We joined together on Wednesday, December 13th of 2023 for Solidarity Speaks, the tenth session of our emergency webinar series giving people around the world a forum to hear directly from Palestinian human rights defenders calling for an permanent ceasefire, a release of all the hostages, and an end to collective punishment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

We were joined by Basman Derawi of We Are Not Numbers, a Palestinian youth-led project that provides the world with direct access to Gazan narratives without any restrictions and without foreign intermediaries speaking on their behalf. In their own words, they “share and celebrate the stories, daily personal struggles and triumphs, the tears and the laughter, and the aspirations of Palestinians that are so universal that if it were not for the context, they would immediately resonate with everyone.”

Basman Derawi is a physiotherapist who was not able to return to his home in the al-Remal neighborhood of Gaza City since October 7th. He was attending a course in physiotherapy in Egypt with the Palestinian Ministry of Health when aggressions began. He believes in writing as a remedy and a tool for change and is inspired by music, movies, and the stories of people with special needs. We were honored to speak with him about the events of the last weeks and about the ways the ongoing violence was impacting him, his family, and his community.

Click this link for a video recording of the webinar.

Solidarity Speaks: Recording Of Our Ninth Emergency Webinar!

We joined together on Sunday, December 10th of 2023 for Solidarity Speaks, the ninth session of our emergency webinar series giving people around the world a forum to hear directly from Palestinians and Israelis calling for an permanent ceasefire, a release of all the hostages, and an end to collective punishment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

We were joined by Itamar Shapira of the Green Olive Collective for an emergency briefing about the status of Masafer Yatta in Area C of the occupied West Bank. Itamar was completing his thesis about Masafer Yatta at Haifa University and was currently participating in direct solidarity, emergency response, overnight shifts, and protective presence efforts in Masafer Yatta, where settler militias were threatening communities with imminent displacement, villages were under military lockdown, and residents were facing mass eviction in Firing Zone 918.

He provided geopolitical perspective about Area C, a chronology of diplomatic and grassroots activity in the region since the war began, and personal reflections based in his work and years of experience in Combatants for Peace, Breaking The Silence, Green Olive Tours, and other justice initiatives.

Click this link for a video recording of the webinar.

Solidarity Speaks: Recording Of Our Eighth Emergency Webinar!

We joined together on Wednesday, December 6th of 2023 for Solidarity Speaks, the eighth session of our emergency webinar series giving people around the world a forum to hear directly from Palestinians and Israelis calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to collective punishment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

We were joined by Ahmed Helou of Combatants for Peace, a grassroots movement of former Palestinian and Israeli combatants working together to end the occupation through civil resistance, education, and other means of creative nonviolence.

Ahmed Helou is a second generation refugee whose great-grandparents left Gaza for Bir-Saba before being displaced to Jericho, and much of his family lives in Gaza now. He is a current resident of Jericho, a former political detainee, a former parliamentary aid in the Palestinian Authority, and worked as an ambulance volunteer with the Palestine Red Crescent during the 1996 clashes in Jerusalem. Since 2013 he has been active in Combatants for Peace promoting a future of collective dignity, freedom, and equality for all. 

We were honored to speak with him about the events of the last weeks and about the ways the ongoing violence was impacting him, his family, and his community.

Click this link for a video recording of the webinar.

Solidarity Speaks: Recording Of Our Seventh Emergency Webinar!

We joined together on Tuesday, November 28th of 2023  for Solidarity Speaks, the seventh session of our emergency webinar series giving people around the world a forum to hear directly from Palestinians and Israelis calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to collective punishment in the Gaza Strip.

We were joined by Sapir-Sluzker Amran of Breaking Walls and Naama Cohen of Culture of Solidarity, two long standing community organizers who have worked  to develop an intersectional movement for economic and racial justice working with underprivileged communities in Israel including Ethiopian Israelis, Eritrean asylum seekers, Palestinian citizens, unrecognized Bedouin villages, senior citizens, domestic violence survivors, and many others.

They spoke with us about the mutual aid, emergency response, and direct solidarity efforts that activists organized in the weeks before with the families of the hostages, with unrecognized Bedouin villages, and with human rights defenders facing legal censure for speaking against the assault in the Gaza Strip.

Sapir Sluzker-Amran is the founder of Breaking Walls, a grassroots movement that promotes civic, feminist, and community activism. She is a human rights lawyer and works to archive the unwritten history of social movements.

Na’ama Cohen is a community organizer and member of Culture of Solidarity, a community center and gathering space that works to develop justice initiatives, food programs, political education, mutual aid, and relationships across borders.

Click this link for a recording of the webinar.

Solidarity Speaks: Recording Of Our Sixth Emergency Webinar!

We joined together on Sunday, November 12th of 2023 for the sixth webinar of Solidarity Speaks, our emergency series giving people around the world a forum to hear directly from Palestinians and Israelis calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to collective punishment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

We were joined by Ahmed Muna of the Educational Bookshop and Izzeldin Bukhari of Sacred Cuisine to hear about the ways Palestinian Jerusalemites and cultural workers were being impacted by escalating violence.

Ahmad Muna is joint manager of the Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem. Since 1984 the bookshop has functioned as a cultural, political, and literary center of Palestinian life. The bookshop presents a wide variety of Palestinian scholarly titles and frequently hosts workshops, lectures, and educational events.

Izzeldin Bukhari is the founder of Sacred Cuisine. This unique platform is dedicated to the ongoing preservation of Palestinian foodways, cuisine, and heritage. The project highlights the importance of maintaining Palestinian culture through food tours, catering, education, and interactive workshops.

Click this link for a recording of the webinar.

Solidarity Speaks: Recording Of Our Fifth Emergency Webinar!

We joined on Wednesday, November 8th of 2023 for the fifth webinarof Solidarity Speaks, our emergency series giving people around the world a forum to hear directly from Palestinians and Israelis calling for an immediate ceasefire, a release of the hostages, and an end to collective punishment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Life had become nearly impossible for Palestinian communities in Area C. They were experiencing dramatic escalations of settler violence, severe military lockdowns, and frightening threats to forcibly expel them from their homes.

Settlers had taken up arms, given to them by Israeli state officials, and were dressed in army uniforms, making it almost impossible to distinguish between settlers and soldiers. All aspects of life had effectively been shut down for these communities. Under this unlivable reality, many Palestinian families had already been forced to flee. We joined together for an emergency fundraiser to materially support communities facing one of the largest mass expulsions since 1948.

We were joined by Ali Awad and Awdah Hathaleen, two long standing advocates against the expropriation of Palestinian land in Masafer Yatta and for the collective rights of their communities in Area C.

Click this link for a recording of the webinar.

Palestine Speaks: Recording Of Our Fourth Emergency Webinar!

We joined together on Sunday, November 5th of 2023  for Solidarity Speaks, the fourth session of our emergency webinar series giving people around the world a forum to hear directly from Palestinians and Israelis calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to collective punishment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The occupation regime does all it can to fracture Palestinian society and isolate them from each other and the world. We joined with Abed Abu-Shehade to hear about the ways Palestinian citizens of Israel were being impacted by the escalating violence and how the social contract between Jewish and Palestinian communities was being rewritten. Abed is a city council member in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality, and an advocate for Palestinian collective rights and the rectification of historical injustices in Jaffa.

Click this link for a recording of the webinar. 

Solidarity Speaks: Recording Of Our Third Emergency Webinar!

We joined together on Sunday, October 29th of 2023 for Solidarity Speaks, the third session of our emergency webinar series highlighting Palestinian and Israeli voices of solidarity calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to collective punishment in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The occupation regime does all it can to segregate Palestinians and Israelis. We were honored to join with three longstanding Israeli activists who have worked to build solidarity across checkpoints, border walls, and closed military zones for many years. They each shed light on the current moment and discussed the urgent need to build empathy and common cause against the limits of the dominant discourse set by Biden and Netanyahu.

Noam Shuster-Eliassi is a comedian, creator, and unique cultural voice who uses humour to satirize and lampoon systems of racial inequality. She has gained global recognition for her uncompromising commitment to justice and her ability to challenge dominant narratives with hilarity and biting wit. Her comedy show Coexistence My A** is a groundbreaking work commenting on the absurdities of identity and power in Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East.

Sahar Vardi is a prolific activist who began her solidarity work as a member of Anarchists Against The Wall supporting the popular struggle of Palestinians in Area C against land expropriation. Since then she is known for her participation in weekly demonstrations in Sheikh Jarrah and a variety of organizations including the Refuser Solidarity Network, Free Jerusalem, American Friends Service Committee, and others challenging unbridled militarism in Israeli society.

Yossef Mekyton is an animal liberation, environmental, queer, and decolonial activist. During the Great March of Return in 2018 he helped organize Israeli solidarity demonstrations across the fence from the Gazan returnees. He is working with Zochrot to promote Israeli accountability for the Nakba of 1948 and a future beyond partitions.

Click this link for a recording of the webinar.

Palestine Speaks: Recording Of Our Second Emergency Webinar!

We joined together on Sunday, October 22nd for the second webinar of Palestine Speaks, an emergency webinar series giving people around the world a forum to hear directly from Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank about the ways their communities were impacted by recent events and the escalating violence they were experiencing.

The occupation regime does all it can to fracture Palestinian society and isolate them from each other and the world. We came together to hear Palestinians speak in their own words, express our solidarity, and demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to collective punishment in Gaza and the West Bank. We were joined by:

Mustafa Sheta is the General Director of the Jenin Freedom Theater, a lauded institution that offers drama and performance art education in the heart of the Jenin Refugee Camp.

Sameeha Hureini is the founder of the Mothers of Sumud Garden in Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills, a women lead project which resists settler expropriation of land in Area C.

Mohammed Barakat is a Green Olive Senior Partner and second generation refugee whose family was expelled from their home outside Jerusalem in 1948. He worked in Palestinian labor unions, hospitality, and tourism for many decades.

Click this link for a recording of the webinar.

Palestine Speaks: Recording Of Our First Emergency Webinar!

On Wednesday, October 18th of 2023 we joined together for the first webinar of Palestine Speaks, an emergency webinar series giving people around the world a forum to hear directly from Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank about the ways their communities were impacted by recent events and about the escalating violence they experienced.

The occupation regime does all it can to fracture Palestinian society and isolate them from each other and the world. We came together to hear Palestinians speak in their own words, express our solidarity, and demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to collective punishment in Gaza and the West Bank.

We were joined by Khalil Abu Yahia in the Gaza Strip, Mustafa Alarag from Aida Refugee Camp, and Awdah Hathaleen from Umm Il-Kheir. Each shed light on the moment and its implications for the future.

Click this link for a recording of the webinar.

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