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Nakba-65
Commemoration
This year the national
commemoration of
Nakba-65 took place at
Manger Square in
Bethlehem and was
attended by thousands of
people from historic
Palestine as well as
internationals. BADIL
implemented the
commemoration in
cooperation with
municipalities, popular
committees, political
parties, local church
groups and
community-based
organizations. The main
activities of the
commemoration were: a
march utilizing torches
and banners led by a
marching band; addresses
from the Secretary
General of the People’s
Party, Fatah
Revolutionary Council,
and Archbishop Atallah
Hanna of the Greek
Orthodox Church; and a
special performance from
Al Funoun Al Shabiya
Dance Troupe. The Best
Nakba Poster from the Al
Awda Award was used as
the main promotional
tool in various forms
(posters, t-shirts,
banners, etc.) by all in
this and other
commemoration
activities. For more
information
see
Ø
Participation in
the Right of Return
Conference-Boston
University, USA
The conference took
place on Saturday and
Sunday 6-7 April at the
Boston University Law
School Auditorium with
over 200 people in
attendance. It explored
right of return
discourses as they exist
among Palestinian
communities around the
world by opening a space
for envisioning and
delving into the
practical implementation
of this right. The aim
of the conference was to
shift and expand the
discourse around
Palestine in US academia
and to explore the right
of return within the
United States more
broadly. Conference
panelists discussed
legal, political,
spatial, discursive, and
cultural questions,
featuring their
submissions to a call
for papers. The
discussions were open to
the general public.
BADIL’s keynote address,
“Paving Paths to Peace
and Home: Practicalities
of Return”, focused on
the fact that durable
solutions for
Palestinian refugees is
both an individual right
as well as a
prerequisite to
establishing a viable
peace in the region. For
more information,
see
Ø
Participation in
the 2nd Palestinian
Solidarity Conference in
Stuttgart, Germany
BADIL, through its
Geneva-based Legal
Advocacy Consultant
participated as a
lecturer in this
conference which took
place 10-12 May. The
conference explored
topics such as settler
colonialism, Apartheid,
civil resistance and BDS,
which were introduced in
the 1st solidarity
conference as well as
the recent dramatic
changes in the region
and how they effect the
Palestinian struggle.
The conference featured
renowned experts from
the USA, UK, historic
Palestine, Tunisia and
Germany.
Ø
Palestinian
Conference on Forced
Population Transfer:
Elements and
Responsibilities
On 4 June 2013 in
Ramallah, BADIL hosted
the first Palestinian
conference on forced
population transfer. The
conference entitled
“Forced Population
Transfer-Elements and
Responsibilities” was
the first of its kind
tackling the issue of
the forced population
transfer of the
indigenous Palestinian
population and local,
national and
international
interventions to prevent
displacement. At the
conference BADIL
launched
“Israeli Land Grab and
Forced Population
Transfer of
Palestinians: A Handbook
for Vulnerable
Individuals and
Communities”, a
guide to understanding
the linkage between
Israeli land regime and
forced population
transfer and the
accompanying “Know your
Rights” Information
Packet. Hundreds of
Palestinians and
internationals attended
the conference which
hosted a plethora of
experts representing
both local, national and
international
organizations and
academic
institutions.For more
information,
see
Ø
Fact-Finding
Mission
To complement the
Conference on Forced
Population Transfer,
BADIL provided a two-day
fact-finding mission 5-6
June to areas facing
forcible transfer. The
villages of Al Walaja,
Battir and Wadi Fukin of
the Bethlehem
governorate were the
destination of the first
day of the conference;
Masafer Yatta and Beit
Zacharia in the Hebron
Governorate constituted
the second day of the
mission. Approximately
20 people attended the
fact-finding mission
including international
guest experts from the
conference.
Ø
Participation in
the 4th National BDS
Conference
BADIL, as a member of
OPGAI and other
networks, coordinated
and facilitated the
implementation of the
4th National BDS
Conference. Held on 8
June, the conference
provided a distinguished
platform for exchanging
ideas among Palestinian
youth and student
activists, trade
unionists, women
activists, decision
makers, intellectuals,
academics,
representatives of the
private sector, and
leading NGO networks.
Aimed at promoting and
enabling Palestinian
society’s effective
development of
sector-based BDS
campaigns with clear
strategies and
leadership teams in
recognition of how
Israel is increasingly
seeking Palestinian and
other Arab “fig-leaves”
to cover up its
intensifying occupation,
colonization and
apartheid, one of the
main themes addressed
was the economic,
academic, cultural,
youth and IT sector
normalization with
Israel and ways of
confronting it. BADIL’s
intervention focused on
Israeli’s continued
systematic ethnic
cleansing of the
indigenous Palestinian
population and the
importance of the use of
sanctions
to confront and deter
forced population
transfer. For more
information,
see
Ø
Participation in
OPGAI Youth Training and
Workshop
Seven members of BADIL’s
Strategy Forum
participated in the
Youth Training and
Workshop implemented by
OPGAI. The day long
event was held in the
AIC in Beit Sahour. The
youth were trained on
the political realities
of the Palestinian
struggle during the
first half of the day.
The second half of the
day was devoted to
exploring the principles
of volunteerism, the
management of youth
summer camps and how to
overcome obstacles and
resolve conflict in the
context of implementing
these activities.
Ø
USA Mobilization
The promotion of BADIL,
its publications and the
ONEC in the USA has
resulted in the greater
visibility, awareness
and partnerships for
BADIL in the USA.
BADIL, in collaboration
with the City School of
Boston and the Center
for Multicultural
Training in Psychology
participated in a youth
workshop on 23 May. The
workshop aimed at
“learning together about
the ways that racism,
lockdown, and legacies
of colonialism impact
the current landscapes
of many youth of color
from Boston to
Palestine, with an
emphasis on sharing
resilience/resistance
strategies across
borders and ways to
increase hope and
improved access to both
wellness and justice for
all.” The workshop
explored the history of
Palestine and
displacement though an
active, participatory
mapping exercise that
facilitated
understanding
stereotypes and labels. |
