NATIONAL STUDENT CONFERENCE OF THE PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT February 16-18, 2002 Berkeley, California Hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine, UC Berkeley justiceinpalestine at yahoo.com (510) 496-1269 x1948
In the wake of the all-out war now being waged on Palestine, it is more imperative than before that we in the United States coordinate our efforts to work for justice and human rights for the Palestinian people. Just as students in the United States played a key role in working for an end to South African apartheid in the 1980s, so we are now taking on the role of spearheading the movement against Israeli apartheid today. For this reason, Students for Justice in Palestine is coordinating a conference of campus-based activists. This conference is primarily aimed at student activists, but the educational sessions will be open to the public. We would like this to be a hands-on conference that allows us to share our experience as activists and participate in organizing a national movement.
1. PROGRAM To make this a truly joint effort, please help us organize by ranking the following proposed workshops or panel topics. Thank you to everyone who responded to our first email. This is a list of all the topics proposed by people who responded. To help us prioritize our planning and to make sure that we try our best to arrange to cover the topics that everyone is most interested in, please rank each of these proposed topics. 1=imperative 2=highly recommended 3=neutral 4=include only if there is time 5=don't include; focus on other topics
Proposed Workshops: * Divestment * Targeting US aid to Israel * Activism basics * Action (how to make a refugee camp, checkpoint, etc.) * Coalition-building (forging ties to the antiwar, anticapitalist, and other social justice movements) * Bringing together religious and secular activist groups * Building a student activist network * How-to's of a campaign (incorporating all of the components into a cohesive campaign) * Lobbying * Media activism * Educational strategies (use of film/ visuals/ other media to educate) * Resolutions to the conflict * Activism for justice in the Middle East post 9-11
Proposed Panels: * Anti-apartheid movement: lessons from the past * Economy of Israel and Palestine * Environmental issues * Eyewitness accounts * Feminism and struggle: Palestinian womens' resistance * History of the struggle * Human rights analysis * Imperialism - Capitalism - Colonialism * International law * Israeli law (the apartheid analogy) * Jerusalem * Palestinian parties and leadership (who's who on the ground) * The Palestinian solidarity movement post-911 * Rhetoric: countering the dominant talk of "terrorism" * Right of Return * Refugees * US Militarism in the Middle East * Zionism
2. PARTICIPATION ***Each of us has experience organizing, and has different areas of expertise. Which of the workshops would your organization be prepared to present?
3. REGISTRATION Registration fees will be $20 student--in advance; $25 student--at the door; $45 non-student.
No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Fees will be used to cover our expenses for the conference.
Your name:
Email:
School:
Are you currently a student?
List organizational affiliations:
3. LODGING Information on hotels in the Berkeley area is available at <http://www.berkeley.edu/visitors/staying.html>. We will do our best to accommodate those who want to stay with a student or community member; housing will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Would you like us to try to find you lodging with a member of SJP?
4. ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE. We will send registrants information about public to and from the Oakland and San Francisco Airports. The conference will run Saturday morning through Monday morning. Monday (2/18/02) is a federal holiday. We will host a social event Friday evening. We urge you to arrange to arrive on Friday evening (2/15/02) so that you can fully participate in Saturday's events. Yalla book your flights ASAP!
4. Is there anything else we may have missed?
Please return this form to justiceinpalestine at yahoo.com.
Students for Justice in Palestine, UC Berkeley justiceinpalestine at yahoo.com (510) 496-1269 x1948 -- Yoshie
* Calendar of Anti-War Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html> * Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>