NGO Action News – 05 October 2015

This newsletter informs about recent and upcoming activities of Civil Society Organizations affiliated with the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. The Committee and the Division for Palestinian Rights of the UN Secretariat provide the information “as is” without warranty of any kind, and do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, or reliability of the information contained in the websites linked in the newsletter.

NGO Action News
05 October 2015

Europe

• On 2- 4 October the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, UK presented the Conference on Settler Colonialism in Palestine . Among the speakers were historian Ilan Pappe, Marcelo Svirsky (University of Wollogong, Australia), and Lorenzo Veracini (Swinburne University of Technology, Australia).

• On 6 October, the Annual UK Conservative Party Conference 2015 will hold a side event in association with Palestine Solidarity Campaign on ‘A just policy for Palestine?’The discussion will highlight a political way forward, focusing on the use of economic solutions and diplomacy as tools to resolve the conflict. The panel will include the participation of Tania Mathias (MP for Twickenham), Kamel Hawwas (Vice Chair of Palestine Solidarity Campaign), and Arthur Goodman (Jews for Justice for Palestinians).

• On 6 October Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, UK will present “The Future of the Two State Solution” The Conference will be chaired by Sir Tom Phillips and includes the participation of Dr. Ahmad Khalidi and Ari Shavit. The speakers will offer their perspectives on the current state of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
• On 6 October the Milton Keynes Palestine Solidarity Campaign will be hosting a presentation on ‘The Palestinian History Tapestry Project’ in Milton Keynes, a not-for-profit UK organization established to support Palestinian embroiderers in telling their stories.

• On 15 October, Blackwell’s bookstore at the University College London Institute of Education will present the book “Romeo and Juliet in Palestine: Teaching under Occupation.” The book written by Tom Sperlinger, is a short memoir reflecting the author’s encounters with young Palestinians in and out of the classroom.

• On 17 – 18 October the School of Oriental and African StudiesStudent’s Union UK will hold the Palestine Society 10th Annual Conference: Settlers And Citizens: A Critical View Of Israeli Society. The conference aims to highlight the continuities in Israeli politics both between different segments of Israeli society as well as between different epochs of the state’s existence.. The Conference will have the participation of Nadim Rouhana (The Fletcher School), Ismael Abu Saad (Ben Gurion University), and Ilan Pappe (University of Exeter), among others.

Global

• The United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People held the International Meeting on the Question of Palestine on “Israeli settlements as an obstacle to peace – possible ways forward” held in Brussels on 7 and 8 September 2015 and consultations with civil society on 9 September. You can access the Chairman’s summary of the sessions of the International Meeting.

North America

• On 1 October, the World Council of Churches UN Office and the Israel-Palestine NGO Working Group at the United Nations held a meeting with Ms. Shadia Sbait, Palestinian Activist and Founder of Iqrit Community Association on “An example of non-violent popular and legal struggle for justice and the right to return home (Palestine-Israel) “ in New York.

• On 6 October the Centre for Palestine Studies will present the conversation “Palestine and the Limits of Academic Freedom” with Steven Salaita and Rashid Khalidi. They will discuss academic freedom, free speech on campus, and the movement for justice in Palestine.