NZ Conference on Palestine series 3-8 April 2016

Kia Ora,

We are very pleased to invite you to our upcoming ‘Conference on Palestine’ series, with events in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

Ali Abunimah, a US-Palestinian journalist, author and editor, will visit New Zealand at the beginning of April to join us in a discussion on Palestine, its history in a middle eastern as well as a global context, through to contemporary questions, with a special focus on international cooperation to end the illegal occupation of Palestine. He will be joined via video link by US-based author/journalist Ramzy Baroud and Australian-based playwright Samah Sabawi.

AUCKLAND – 6pm Sunday 3rd April, Town Hall Concert Chamber. https://www.facebook.com/events/962980653767140/ (poster below)

WELLINGTON – 6pm Monday 4thApril, St Johns in the City, cnr Willis & Dixon Sts, Te Aro.
CHRISTCHURCH – 7pm Wednesday 6thApril, Knox Church, 28 Bealey Ave.
DUNEDIN – 6pm Friday 8 April, Archway 1 Lecture Theatre, cnr Union Place East & Leith Walk.

Ali Abunimah is co-founder and editor of electronicintifada.net, freelance journalist and author, whose books include ‘One Country: A Bold-Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse’ and ‘The Battle for Justice in Palestine’. A resident of Chicago, he contributes regularly to ‘The Chicago Tribune’ and ‘The Los Angeles Times’. He has appeared on discussion programs on CNN, MSNBC, PBS and other networks, and in a number of documentaries about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including ‘Collecting Stories from Exile: Chicago Palestinians Remember 1948’.

Dr. Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for over 20 years. He is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media consultant, the founder of palestinechronicle.com, and the author of several books, including ‘Searching Jenin’, ‘The Second Palestinian Intifada’ and his latest ‘My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story’.

Samah Sabawi is a playwright, commentator and author, who has written and produced sell-out theatrical productions. She has also written for The Australian, Al Jazeera, Al Ahram, The Globe and Mail, the Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and others. She is an active campaigner for Palestine and has had several roles as a spokesperson and advocate for Palestinian/Arab organisations in Canada and Australia. She is currently a policy advisor to the Palestinian policy network Al Shabaka.

Our guest speakers will conclude with an interactive discussion on how we in New Zealand and internationally can support the struggle for justice in Palestine, addressing the most effective ways in which international pressure can be applied, including (but not limited to) strategies such as the ongoing ‘Boycott Divestment & Sanctions’ (BDS) campaign, similar to the campaign of economic boycott that successfully brought South Africa’s system of Apartheid to its knees.

Warm regards,
Sian Robertson
Palestine Solidarity Network organiser