The Wall: Border of Peace? 2/24/04
The Wall: Border of Peace?
Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Where: Multi-Purpose Room, Pace University
Time: 4:00 - 7:00pm
Sponsors:
Pace University Arab Alliance, The Scribe Newspaper (thescribeinternational.com), Pace University Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs and Project Pericles
Co-Sponsored & Endorsed By:
Network of Arab-American Professionals of NY (NAAP NY) & ArabianNY.com
Student-run Organization Co-Sponsors:
Pace University
Pace University Marketing Association (PUMA), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Criminal Justice Society, Psychology Club, OMEGA, THINK Environment, The Vanguard Coalition and Campus of Labor & Economic Justice (CLEJ)
Brief Intro:
The Wall…Border of Peace will address the national and international implications of Israel's separation wall--and give voice to the ongoing hardships, as well as human rights violations currently being experienced by Palestinian civilians. (A poster will be sent to you soon as well as promotion video)
MODERATOR:
Monica Tarazi
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, New York Director
Monica is the New York Director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), a civil rights organization committed to defending the rights of Arab Americans and promoting their heritage in the United States. Before joining ADC, Tarazi was living in Haifa and working with various Palestinian NGOs in Israel and Palestine. In 1998, she spent nine months in Ramallah while participating in Birzeit University's Palestine and Arabic Studies (PAS) program. She completed an MA in Arab Studies at Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies in May, 2000.
DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS:
Mike S. Ladah
Author, Quicksand, Oil and Dreams: The story of one of five million dispossessed Palestinians
www.ladah.org
Michael was born in Jaffa. As a boy of 7, he had to flee with the rest of his family during the expulsion of Palestinians from the territories that became Israel. Later, he studied in the United States and worked in Saudi Arabia for the Aramco. His book is the story of one of five million Palestinian refugees, the author's personal account of the Palestinian dispossession. It is a collection of his experiences during the exodus from Palestine (Jafa), as a refugee in the West Bank (Ramallah), in the United States as a student and in Saudi Arabia as part of the US and Saudi oil industries. It relates the author's experiences to the political and social events of the time, placing the stories in a historical context.
Khalid Turaani
Executive Director, American Muslims for Jerusalem in Washington, DC
Khalid is the Executive Director of the Washington based American Muslims for Jerusalem (AMJ). Before AMJ, Mr. Turaani was the Director of Government Relations and Development at The American Muslim Council (AMC). He spent the first 17 years of his life in a Palestinian refugee camp. He came to the US to pursue his education and received a degree in Physics. Mr. Turaani has served on the National Policy Council of The Arab American Institute (AAI) and on the Executive Board of The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Michigan. Major media outlets like The Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, The Financial Times, The Sunday Telegraph and others have used Turaani as an expert source. His major accomplishments include becoming the founding Member of Michigan Committee on Jerusalem; becoming the founding Member of National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom (to fight the use of secret evidence); and becoming the founder of Palestinian Society of Arkansas.
Anthony Arnove
Editor, Iraq Under Seige
Member, International Socialist Organization
Anthony Arnove is the editor of Iraq Under Siege: The Deadly Impact of Sanctions and War, recently updated in a new edition. An activist based in Brooklyn, he is a member of the International Socialist Organization and the National Writers Union, and writes regularly for ZNet. He is on the editorial board of the International Socialist Review and is a member of the Iraq Speakers Bureau. His writing has appeared in the Financial Times, In These Times, The Nation, Mother Jones, Left Business Observer, Monthly Review, and other publications. Anthony Arnove visited Palestine in July--where he witnessed firsthand the horrors of Israel's bloody war. He also talked to dozens of people committed to the fight for Palestine--both Palestinians and some of the courageous Israelis who have spoken out against their government's crimes.
Simon Harak
Anti-Militarism Coordinator for the War Resisters League
Lebanese Jesuit Priest
A Jesuit priest since 1970 and a passionate advocate for peace in the Middle East, Father Harak has traveled to Iraq numerous times with Voices in the Wilderness where he openly violated UN sanctions to bring medicine and toys to Iraqi hospitals. In Iraq, he met with local religious leaders, leaders of human rights organizations and representatives of UN relief operations. In 1998, Harak resigned his faculty position at Fairfield University to work full time against the sanctions with Voices in the Wilderness, delivering over 600 presentations on Iraq for TV, radio and live presentations in the US and abroad. A distinguished scholar in his field, Harak most recently edited Nonviolence for the Third Millennium: Its Legacy and Its Future and is currently writing a second book. Regarding the violation of UN resolutions, Harak constantly reminds his audience Israel has violated 68 UN resolutions and is still occupying Palestinian Territories. He said the U.S. has used its right to veto in the UN 36 times to protect Israel when it has been condemned for the occupation. Father Harak is a very passionate peace activist.
Naomi Braine
Jews Against the Occupation (JATO)
http://www.jatonyc.org/
Naomi Braine is the cofounder of the New York-based Jews Against the Occupation and an organizer for the Israeli-founded Women in Black network, countered that Prime Minister Sharon's military tactics are endangering Israel and Jews around the world. Jews Against the Occupation is an organization of progressive, secular and religious Jews of all ages throughout the New York City area advocating peace through justice for Palestine and Israel.
Mike Hoffman
Direct Action Palestine (DAP)
Mike Hoffman is affiliated with Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition and other activist organizations. He will report back from his recent trip to Palestine. You will hear his first-hand experiences, stories and presentations. Direct Action Palestine and other activist organizations are calling for a wider investigation of U.S. funding of the murderous Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. DAP's goal is to expose and confront human rights abuses committed by the Israeli military, protect and improve the lives of Palestinian civilians and join Palestinians in non-violent civil disobedience against the Israeli occupying forces.
Asaf Shtull-Trauring
Refuser Solidarity Network (RSN)
Asaf Shtull-Trauring is joint founder of the organization "Shiministim". "Shiministim" is a group of young Israelis who oppose Israeli's tactics toward the Palestinians. Attention in and outside of Israel reached the organization with an open letter at Prime Minister Sharon, where young Israelis placed themselves against the Palestine politics. The Refuser Solidarity Network (RSN) was formed in April 2002 to provide support for the growing refuser movement in Israel. RSN's overall objective is to support all Israelis who refuse to serve in the Occupation. They support reservists who refuse to serve over the Green Line. They support men and women conscripts who refuse to serve entirely in the IDF in their opposition to Occupation. Asaf Shtull Shtull-Trauring believes that "As long as an American from NJ can go to Israel and get a citizenship while a Palestinian refugee cannot, peace will never be achieved in Israel. He also believes that we have to "go beyond the dichotomy of "Pro-Israel", "Pro-Palestine". He emphasizes that he is Pro-Peace.
For further information, contact Rima Abdelkader at ra25248n@pace.edu; Jack Cohen at jack_cohen@hotmail.com; Nadeen Al-Jijakli at nana997@aol.com; Denise Belen Santiago at 212-346-1546 or dsantiago@pace.edu.