Press Releases

Justice, Dignity and Enduring Peace: the Struggle for Human Rights from the US to Palestine
Justice, Dignity and Enduring Peace: the Struggle for Human Rights from the US to Palestine
PR/EN/260417/34

In partnership with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), BADIL participated in the biannual National Member Meeting (NMM) and conducted a 12 day speaking tour in the Midwest. The NMM, held in Chicago from 31 March – 2 April, attracted 1000 members and participants. It featured a number of noteworthy interventions from civil society leaders, activists and academics. BADIL participated in the plenary discussion on Zionism as well as a workshop, discussing issues of border militarization from Palestine to Mexico. In the plenary, BADIL, along with other panelists, explored the colonial and apartheid nature of the Zionist ideology and its impact on the Palestinian people, the Middle East and the US. All the plenaries were recorded and can be viewed here. In the workshop, BADIL compared the militarization practices of the Israeli regime and the US border patrols, the exchange of “worst practices” between the US and Israel and the use of civil society resistance to combat the excessive use of force which results in escalating state perpetrated violence at the borders.  

Following the NMM, BADIL embarked on a 12 day tour of six states in seven cities, presenting BADIL’s rights-based approach and solution to the issues of forcible transfer, colonization, apartheid and refugee return. From 4-15 April, there were 17 events, including meetings with local organizations and movements, university student groups, and academics. BADIL participated in panel discussions, provided lectures and screened a number of its short documentaries. Hundreds attended the tour events and joined in discussions.

The tour is the result of a developing and ongoing partnership with JVP to increase American civil society awareness of BADIL’s work and the Palestinian national struggle, to enhance cooperation and cohesion of social justice movements across borders and to increase BADIL and JVP’s outreach and scope of work. The NMM and tour provided the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions on civil society engagement, the human rights struggles of marginalized groups, islamophobia, the Trump administration, discrimination, fundraising, future initiatives and collaboration with civil society movements to enhance and amplify activities.