Of particular concern is the role of Israel’s Jewish National Fund, an organization operating in the US, which collects $50 million which aids in the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland.

The protesters’  activities drew attention to the Jewish National Fund’s practice of covering demolished Palestinian villages with pine trees to hide the evidence of their existence and make return by displaced Palestinians more difficult.

This practice has been dubbed ‘greenwashing,’ for giving the appearance of environmentalism to ecological and humanitarian destruction.

June 5th, the date of Israel’s celebration, falls on the date that refugees from three displaced Palestinian villages, Beit Nuba, Imwas and Yalu march from Ramallah, in the Palestinian West Bank, march toward “Canada Park” where the Jewish National Fund plants trees which camouflage the Israeli destruction of their villages in 1967.

Last month, during the 63rd commemoration of the catastrophe of 1948, during which nearly 800,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes to establish an Israeli state in Palestine, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank headed toward home. Tracing the footsteps of their parents and grandparents, they marched on borders, checkpoints and military lines that separate them from each other and from their places of origin.

Today’s USPCN community protest picked up where these left off, calling on people of conscience to boycott cultural events by Israel and the Jewish National Fund until justice is achieved for Palestinians.

Slogans used at the protest:

63 Years of Resistance

Israel’s Jewish National Fund: de-forestation

Israel’s Jewish National Fund uproots Palestinian trees and villages

Israel’s Jewish National Fund: bulldozes peace

Israel’s Jewish National Fund: undermining peace one bulldozer at a time

On June 5, every year, refugees from the villages of Beit Nuba, Imwas and Yalu march from Ramallah towards “Canada Park” where the JNF plants trees in order to camouflage the Israeli destruction of their villages in 1967. This year, the annual Zionist event “Israel in the Gardens” falls on June 5. Come out this Sunday to show that San Francisco Bay Area communities say no to this celebration of apartheid and ethnic cleansing and join in solidarity with actions in the West Bank, Britain and Canada.

End the Occupation of Palestine – Support the Right of Return

WHEN:   Tuesday, May 31 at 7:00 pm
WHERE: DePaul University, McGowan South Room 108
1110 W. Belden Avenue

On September 24, 2010 the FBI carried out a series of raids of homes and anti-war offices of public activists in Chicago and Minneapolis. Following the raids the Justice Department subpoenaed 23 Palestine and Colombia solidarity activists to appear before a Chicago grand jury headed by US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. A grand jury is a secret court proceeding where the jury members are not screened for bias, where a prosecutor questions witnesses without a defense attorney present, and where there is no judge.

Many believe that the government is testing a June, 2010 US Supreme Court ruling, Holder vs. the Humanitarian Law Project, which goes a long way in criminalizing political dissent. What do these FBI raids and the calling of a grand jury mean for the right of freedom of speech, public debate and peace and justice organizing in the US? How can this chill debate over this nation’s war policies, national security doctrine and role in the world?

Come hear from those who have been directly affected and from the Chicago civil liberties community, which has been mobilizing to bring to light the realities of grand jury proceedings and the right to freedom of speech.

Speaker Panel:

Moderated by MICHAEL MCCONNELL, Great Lakes Regional Director of the AFSC and ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.

MICHAEL DEUTSCH is an attorney with the People’s Law Office in Chicago. For over 40 years he has represented political activists and other victims of police and government civil rights violations.

LEAH FRIED has been an organizer with the UE (United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America) for 12 years.

SARAH SMITH is a young Chicago student who participated in a delegation to Palestine and Israel, and shortly thereafter was subpoenaed by the FBI to appear before a grand jury.

REEMA AHMAD is the Executive Director of Project Mobilize, a political action non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of politically marginalized communities at the local, state and national level.

STEPHANIE WEINER teaches English in Chicago City Colleges, is a founder of AFSCME Local 3506, and is one of the activists raided and subpoenaed.

HATEM ABUDAYYEH is Executive Director of the Arab American Action Network and one of the activists raided and subpoenaed.

Free and open to the public. For more information, contact Miryam Rashid at (312) 427-2533 x 18 ormrashid@afsc.org<mailto:mrashid@afsc.org>

Sponsored by American Friends Service Committee, Amnesty International - Chicago, Coalition to Protect People’s Rights, Chicago Faith Coalition on Middle East Policy, Students for Justice in Palestine (DePaul), Chicago Committee Against Political Repression, Arab Jewish Partnership for Peace and Justice in the Middle East, American Muslims for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace-Chicago, National Lawyers Guild, Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism, Council on American-Islamic Relations - Chicago, Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine, North Shore Coalition for Peace, Justice and the Environment, Chicago Area Peace Action, US Palestinian Community Network, Code Pink, International Solidarity Movement, World Can’t Wait

***JOIN US AT 1 P.M. AT THE WHITE HOUSE TO PROTEST AND PRAY FOR PALESTINE*** (RAIN OR SHINE)

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=219469021405086

Our families and friends in Palestine will be peacefully marching to Qalandiya where they will join together in prayer–a gesture of praying side-by-side in Al Aqsa mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We will be standing with them, physically and spiritually, in DC.

***PALESTINIANS ARE PALESTINIANS ARE PALESTINIANS–IT’S NOT “THEM” OR “YOU”. IT IS US! WE MUST STAND TOGETHER EN MASSE IN MASSES.***

Please spread the word widely. And remember, actions speak louder than words.: don’t just say you’re going to do. DO!

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/05/201151611522564602.html

More details to come…

ONE!

Note: Conference is full, but web livestreaming will be available at moveoveraipac.org from 10:30 AM (EST) to 3:00 PM (EST) to view the conference’s speakers and activities.

The schedule of events is below – please join in online or in person for these exciting programs and activities!

Friday, May 20: White House Protest of Netanyahu

12:00pm: Protest outside the White House (1600 Pennsylvania Ave), while Obama meets Netanyahu

2:30pm – 4:30pm: Art-making party at the CODEPINK DC office (1247 E St SE near the Potomac Ave Metro) to make visuals

5:00pm: Opening Action – Contact Rae if you’re interested in being part of this rush hour creative action

Saturday, May 21: Move Over AIPAC Summit, 8:00am – 7:00pm

Unless noted otherwise, all events to take place at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church (900 Massachusetts Ave NW near the Mt. Vernon Square Metro) To attend the Summit you mustregister in advance. Contact Rae (415-994-1723) for any questions and not the Church.

8:00am – 9:00am: Registration

9:00am – 10:30am: Welcome with CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin, human rights advocate Anna Baltzer and others

Medea Benjamin (click for biography)

Anna Baltzer (click for biography)

10:30am – 12:30pm: Unpacking AIPAC
Keynote Address with Professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, co-authors of The Israel Lobby

Mearsheimer and Walt are the nation’s foremost experts on AIPAC. Their groundbreaking book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, published in 2007, made the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into 19 different languages. The book focuses primarily on the lobby’s influence on U.S. foreign policy and its negative effect on American interests. The book created, and continues to generate, a firestorm of controversy, but their arguments are meticulously researched and superbly written. Mearsheimer and Walt are widely credited with having the courage to force into the open a subject that has for too long remained taboo.

Stephen M. Walt (click for biography)

John J. Mearsheimer (click for biography)

12:30pm – 1:30pm: Lunch catered by BusBoys & Poets  Note: Lunch included in registration cost

12:30pm – 1:30pm: Author’s Salon

America’s Misadventure – Chas W. Freeman (click for biography)

Gaza Mom: Palestine, Politics, Parenting, and Everything in Between – Laila El-Haddad (click for biography)

Breakthrough: Transforming Fear into Compassion – Rich Forer (click for biography)

Fast Times in Palestine – Pamela Olson (click for biography)

1:30pm – 3:00pm: Time for a New Foreign Policy
Panel and Discussion with Noura Erakat, Nadia Hijab, and Phyllis Bennis

It is time to wean U.S. policy away from AIPAC’s grip and towards an even-handed position that respects international law and the human rights of all people in the region. This panel discussion will outline a U.S. foreign policy that would be beneficial for the U.S. and region, and steps we can take to move in that direction.

Moderated by Felicia Eaves, a human rights advocate for almost 20 years, U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation Steering Committee member and former Vice Chair of Black Voices for Peace.

Phyllis Bennis (click for biography)

Noura Erekat (click for biography)

Nadia Hijab (click for biography)

3:15pm – 4:30pm: Workshop Session I (click on workshop names for details)

-The Goldstone Report: The Legacy of the Landmark Investigation of the Gaza Conflict
Laila El-Haddad, Noura Erakat, Donna Nevel, and Lizzy Ratner

-Combating Misused Charges of Anti-Semitism
Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb

-Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions: Campaigns That Work!
Dalit Baum, Nancy Kricorian, Dave Lippman, and Rebecca Vilkomerson

-Exposing AIPAC: Delving into the Nitty-Gritty of How the Israel Lobby Works
Jeffrey Blankfort, Janet McMahon, Grant Smith

-Buses, Billboards, and Digital Displays: Creative Tactics to Oppose U.S. Military Aid to Israel
Caren Levy-Van Slyke, Mai Abdul Rahman and Rich Forer

-Poster and Puppet-making
Tighe Barry

4:45pm – 6:00pm: Workshop Session II (click on workshop names for details)

-Flashmobs and Creative Actions
Rae Abileah, Max Blumenthal and Dave Lippman

-Speaker Training: Educating & Engaging your Community in an Effective & Non-Alienating Way
Anna Baltzer

-Influencing Congress and Other Government Officials
Paul Kawika Martin, Barbara Wien and Gael Murphy

-Israel, the Bomb, and a Mid-East NWFZ (Nuclear Weapons Free Zone)
Jay Marx, Kevin Martin and Leila Zand

-Student Divestment Campaigns and the Role of AIPAC on Campus
Sarah Jawari, Andrew Meyer, Hanna King and Nuha Masri

-Poster and Puppet-making
Tighe Barry

6:15pm – 7:00pm: Closing Session and Next Steps with Ret. Col. Ann Wright (US Boat to Gaza)

Ann Wright (click for biography)

8:00pm – 10:00pm: Evening Event at BusBoys and Poets* (1025 5th Street NW near the Mt. Vernon Square Metro): A Special Tribute to Peacemakers and Truthtellers for Justice in Palestine (click for details)

Sunday, May 22: Main Action Day

Unless noted otherwise, all events to take place outside the AIPAC Conference (corner of Massachusetts & 9th ST NW)

8:00am – 10:00am: Mass actions outside AIPAC Conference, Obama to speak to AIPAC

8:00am – 8:30am: Nonviolence Training

8:30am – 9:30am: Create Group Visual

10:00am – 12:30pm: Rally at the Convention Center

12:30pm – 1:30pm: Lunch (click for dining options near Convention Center)

1:30pm – 1:40pm: Performance of Seven Jewish Children by Jewish Voice for Peace – DC

1:40pm – 3:30pm: Gathering of BDS Organizers

1:40pm – 3:30pm: Outdoor Learning Circles and Justice Festival (click for details)

3:30pm – 5:00pm: Breaking the Siege and Tearing Down the Wall – creative actions outside the DC Convention Center

6:00pm – 8:00pm: Evening Event at BusBoys and Poets* (1025 5th Street NW near the Mt. Vernon Square Metro): Poets, Comedians and Dancers – Tears and Laughter for Palestine (click for details)

Monday, May 23: A Gala Affair

10:00am – 11:30am: Action at Department of Justice: AIPAC is not Above the Law!
AIPAC can steal tons of classified US national defense files to gin up a war with Iran, discredit rivals and twist policy. AIPAC can steal business and labor group information to win undeserved trade concessions for Israel. AIPAC can ignore repeat orders to register under the 1938 Foreign Agent Registration Act and violate US election laws with impunity, right? WRONG!
Join us at the Justice Department on the corner of 10th ST NW and Pennsylvania Avenue to demand that AIPAC be reregistered and reregulated under the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act.

12:00pm – 1:00pm: Lunch and Discussion at BusBoys and Poets* (1025 5th Street NW near the Mt. Vernon Square Metro): Palestinian Member of Knesset Haneen Zoabi - What does the real peace process look like? (click for details)

1:00pm – 3:00pm: Presentation at BusBoys and Poets* (1025 5th Street NW near the Mt. Vernon Square Metro): Ending Military Aid to Israel – A workshop on how to organize to challenge U.S. military aid to Israel (click for details)

3:00pm – 5:30pm: Creative Action Preparations- Art Making & Non-Violence Training (Corner of Massachusetts & 9th ST NW)

5:30pm – 7:00pm: Creative Action Outside the AIPAC Gala Banquet (Corner of Massachusetts & 9th ST NW)

7:30pm – 9:00pm: Debrief and Dinner at Chan’s Mongolian Grill (Inside the Convention Center, 1207 9th St NW at N. St)

Tuesday, May 24: Follow the Money!

9:00am – 5:00pm: Lobbying Congress for a Just Peace in the Middle East (pick up Congressional packets in Rayburn House Office Building Cafeteria)

10:00am: Protest at Capitol Hill (New Jersey & Independence)

1:00pm: Press Conference: Responding to Netanyahu’s Congressional Address
featuring Haneen Zoabi, Medea  Benjamin and Ret. Col. Ann Wright

6:00pm – 8:00pm: Evening event at BusBoys and Poets* (2021 14th Street NW near the Mt. Vernon Square Metro) – The Attack on the Gaza Flotilla: One Year On
Professor Ahmet Dogan, the father of Furkan Dogan, Katherine Gallagher, attorney at Center for Constitutional Rights, Phyllis Bennis, and Ret. Col. Ann Wright. Sponsored by Center for Constitutional Rights, US Boat to Gaza, BADIL, US Campaign to End the Occupation and the New Internationalism Project of IPS.

* Note: While there is no admission fee for this event, it is located in a progressive restaurant and you are asked to purchase dinner/drinks there. Limited seating for program, first come, first serve.

the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) & the Coalition to Protect People’s Rights (CPPR) present:

Political Repression in Palestine and the U.S.:

Criminalizing the Palestinian National Movement

with guests:

Awad Abdel Fattah, Secretary General of the National Democratic Assembly, on a national speaking tour from 1948 Palestine

Dr. Ghada Talhami, renowned Palestinian author and professor

Moderated by Hatem Abudayyeh, Palestinian Activist Raided and Subpoenaed by the FBI

Join us in a panel discussion about the manifestations and implications of political repression throughout Palestine and the United States, with particular attention to the most recent case of FBI repression of Palestinian activists in the U.S.

Sunday, May 15th, 2011

2-4pm

Jerusalem Restaurant & Banquet

8310 South Harlem Avenue

Bridgeview, IL 60455

Refreshments will be served. Cost is Free.

Awad Abdel Fattah is Secretary General of the National Democratic Assembly (NDA), Altajamoa. The NDA is a democratic political party that operates among Palestinians in Israel and holds three seats in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.

Dr. Ghada Talhami is a well-respected author, professor and lecturer on various Middle Eastern issues. She has authored more than 50 articles on subjects such as the Jerusalem question, the Palestine issue, Islam, women, Arab nationalism, Zionist history and Egyptian media. She has authored 6 books, her most recent titled,” Palestine in the Egyptian Press: From al-Ahram to al-Ahali.”

As a sneak peek of what’s to come this September, the US Palestinian Community Network-DC presents the DC premier screening of Elia Suleiman’s (Director of “Divine Intervention”) “The Time that Remains” on Thursday May 12th. An official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival in 2009, this movie is a delightful aesthetic and narrative treat.

When: Thursday May 12th
Where: E St. Cinema
555 11th Street, NW WDC 20004
Time: 7 PM
Tickets: $12, available at the door

On Friday, May 13, the DC Palestine Film Festival Kickoff Party will feature:
Short film screenings, including:
Screening of “Arafat & I”
Screening of “Be Quiet” (Dir: Sameh Zoabi)
Palestinian Folkloric Dance Dabkeh Troupe Meejana
Huda Asfour on Oud

Raffle – prizes include award-winning films, festival passes, boot camp vouchers and much more!!

Sponsored by: USPCN-DC, the Jerusalem Fund, and Badil
DC Palestine Film Fest Kickoff Party
Friday, May 13, 2011
8 PM – 10 PM
Busboys & Poets (14th and V)
DC
Tickets $10 at the door

In September 2011, the US Palestinian Community Network of DC plans to inaugurate the DC Palestine Film Festival – the first festival in DC to shine the spotlight solely on Palestinian filmmakers. It will include feature-length films and shorts from different genres ranging from dramas, to documentaries, to comedies as well as panel discussions with filmmakers. Finally, we will organize lively cultural events around the festival such as music, poetry, art displays, and dance.

The Impact

The stories that will be told in this festival are not necessarily about the Palestinian/Israel conflict, nor are they necessarily stories about Palestinians, but they are stories that reflect the dynamic formation of a transnational identity common to Palestinians and diasporic communities more generally. In a city filled with communities from all over the world, we think that DC hosts a variety of audiences that will embrace the stories, the art, and the culture that this festival will offer.

This project aims to bring DC’s various communities closer together through art, and catalyze invigorating discussions about film and culture using the lens of Palestinian filmmakers as an entry point.

This festival is a tribute to the tremendous work produced by Palestinian artists living under occupation and/or throughout a global diaspora.

What We Need

The success of this event depends on you. Your financial support will help make this festival one to remember.

We hope that you wil help us reach our overall goal of $15,000 by making a contribution.

Through this online campaign, we are aiming to raise $5000. Your donation will help pay for:

• film screening rights;
• venue costs;
• travel and accomodation for filmmaker; and
• posters and programs

Thank you in advance for your financial contribution.

Remember to come out to the DC Palestine Film Festival in September 2011 and bring your friends!

Other Ways You Can Help

Spread the word about the DC Palestine Film Festival 2011 and follow our progress and activities on our website or on facebook.

You can also email us with any questions/suggestions at palestinefilmdc@gmail.com

THANK YOU!