ve been combing the web for socially responsible videos and caring online communities.

Today I came across the Alliance of Youth Movements, an organiztion that seeks to “positively empower leaders to affect nonviolent change in the world by creating and promoting use of technological tools to advance freedom, human rights, democracy, and development around the world.” In addition to hosting AOYM summits, they have over 100 how to videos for virtual community organizers.

Here is a sample and my favorite of the day:

I’m gearing up for Change.org’s Blog Action Day on October 15th 2009. These kind of group blogging events are a great way to increase traffic to your site, connect with new people and of course, support a worthy cause (more than worthy, necessary–life threatening). Of course, you do need a blog to participate, but beyond that it’s simple to end global warming.

Check out change.org’s promotional video here and join in:

Today, I tweet, stumble, subscribe, blog, share, link and do the web 2.0 boogie as a profession and as a hobby. But, I don’t just do it for any reason–I do it to create and contribute to a community of social change agents and I invite you to  join me.

As a communications consultant for non-profit organizations and socially responsible businesses, my work involves creating communities around great ideas. Every day I come across valuable tools for people and organizations working for social change and I plan on sharing them with you here, on my blog. I hope that through my writings you will be able to find constructive commentary, information and connections that will help you create a community around your social change ventures.

Please contribute to this blog, as this is a place for community–so join in. I’m not just writing for myself–even though I often think so–I’m writing to help others on their path and to learn something as well.

Please share your social ventures or social change tools with me by contacting me at: alisonramer@gmail.com. If they’re any good, I’d be glad to feature them here.

About the Author

Alison Ramer is a communications consultant, writer and social entrepreneur based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

“Guess Jew?” Jewish Games for the whole Jewish Family – MyRabbi.com

The Hannukka Dreidal Song

Adventures of Todd & God – MyJewishLearning

Dreidal, Dreidal, Dreidal – Erran Baron Cohen

Tips for Hannukah (Stand Up Comedy) – Jeff Dunham

Chocolate Coins – Eric Schwartz

Then today I heard a podcast produced by The Reform Jewish Blog, an interview with Uitz Jordan, or Y-Love, an orthodox Jew and “Torah Centered hip-hop” artist with music that is full of messages of unity and pluralism! Now I’m really starting to think that from New York to Israel, from Orthodox to Reform, Jewish people are making calls for unity and plurality. Heck, just the fact that the Reform Blog was interviewing an Orthodox Jew shows you that we’re really making a change.

“Unity brings elevation and Tikkun disunity brings death and destruction–unity if we’re not just going to survive but prosper” — Y-Love

Check out his blog at ThisisBabylon.net
Listen to his latest album at ylovemusic.com

My previous article about the PresenTense Institue and Yossi Klein HaLevi’s words

Since April, I’ve worked in American Apparel in Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv but happily quit last week. You wouldn’t believe how many Israelis just can’t get enough of the expensive, simple socialist clothes AA sells.

We have regulars, lots of them, who come in every week on the day that we get our new shipment and ask, “something NEW, I already own everything here…”

I think on the inside: Was it really necessary to tell me that you own everything here?! What do I look like your shrink or something? And come on, I would give anything not to have to wear these clothes and act like a hipster every day. Like OMG, get a life OUTSIDE of Dizengoff Center.

Another great moment is when Israelis come in and ask for the “American T-shirt,” which is actually a baseball shirt. I just get to laugh (on the inside) and take my Israeli liberty to be rude by saying that all of the T-shirts are American. If your are looking for the baseball shirts they are located right …. blah blah blah.

But honestly, the best part is when the Americans come in, try on everything in the store, get to the register and then realize that it costs more to buy the clothes in Israel. Even after we explain how much it costs to ship something from LA and pay import taxes they still proceed to dump their clothes clothes and say they will buy it when they return to the US next week. Come on’ what are you doing in AA in Israel anyways. You’re a tourist for god’s sake–find something Israeli to bring home at least.

Anyhow, retail sucks from America to Israel. No doubt about it. Even more pathetic than the shopaholics are the poor suckers like me who have to babysit nervous consumers and make sure that they don’t have nervous break downs when they can’t find the size 2 Orchid colored boxer briefs to complete their collection.

As for AA the company, I thought they were an ok company because they pay their factory workers almost $13 an hour and the owner and founder is Jewish . However, after working for $5 for them in Tel Aviv and having to stare at their overy sexy and very sexist (it’s always the women who are nude) advertisements I’ve decided to file them in the companies that suck file instead.

Good thinking, now that I’ve quit I have a list of plenty of reasons why not to ever go back again.

Before I could hit that lovely little “shut down” button, I ended up scrolling YouTube and laughing my teeny little polish ass off. I’d definitely seen the classic “I Gotta Love You Rosh Hashana,” but there are a bunch more of hip, honest and humerous clips that from this creative Jewish team that I’ve never seen.

Take a look at this one made for Israel’s 60th birthday, “Teh History of Israel.”