[Nakba Week] Palestine Day at Seomra Spraoi

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | event notice Monday April 19, 2010 16:09 by Freda H - IPSC

Skill sharing workshops and social events on May 15th 2010 from 12pm -12am

The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) is holding a day of workshops, skill sharing and social events for people who are interested in learning more about Palestine and geting involved in active campaign work here in Ireland. There will be a range of discussions and workshops covering both practical and theoretical issues as well as film screenings, a Palestinian food and a social evening.

Palestine Day aims to provide a space for building on and sustaining the processes that lead to establishing a well informed grassroots mass movement here in Ireland.

This event is part of a series of IPSC events to commemorate the Nakba – the ethnic cleansing of Palestine which led to the establishment of the exclusivist state of Israel. In 1948 over 700,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes, civilians were massacred & hundreds of Palestinian villages deliberately destroyed, this expulsion continues today. We can't stop yesterday's atrocities; we must prevent today's.

Programme for the day:

Banner Making Workshop 12pm- Learn how to make a durable, effective banner without all the hassle. Materials will be provided. Hosted by Bas O'Currain.

Forming a Student Solidarity Society 1.30pm- This session will deal with practical steps and ideas on how to go about organising a student society branch of the IPSC in your university. We'll discuss some of the issues, outline the resources we could provide and how best to make your campus based work effective.

Discussion sessions:

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) 3pm- The theoretical reasoning behind the BDS campaign and the necessity for such a campaign will be discussed by IPSC Chairperson Dr. David Landy while practical ideas for boycott actions and campaigns will be discussed by prominent Dutch activist Christine DeVos.

The Left in Palestine 4.30pm - A brief history of the Leftist parties in Palestine will be given by Kevin Squires and Freda Hughes of the IPSC who will go on to discuss the current fractious nature of the Left and the new generation of collectivists emerging within Anti-Zionist activism.

Film screening :

The Land Speaks Arabic (Maryse Gargour) 6pm - The Land Speaks Arabic documents the founding of the Zionist movement and the expulsion of Palestinians in the early part of the 20th century.In this documentary the late 19th century birth of Zionism—and its repercussions for Palestinians—is detailed with original source documents, Zionist leaders' quotations, rare archival footage, testimonies of witnesses and interviews with historians. All help to illustrate that the expulsion of the indigenous Arab population from Palestine was far from an accidental result of the 1948 war. This award-winning film shines a spotlight on the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by the Zionist movement.

Social Evening 8pm - On the night there will be Palestinian food, Palestinian and Arabic music (from folk to electronica to hip hop) and craic galore. This is a bring your own
booze event, and the cost of entry is just a suggested donation of €5. This may or may not include a free bottle of Palestinian Taybeh beer while stocks last.

Palestinian Food - Falafel plate, Tabouleh, Tzatsiki, Harissa, Humus and Chips will be provided by the Seomra Kitchen Collective for a donation of €5.

This event is organised by The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) as part of Nakba Week (May 8th-15th) and will be held in Seomra Spraoi, 10 Belvedere Court, Dublin 1. Map here : http://ipsc.ie/images/seomramap.jpg

This event will operate on a donation basis and is open to all.

Recommended donation:
Daytime session (workshops/discussion groups/screening) - €5
Social evening - €5
Food will be provided by the Seomra Kitchen Collective who also operate on a donation basis.

For more information on Nakba Week see www.ipsc.ie