The 18,000 Homes Campaign was a project of ICAHD: the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions between 2007 and 2009. The project publicized the history and ongoing policy of home demolitions by the Israeli government in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

The project also supported  ICAHD’s ongoing rebuilding project, The Constructing Peace Campaign, which has provided new homes to over 140 Palestinian families while also serving as a vehicle for protest and resistance by Israelis against the government’s policies.

The Director of Toursinenglish.com, Fred Schlomka, was the Project Liaison Officer of The Constructing Peace Campaign (CPC), in 2007 and 2008. ICAHD has been rebuilding Palestinian homes for ten years, but the scale of the CPC was unprecedented. From the Negev Desert, Hebron, Jerusalem and villages north of Ramallah, ICAHD employed dozens of Palestinians to rebuild homes destroyed by the Israeli government.

A project partnership was formed between ICAHD and ICAHD-USA, an independent non-profit established in 2005, to conduct education and outreach in the United States, and to help raise funds for ICAHD’s projects in Israel. ICAHD-USA became the primary fiscal sponsor for the Constructing Peace Campaign. ICAHD-UK has also provided ongoing support for the Campaign.

By the end of May 2007, funds began to arrive in Israel and the project was up and running with several staffers dedicated to its success. The first three months were a rollercoaster ride as ICAHD staff rose to the occasion and put in place new fiscal and management frameworks, hired additional staff, engaged contractors, and initiated a family selection program.

Fred also initiated the annual rebuilding camp, operating since 2002, which attracts people from all over the world every summer for two weeks of learning and work. The camp is based in Anata on the edge of Jerusalem, in the former home of the Shawamreh family which has had their home demolished and rebuilt four times. One or two new homes are built in two weeks during the camp, now in its seventh year.

ICAHD continues to rebuild homes, and provides information and analysis about the ongoing Occupation of Palestinian lands.

Donations are still being accepted to help with the ongoing work of ICAHD.