Palestine Center Brief No. 317 (August 22, 2018)
Palestine
The Historical Roots of Christian Zionism, its Theological Basis and Political Agenda
In this talk, Reverend Dr. Stephen Sizer discusses how the movement of Christian Zionism preceded Jewish Zionism by at least 50 years and facilitated the establishment of the State of Israel.
The Palestinians at Historic Crossroads
The speakers of the 2018 Palestine Center Annual Conference provide their analyses and help us navigate the present moment of new and unforeseen crises to Palestinian rights and sovereignty, unimaginable a decade ago. The keynote address will be delivered by Dr. Riyad H. Mansour, Ambassador, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations. He will be followed by two panels that will respectively address issues of UNRWA, Activism, Legislation, Right of Return (Panel 1); and Gaza, Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority, American Jewish Solidarity (Panel 2).
UNRWA’s Role and Impact in the Gaza Strip: A Refugee’s Perspective
In this talk, Mohammed Eid, a 28-year-old Palestine refugee and currently a Rotary Peace Scholar pursuing a master’s degree in Global Studies and International Development through a joint program at the University of North Carolina and Duke University, discusses growing up in Gaza and the role the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) played in his life.
Palestine and Us: Black and Palestinian Solidarity
Attorney and activist Ahmad Abuznaid, Esq. discusses his experiences working for social justice for Black Americans in the U.S. and Palestinians in the occupied territories and in the diaspora. As the first event in our 2018 Palestine Center Summer Intern Lecture Series, this talk focuses on the broad theme of intersectionality between the Palestinian struggle and other contemporary social movements in America.
“Gaza Girls: Growing Up in the Gaza Strip”
Photographer and journalist Monique Jaques presents her award-winning photo book,Gaza Girls: Growing Up in the Gaza Strip, which looks at moments of laughter, dreaming, and living for young girls in Gaza, despite the difficulty and constraints that define their reality. This project was first published in The New York Times and has been syndicated inMarie Claire Italy, Vogue Italy, Panorama Italy, The Telegraph and The Guardian UK. Jaques discusses how she produced this book and the lessons learned along the way.
Life Under Occupation in the Agricultural Town of Beit Ummar
Ahmed Oudeh presents the work of Eshraqah Youth Organization (EYO) in Beit Ummar, which focuses on grass roots nonviolent action, community empowerment, and sustainable agriculture. In addition to developmental programs based on a model built and run by workers’ groups in their communities in Beit Ummar, the EYO has been involved in local and international conferences to promote strategies of non-violent action, to bring together Israelis opposing the occupation and Palestinian communities.
Mayhem versus sanity in Western Asia: Why Palestine is still the issue
Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh shares his views on the current situation in Palestine, now that the peace process has failed, and as it is clear that the policies of the US and Israeli governments are failing in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. The events surrounding Al-Aqsa mosque, in combination with those in Gaza and the invigoration of the BDS campaign have (re)established in the minds of most rational people that people power is still where things must be determined.
