Palestinian rights activists meet
By
CHICAGO--The U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation held their eighth annual National Organizers Conference on September 12-13. With approximately 175 people in attendance, the conference more than doubled its size of 75 last years.
The U.S. Campaign, a coalition of more than 312 organizations--five of which joined on the Saturday of the conference--gathered to assess the past year and plan for the coming one.
Many of the member organizations with delegates in attendance were Jewish peace and justice groups, as well as Code Pink, the International Solidarity Movement, Middle East Children's Alliance, American Friends Service Committee and the International Socialist Organization, among others. Representatives of Viva Palestina and American Muslims for Palestine were in attendance, though not as member organizations.
During the initial assessment of the past year and the current status of the U.S. Campaign, several individuals raised the need to reach out to student groups and the Arab-American community.
Four new members of the U.S. Campaign steering committee were elected or reconfirmed, and workshops were held on topics from how to do a boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign to media training.
Representatives from the member groups New York Campaign to Boycott Israel and Chicagoans Against Apartheid in Palestine made presentations about BDS organizing over the last year and encouraged participants to strategize about the next steps.
The plenary fundraiser on Saturday night featured speeches from Palestinian historian and activist Rashid Khalidi from Columbia University and Omar Barghouti, a founding member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, who was instrumental in crafting a recent statement of political context for the upcoming March on Gaza.
Palestinian rights activists plan to break Israel's blockade on the people of Gaza with a March on Gaza in January 2010. The U.S. Campaign voted to endorse this march on Friday, alongside declarations from many member groups that their organizations were already organizing support.
The three themes of the weekend were promoting the message that Israel is an apartheid state and educating people--especially young people--about its significance, strengthening efforts to lobby elected officials and continuing to engage in BDS work.
Overall, conference participants shared a sense that people around them are increasingly open to discussion about justice in Palestine.
Read more about the event at the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation Web site.
