20 November 2015

Asia

• Palestine Solidarity Campaign Thailand is commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People with the theme “Palestine Today and Tomorrow” at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCWA) building in Bangkok on 26 November. Speakers will be Imtiaz Muqbil, Executive Editor, Travel Impact Newswire, speaking about “Sustainability and Tourism in Palestine”, Professor Dr. Jaran Maluleem, Head of International Relations Department, Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University, speaking about “the current state of the Palestinian economy, its social context and political constraints”, Alee Arif, a representative of the Thai Muslim Community and a speaker from the NGO sector.

Europe

• The municipality of Leiden, the Netherlands is hosting a photo exhibition by Anne Paq and ActiveSkills “This used to be my bedroom”. In 2014, photographer Anne Paq documented the impact of the war on Gaza and through photographs of children and one simple question: “What do you miss the most from your room?”. The opening of the exhibition will be on 19 of November with the mayor of Leiden, Henri Lenferink and Aloys van Rest, Director at Defence for Children. The exhibition will run from 17 to 27 November 2015.
• On 18 November, the Palestine Book Awards 2015 will hold an event with the shortlisted authors for the Awards in London. The event will be chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan, Director of the Middle East Centre at St Antony’s College, Oxford. The shortlisted books are “Baddawi”, by Leila Abdelrazaq, “Chief Complaint” by Hatim Kanaaneh, MD, “Gaza, A History” by Jean-Pierre Filiu, “Jerusalem Interrupted” by Lena Jayyusi, “The Drone Eats With Me” by Atef Abu Saif, “The Palestinians” by Elias Sanbar, and “Vanished” by Ahmed Masoud.

Global

• Librarians and Archivists with Palestine, a network of librarians, archivists, and information workers in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for self-determination are launching the second international reading campaign in January 2016 to discuss Sharon and My Mother-in-Law, the acclaimed memoir by Palestinian author and architect Suad Amiry.

North America

• On 16 November, the Palestine Centre of the Jerusalem Fund in Washington, D.C. presented “Shifting the Paradigm” with Ambassador Maen Rashid Areikat, Chief PLO Representative to the US, who spoke about the urgent need for a paradigm shift in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
• On 19 November, the Center for Palestine Studies, Columbia University in New York City held a discussion with Irene Gendzier and Rashid Khalidi “Dying to Forget: Oil, Power, Palestine and the Foundations of US Policy in the Middle East”.
• On 28 November, the Canada Palestine Association in Vancouver will commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and honour Robert Lovelace, indigenous activist, lecturer and twice a Freedom Flotilla to Gaza sailor.

Middle East

• On 6 and 7 December, the World Federation of Trade Unions and the General Union of Palestine Workers will hold the International Solidarity Conference with the Palestinian People in Ramallah, Palestine.
• Last month, the Geneva Initiative organised a field tour for of Greater Jerusalem for foreign diplomats based in Israel. The Geneva Initiative also organised a field tour last month for key political and social activists from the Ethiopian-Israeli community. During the tour the participants saw the separation between the Jewish and Palestinian neighbourhoods of Jerusalem, heard about the “unique” status of residents of East Jerusalem and discussed possible solutions within the framework of a permanent status agreement.

United Nations

• The UN Palestinian Rights Committee will observe the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Monday, 23 November 2015 at the UN Headquarters in New York. Observances will also be held at the UN Offices at Geneva on 30 November and at Vienna on 24 November. Events to mark Solidarity Day will also be organised at the UN Information Centres in Cairo, Jakarta, Canberra, Pretoria, Dakar and Moscow.
• The United Nations Information Centers will organise events throughout the world:

Algiers	27/11/2015	International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
Ankara	29/11/2015	Outreach Activities related to International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
Dakar	29/11/2015	Celebration of the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian people in partnership with UNIC Dakar, CODESRIA , Cheikh Anta Diop University and Palestinian Embassy
Dar es Salaam	29/11/2015	International Day of Solidarity with the Peoples of Palestine
Ouagadougou	29/11/2015	Public conference on the occasion of International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
Pretoria	27/11/2015	Commemorative event to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, in partnership with the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, as well as the Embassy of the State of Palestine.

• Solidarity Day, United Nations Headquarters, New York, Monday 23 November, (New York Time, UTC-5) – Live stream: http://webtv.un.org/

 

• Programme
• 10.00 Special Meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. All the UN membership is invited. This year’s speakers include the President of the General Assembly, the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, the Chairman of the Committee, the President of the Security Council and the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine. Defence for Children International Palestine will also speak.
• 15.00 Annual Debate of the General Assembly on the Question of Palestine
• 18:00. A photo exhibit entitled “Palestinian Children: Overcoming Tragedies with Hope, Dreams, Resilience and Dignity” featuring photographs of Palestinian children in Gaza, will be opened in the public lobby of the UN.
• Want to connect with other civil society organisations on Solidarity Day?
• You may wish to contact civil society organizations, located near you, working to promote Palestinian rights to observe Solidarity Day, network and watch together the special meeting of the Committee and the General Assembly Debate on the Question of Palestine on 23 November. To find civil society organizations accredited or with observer status to the Committee located near you and get in touch with them: http://unpfp.un.org/state.html
• For more information, you may visit the Division for Palestinian Right’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/#!/UN.palestinianrights/ or follow us on Twitter @UNISPAL using #PalestineDay to tweet about your activities for Solidarity Day.
• Want to tell us about it?
• Email us at palestinianrights@un.org with a picture and information about the activities you organised to observe Solidarity Day. We will publish it on the Civil Society Page of UNISPAL and inform other CSOs through our weekly newsletter NGO Action News.

 

• The UN Palestinian Rights Committee in cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation will hold the International Conference on the Question of Jerusalem“Addressing the present and shaping the future of Jerusalem” in Jakarta, Indonesia from 14 to 15 December. A Civil Society Forum “Civil society action in support of justice in Palestine, and ending the occupation”will be held on 16 December. Invitations to attend to accredited and observers CSOs will be sent shortly.