THE FIFTH ANNUAL EDMONTON
ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK
MARCH 4 – 8, 2013
*** ALL EVENTS FREE ***
Palestine Solidarity Network presents a week of presentations, workshops, film screenings, and cultural events in solidarity with Palestine and to raise awareness around the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israeli apartheid. All IAW 2013 events are open to everyone, and are free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there!
Edmonton IAW 2013 is organized by Palestine Solidarity Network and supported by the Canada Palestine Cultural Association, Faculty 4 Palestine Alberta, the Alberta Public Interest Research Group (APIRG), the Breath in Poetry Collective, and Independent Jewish Voices.
Please help PSN to spread the word about Israeli Apartheid Week by forwarding this information to your networks, inviting friends to the Facebook events, and sending information out to your Twitter followers.
MONDAY, MARCH 4
Roadmap to Apartheid
Film Screening and discussion
Monday, March 4 (7:00 – 9:00 pm)
Telus Building Room 134
Corner of 111 Street & 87 Avenue, University of Alberta Campus
(Click here for map)
Help us spread the word! Invite your friends to the Facebook event.
In this award-winning documentary, the first-time directors take a detailed look at the apartheid analogy commonly used to describe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Narrated by Alice Walker (author of The Color Purple), Roadmap to Apartheid is as much a historical document of the rise and fall of apartheid in South Africa, as it is a film about why many Palestinians feel they are living in an apartheid system today, and why an increasing number of people around the world agree with them.
Roadmap to Apartheid explores in detail the apartheid comparison as it is used in the enduring Israel-Palestine conflict. Featuring interviews with South Africans, Israelis and Palestinians, Roadmap to Apartheid winds its way through the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and inside Israel, moving from town to town and issue to issue to show why the apartheid analogy is being used with increasing potency. It analyzes the similar historical narratives of the Jewish people and the Afrikaaners to the tight relationship the two governments shared during the apartheid years, and everything in between. The effectiveness of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that helped end apartheid in South Africa is also compared to its effectiveness in the Israeli context to end the occupation, and bring justice and dignity to all.
For more information visit roadmaptoapartheid.org.
Praise for Roadmap to Apartheid:
Archbishop Desmond Tutu:
“Roadmap To Apartheid is very powerful and compelling, and the visuals of house demolitions are appalling. Religion is repeatedly misused by politicians. Yet one of the lessons of Jewish history is that God is always on the side of the oppressed. Another is that those who dehumanize others, dehumanize themselves. Israelis will pay a heavy price for their callous mistreatment of Palestinians.”
Naomi Klein, author and filmmaker:
“Roadmap to Apartheid is a harrowing exposé of Israel’s unique system of official discrimination.”
Bill Fletcher, Former President of TransAfrica Forum:
“Roadmap to Apartheid demonstrates for all to see that the use of the term ‘apartheid’ to describe the system of Israeli oppression of the Palestinians is neither analogy nor loose terminological usage. It accurately describes a system condemned by the international community but tolerated by too many governments when experienced by the Palestinians. Not only does this film serve to elevate the viewer’s understanding of the system of Israeli oppression (and the South African apartheid system), but it inspires the viewer to want to act in solidarity with the Palestinian people in the search for peace and justice in Israel and Palestine. I found myself gripped by the intensity of the film.”
TUESDAY, MARCH 5
The Art of Resistance: The Cultural Boycott of Israel
Featuring Remi Kanazi
Tuesday, March 5 (6:00 – 7:30 pm)
Telus Building Room 134
Corner of 111 Street & 87 Avenue, University of Alberta Campus
(Click here for map)
Help us spread the word! Invite your friends to the Facebook event.
One of the most misunderstood and controversial aspects of the Palestinian call for international boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel is the Cultural Boycott.
Despite clear guidelines issued by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) stressing that the cultural boycott is aimed at Israeli state institutions – not individual artists – critics of BDS still argue that it is nothing more than a “blacklist” and that “art should rise above politics.”
Come hear from Remi Kanazi, member of the organizing committee of USACBI (the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel), to learn more about the cultural boycott, why artists have a key role to play in the global solidarity movement for Palestinian rights as they did in the global struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and why an increasing number of artists from around the world – including filmmaker Ken Loach, writer Naomi Klein, and musicians including Cat Power, Elvis Costello, the Pixies and Gil-Scott Heron – have responded to the international Palestinian call for cultural boycott.
“Just as we said during apartheid that it was inappropriate for international artists to perform in South Africa in a society founded on discriminatory laws and racial exclusivity, so it would be wrong for Cape Town Opera to perform in Israel.”
– Archbishop Desmond Tutu
About Remi Kanazi:
Remi Kanazi is a poet, writer, and activist based in New York City. He is the author of Poetic Injustice: Writings on Resistance and Palestine (RoR Publishing, 2011) and the editor of Poets For Palestine (Al Jisser Group, 2008).
His political commentary has been featured by news outlets throughout the world, including Al Jazeera English, GRITtv with Laura Flanders, and BBC Radio. He recently appeared in the Palestine Festival of Literature as well as Poetry International. He is a recurring writer in residence and advisory board member for the Palestine Writing Workshop and he is on the organizing committee of USACBI (the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel).
He has taught poetry workshops from Oklahoma to the West Bank, given talks from New York City to London, and has performed at hundreds of venues, from New Orleans to Amman.
Poets Against Apartheid – A Night of Rouge Poetry
Featuring Palestinian-American poet Remi Kanazi
Tuesday, March 5 (8:30 – 11:00 pm)
Rouge Lounge
10111-117 Street
(Click here for map)
Help us spread the word! Invite your friends to the Facebook event.
Join us at Rouge Lounge for our annual night of spoken word and performance poetry relating the liberation struggle of the Palestinian people. This night will leave you inspired to share the stories of struggle with others and to be part of the growing movement against the injustice of apartheid in Palestine.
The evening will feature a set of local poets performing original works of poetry, as well as readings in both Arabic and English of works by Palestinian poets. After the break Palestinian-American poet Remi Kanazi will perform a set of spoken word.
If you are interested in performing during the first set, please email Sara at shussein07@gmail.com).
The evening is presented in collaboration with the Breath in Poetry Collective.
Sorry, no minors.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6
The Legacy of Rachel Corrie: A Family’s 10-year Journey for Justice and Peace
Featuring Cindy and Craig Corrie
Wednesday, March 6 (7:00 – 9:00 pm)
Telus Building Room 150
Corner of 111 Street & 87 Avenue, University of Alberta Campus
(Click here for map)
Help us spread the word! Invite your friends to the Facebook event.
Ten years ago, Cindy and Craig Corrie’s daughter, Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old human rights activist and observer volunteering in Palestine, was killed by an Israeli military Caterpillar D9R bulldozer in the Gaza Strip as she tried to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian family’s home. The Corrie family has spent the last decade fighting for answers and accountability for Rachel’s death, and have continued Rachel’s work by becoming active in Palestinian solidarity through the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice.
Join us for a unique opportunity to hear firsthand about Rachel’s legacy and the Corrie’s decade-long search for justice through US and Israeli courts, and the Corries’ ongoing work in Palestine. Cindy and Craig will also explore why the Palestine/Israel issue is relevant to all North Americans, and discuss the critical role North Americans can play in taking action to support the ongoing worldwide movement for Palestinian human rights.
This is a free event. Donations to the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Human Rights are gratefully accepted.
PSN is a Working Group of the Alberta Public Interest Research Group (APIRG), which provided financial support for this event. This event is also supported by the University of Alberta Department of Political Science.
** In order to make this event more accessible, childcare will be provided by the Alberta Public Interest Research Group (APIRG). If you require childcare, please email volunteer@apirg.org by Monday, March 4. **
About Cindy and Craig Corrie:
Cindy and Craig Corrie are the parents of human rights activist and observer Rachel Corrie who on March 16, 2003, was killed by an Israeli military, Caterpillar D9R bulldozer in the Gaza Strip as she tried to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian family’s home. Motivated by their daughter’s work and example, the Corries have dedicated themselves to the pursuit of justice and peace in the Middle East and have made numerous visits to the region, most recently in fall 2012 leading Interfaith Peace-Builder delegations to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. “Rachel wrote of the importance of making commitments to places and initiated this one to Rafah and Gaza. The commitment she made continues,” said Cindy Corrie.
The Corries have continued to seek accountability in the case of their daughter and to promote changes in U.S. foreign policy in Israel/Palestine through efforts with the U.S. Congress, U.S. Departments of State and Justice, the Israeli Government, the Israeli and U.S. court systems, and at the corporate headquarters of Caterpillar Inc.
It is the continuing policy of the U.S. Government that the matter of Rachel Corrie’s killing has not been adequately investigated and addressed by the government of Israel. Encouraged by U.S. officials, the Corrie family in 2005 filed a civil lawsuit in Israel in their daughter’s case. On March 10, 2010, seven years after Rachel Corrie’s killing, oral argument in the case began in Haifa District Court. It proceeded with sporadic court dates until a final hearing on July 10, 2011. In an August 28, 2012 ruling, Judge Oded Gershon absolved the Israeli military and state of all responsibility. The Corrie family has recently filed an appeal with the Israeli Supreme Court. A hearing is scheduled for February 14, 2014.
Rachel Corrie was a prolific and gifted writer. With their daughter Sarah, the Corries co-edited Let Me Stand Alone: the Journals of Rachel Corrie, a collection of Rachel’s poetry, essays, letters and journal entries, published by W.W. Norton & Co in 2008. The Corries speak widely of their daughter’s story and experience, and of their own work with the people of Palestine and Israel They are frequent guests at post-performance discussions of the play My Name is Rachel Corrie, co-edited by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner, and produced in theaters across the U.S. and world.
The Corries have resided in Olympia, Washington, for over thirty-five years where with community supporters, they now carry on the work of the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice. In December 2010, the foundation was recognized for “outstanding service for Human Rights-Unique Achievement” by the Thurston County Diversity Council. The Corries are recipients of a Human Rights Advocate of the Year Award from Seattle University’s Human Rights Network and a Pillar of Peace Award from the Pacific Northwest Region of the American Friends Service Committee. In October 2012, they accepted the LennonOno Grant for Peace on behalf of their daughter Rachel.
For information about the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice:
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org
For further information about Rachel Corrie:
http://criticalconcern.com/rachelcorrie.html
http://rachelcorrie.org
Let Me Stand Alone and My Name is Rachel Corrie website: http://www.letmestandalone.com
THURSDAY, MARCH 7
Idle No More to Occupation No More: Indigenous Intifadas from Turtle Island to Palestine
Thursday, March 7 (7:00 – 9:00 pm)
Telus Building Room 134
Corner of 111 Street & 87 Avenue, University of Alberta Campus
(Click here for map)
Help us spread the word! Invite your friends to the Facebook event.
“You who come from beyond the sea, bent on war,
don’t cut down the tree of our names,
don’t gallop your flaming horses across
the open plains….
Don’t bury your God
in books that back up your claim of
your land over our land,
don’t appoint your God to be a mere
courtier in the palace of the King”
– Mahmoud Darwish, The Penultimate Speech of the “Red Indian”
There are many similarities between the experiences and struggles of the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island and the Palestinian people: the establishment of settler-colonial states on stolen land, the ongoing destruction and exploitation of indigenous land and resources, denial of collective identity, culture, and rights, and most importantly, ongoing resistance to colonization, occupation and oppression.
The emergence of the Idle No More movement for Indigenous sovereignty, self-determination and rights also has strong parallels to the two Palestinian Intifadas (an Arabic word literally meaning “shaking off”) – powerful civil society movements that arose spontaneously from the grassroots to challenge decades of oppression under the Israeli occupation.
Come explore and discuss these connections and what lessons each movement can learn from the other with a panel of speakers involved in the Idle No More movement in Edmonton and a Palestinian refugee involved as a grassroots organizer during the First Intifada (1987-1993) in Gaza.
In the words of the statement by Palestinians in Solidarity with #IdleNoMore: “Now is the time – from Canada/Turtle Island to Palestine, we must all be ‘Idle No More’, and take a stand: against colonialism, against occupation, and for self-determination, sovereignty, rights and justice for Indigenous peoples.”
FRIDAY, MARCH 8
The Apartheid of Displacement: Women’s Voices From the Palestinian Diaspora
Friday March 8 (Noon – 1:30 pm)
Henry Marshall Tory Building (Tory) Room 1-129
North end of HUB Mall on Saskatchewan Drive, University of Alberta Campus
(Click here for map)
Help us spread the word! Invite your friends to the Facebook event.
Since the Nakba (Arabic for “catastrophe”) of 1947-1948, in which some 500 Palestinian villages were destroyed and at least 700,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes or lands in what Israeli historian Ilan Pappe has called “the ethnic cleansing of Palestine,” Palestinians have become one of the largest refugee populations in the world.
The majority of these Palestinian refugees and their descendents — now numbering over 5.5 million — have since been forced to live in exile, prevented despite multiple UN resolutions and international law to return to their homes, and unable to call any other place home. To mark International Women’s Day, come hear from three Palestinian women living in the diaspora, and their families’ stories of exile from refugee camps in neighboring Arab countries to life in western society.
About the speakers:
Dalal Awwad is a third generation Palestinian refugee. She is originally from Lifta – a village near Jerusalem. In 1948, her father’s family was expelled from Lifta, which caused the majority of the second and third generations to live as refugees in the West Bank. She moved with her parents between two different villages in areas near Ramallah. This consequently resulted in her changing schools several times. As a child, she lived through the intifada, formation of settlements around her village, and many other unfortunate events. At the beginning of this school year, she left Palestine to begin with her undergraduate studies in Canada.
Reem Skeik is a Palestinian immigrant. Her father’s family is from Gaza, while her mother’s family are Palestinian refugees from Jaffa. After their expulsion in 1948, the family lived in Lebanon for a few years, and eventually settled in Kuwait, where Reem was born. After the Gulf War, like many other Palestinian refugees, Reem’s family endured another expulsion. Reem and her family settled in Gaza, where she started her elementary education for the next four years, until immigrating to Canada. In Edmonton, Reem continued her education, completing a BSc in Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Alberta. She is currently at the University of Alberta completing her Master’s degree in the same field.
Nada Awwad is a third generation Palestinian refugee. Her father’s family is originally from Lifta, a village on the outskirts of Jerusalem, and her mother’s family is from Beitin, a village northeast of Ramallah. In 1948 her father’s family was expelled from their village and into refugee camps in the West Bank where the family was raised, during the 1967 war her father’s family was once again forced to run, eventually returning to the same refugee camp. Her mother’s family immigrated to Canada in 1949 where they currently live. Nada was born in the United States in 1992, and in 1998 her family moved to Palestine where they lived until 2004 when they returned to Edmonton.
PALESTINE SOLIDARITY NETWORK 