Conferences
Conference 2011
9 articles
What: 6th Annual Bil’in Conference on the Palestinian Popular Struggle
When: 20-23 April 2011
Where: The Village of Bil’in, Occupied West Bank
Conference Schedule
Wednesday, April 20th
10:00-12:00 — Opening Session
Palestinian National Anthem
Welcoming statement by Abdallah Abu Rahmah and Eyad Burnat
Presentation by grassroots organizers from across the Occupied Territories
Opening statement by Abbas Zacki on behalf of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)
Launch of the Freedom and Justice Boat live from Gaza Rachal Corrie’s mother, Cindy Corrie
Opening statement by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
12:00-12:15 — Break
12:15-14:15 — Popular Struggle Panel
Building an effective popular movement
Prominent Palestinian grassroots leaders and academics will discuss strategies for building a mass Palestinian grassroots movement in the post Arab Spring era.
Facilitated by: Dr. Rateb Abu Rahmah.
Speakers: Jamal Juma’ - Stop the Wall, Mohammed Nazzal – National Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, Mohammed Khatib – Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, Nariman Tamimi – Nabi Saleh Popular Committee, Halah Sho’eibi – youth activist.
14:15-15:30 — Lunch
15:30-16:30 — Lessons from the Egyptian Revolution
Video conference by satellite link with representatives of the youth movements who lead the Egyptian revolution.
Speakers: Mohammed Waked - member of kifayyeh and Revolutionary Scocialists; Arwa Mar’i - member of We Are All Resistance; Ahmad Doma - Youth for Justice and Freedom; Mohammed el-Qasas - member of the Muslim Brotherhood and a representative of the Youth Coalition; Tareq Shalaby - blogger and political activist; Mahmoud Abu Sharkh - a pro-Palestinian activist
16:30-16:45 — Break
16:45-19:00 — Palestinian Politics and the Popular Struggle
The panel will deal with the lack of a wider Palestinian popular uprising of the kind that have been re- cently sweeping through the Arab World and ways to circumvent the problems such an uprising faces in the Palestinian street. The panel will be participated by representatives of all the major Palestinian political factions.
Facilitated by: the journalist Qassem Khatib.
Speakers: Nabil Sha’ath – Fatah, Khaleda Jarrar – PFLP, Mus- tafa Barghouthi – Mubara, Representative of the DFLP, Representative of the Palestinian islamic legislators, Representative of the Palestinian People Party.
Thursday, April 21st
9:30-10:00 — Opening
Opening statement by Maher Ghneim, the Palestinian Minister of State, and Bassel Mansour on behalf of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements.
10:00-11:45 — Boycott Divestment and Sanctions
Promoting a Culture of Resistance
Speakers:
Dr. Ahdaf Souief - the author of the bestselling The Map of Love (shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1999 and translated into more than 20 languages), as well as the well-loved In the Eye of the Sun and the collection of short stories, I Think of You.
Dr. Karma Nabulsi - Professor at Oxford University, and until 1990 a representative in the PLO in lebanon, Tunis, and the United Kingdom.
Omar Barghouti - Founding Member of the BDS movement
12:00-14:30 — On the Ground
Discussion on local examples of the Palestinian popular struggle in the South Hebron Hills, Hebron, alMa’asara, alWalaja, Nabi Saleh, Ni’ilin, the Jordan Valley and the villages affected by the still segregated Road 443
14:30-15:45 — Lunch
16:00-19:00 — Five Parallel Workshops
- BDS
- Strengthening the international support of the movement
- The popular struggle inside 48’
- Strengthening internal coordination. A closed workshop for members of the popular committees
- Promoting public and legal accountability
Friday, April 22nd
10:00-12:00 — Annual Memorial for Bassem Abu Rahmah
Opening by Ahmad Abu Rahmah on behalf of Bassem’s family
Luisa Morgantini – Former Vice President of the European Parliament and coordinator of the International Network in Support of the Palestinian Popular Struggle.
Khaleda Jarrar on behalf of the National and Islamic forces.
Message from Marwan Barghouthi
12:00-13:30 — Activist Training for the Weekly Demonstrations
13:30 — Demonstration
Saturday, April 23rd
All Day: Field trips
FAQ
How can I pay for the conference?
30 € donation is asked for registration. The conference steering committee does not accept credit cards and personal checks, please bring cash only.
How do I get to Bilin village?
You need to get to Ramallah, from Ramallah there are services that can take you to Bil’in either by waiting in the van to fill up and the price in this case is NIS 5 five Shekels or by taking a Taxi to the village and this will cost in between NIS 40-60. When you get to Ramallah, ask about « Mujma’ Al Mantiqa Al Gharbiya » means the services station for the Western Areas. You can also call one of the drivers for Bil’in, his name is Khaled Burnat (059-908-7318).
What kind of accommodation is available?
All accommodation will be in Bil’in with host families. Showers will be available in the houses. It is 20 € per person per day and this price include dinner and breakfast and all lunches will be available at the conference site.
Contacts
For any questions about the conference or your registration, please write to Bil’in Popular Committee: committee@bilin-village.org or call 059-891-4541.
- 04/29/2011 : Closing Statement of the 6th Bil’in Conference on Popular Resistance
- 04/22/2011 : Bil’in Conference on Popular Resistance ends with mass demonstration
- 04/22/2011 : 6th Annual Bil’in Conference on Popular Resistance: April 22, 2011 Demonstration
- 04/21/2011 : The 6th Annual Bil'in Conference
- 04/21/2011 : 6th Annual Bil’in Conference on Popular Resistance: Luisa Morgantini and Cindy Corrie (20/04/2011)
- 04/20/2011 : Hundreds Celebrated Popular Struggle at the opening of the 6th Bil'in Conference
- 03/21/2011 : Conference 2011: Program and registration
- 02/26/2011 : April 20-23: The 6th Annual Bil'in Conference on the Palestinian Popular Struggle
- 04/19/2010 : 6th Annual Conference on Popular Resistance
Conference 2010
20 articles
- 08/18/2010 : The Real News: Is Israel an Apartheid State ?
- 05/13/2010 : Report on the fifth international conference in Bil'in by TV channel NTN24 (Colombia)
- 04/28/2010 : Report on Bil'in Conference (The Real News)
- 04/28/2010 : Light at end of tunnel
- 04/27/2010 : Fifth Bil'in Conference: Setting the Stage
- 04/26/2010 : What if Bil’in held a demo and the army didn’t show up?
- 04/26/2010 : Israel's Big and Small Apartheids: Meaning of a Jewish State
- 04/26/2010 : Embraces, warm and cool
- 04/25/2010 : From Bil'in to Beit Jala
- 04/24/2010 : The fifth Bil'in International Conference on the Popular Struggle: Closing Statement
Conference 2009
18 articles
From April 22th to April 24th, 2009, Bil’in held their fourth Annual International Conference. The conference was dedicated to the memory of Bassem Abu Rahma killed at the weekly demonstration against the wall and settlements on April 17, 2009.
Extract from the closing statement:
The participants of the Fourth Bil’in Conference for Non-Violent Resistance are committed to the rights of the Palestinian people through: supporting and promoting popular forms of resistance throughout the occupied Palestinian territories, encouraging the Palestinian leadership and civil society to assume a more active role in the popular resistance movement, promoting the culture of resistance and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, unifying the Palestinian people geographically and politically through involving Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in the popular movement and helping overcome the blockade and isolation, and raising the awareness of the daily realities of Palestinian suffering under the occupation through field visits.
- 05/28/2009 : Movements against the occupation: the Bil’in conference, new ways to stop the apartheid
- 05/18/2009 : Dr. Haidar Eid's speech at the 4th Bil'in International Conference on Grassroots Popular Resistance
- 05/05/2009 : Gaza 2009: The Moment of Truth
- 05/01/2009 : Máiread Corrigan-Maguire: Stand Up to Israeli Apartheid
- 04/27/2009 : Bil’in Nonviolent Resistance Conference: Between Rhetoric and Action
- 04/27/2009 : Non-violent protests against West Bank barrier turn increasingly dangerous
- 04/26/2009 : Conference 2009 : April 24, 2009 Demonstration
- 04/26/2009 : Conference 2009 : April 24, 2009 Demonstration
- 04/26/2009 : Hundreds of activists join Bil’in in struggle against ‘Israeli apartheid’
- 04/25/2009 : Conference 2009 : April 24, 2009 Demonstration
Conference 2008
17 articles
From June 4th to June 6th, Bil’in held their third Annual International Conference. Nearly 300 participants - Israelis, Palestinians and Internationals - attended this three day conference.
Among the speakers, were present: Salam Fayyad, Palestinian prime minister; Rafiq al-Husseini, Chief of Staff of Mahmoud Abbas; Luisa Morgantini, vice-president of the European Parliament; Mairead Maguire, Irish activist, Nobel Prize; Omar Barghouti, a Palestinian independent political analyst and one of the founders of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI); Michael Warschawski, author, journalist and co-founder of the Alternative Information Center (AIC); representatives of Palestinian political parties as well as delegations of peace activists from Israel and many countries (France, Italy, Spain, Germany, England, Canada, Ireland, Greece, Switzerland, USA and Netherlands). The former president of USA, Jimmy Carter, sent a letter to participants, which was read to the audience. The conference also received a video message of support from former Director General of UNESCO, Federico Mayor Zaragoza.
This year, a day of the conference was dedicated to visit other towns and villages who are also facing the expansion of colonization and occupation on a daily basis. In addition, Hani Amer (from Mas’ha village) and Feryal Abu Haikal (from Tel Rumeida) were also present at the conference to explain the situation in their respective town and village.
The conference ended with the weekly demonstration, which had started with a soccer game quickly interrupted by the firing of tear gas. This year again the demonstration was hardly repressed by the Israeli army.
- 06/11/2008 : Third Annual Bil'in Conference Speakers
- 06/11/2008 : Iyad Burnat's presentation to Third Annual Conference in Bil’in
- 06/09/2008 : Solidarity With Bil’in: Between Football Games And Tear Gas
- 06/07/2008 : European dignitaries injured in Bil'in
- 06/07/2008 : June 6, 2008 Demonstration (ending Bil'in Third International Conference on Popular Resistance)
- 06/07/2008 : Flashes from Bil'in Third International Conference on Popular Resistance, June 4-6, 2008
- 06/07/2008 : Italian Judge Injured By Israeli Army In Peaceful Demonstration Against The Wall, In Bil’in
- 06/07/2008 : Telling lies about Bil’in
- 06/06/2008 : Closing Statement of the Third Bil'in Conference on Non-Violent Resistance
- 06/06/2008 : The Third Annual Bilin Conference on Peaceful Popular Resistance ended today with a protest at the Apartheid Wall
Conference 2007
38 articles
From Wednesday, April 18 to Friday, April 20, Bil’in held their second Annual International Conference. Nearly 500 participants - Israelis, Palestinians and Internationals - attended this three day conference.
Wednesday April 18, guest speakers from all over the world participated on the first day of the Conference, including: Mohammad Khatib and members of the Bil’in Popular Committee; Dr. Ilan Pappe, Israeli author of "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine"; Dr. Azmi Bishara, Arab Israeli Member of the Knesset; Luisa Morgantini, Italian EU Parliament Member and Peace Activist; Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Irish Nobel Peace Prize recipient ; Stéphane Hessel, former French Ambassador; Jean-Claude Lefort, French Parliament member; Amira Hass, author and journalist for Ha’aretz; Sam Bahour, Palestinian activist and entrepreneur; Palestine Information Minister Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, and many more. In the evening, participants and inhabitants of Bil’in watched together Bil’in against the Wall, the latest film directed by Emad Bornat, journalist and inhabitant of Bi’lin.
Thursday April 19, day 2 of Conference, focused on workshops (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions; Media advocacy, etc). Additional workshops were led by Jeff Halper from the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions; George Rishmawi, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement; Uri Avnery, Israeli journalist and Knesset member. In the evening, Bil’in Youth did a Dabkeh show (palestinian traditionnal dance).
On Friday April 20, last day of the Conference, and "demo day" in Bil’in since February 2005, a press conference was held near the Wall. Participants and villagers protested together despite the IDF repression. Tito, an activist from Porto Rico, climbed on a surveillance tower located on Bil’in confiscated lands behind the Wall now and unfurled a Palestinian flag at the top. Tito has been deported by Israeli authorities and is not allowed to return to Palestine and Israel.
- 09/01/2007 : Flashes from Bil'in Second International Conference on Popular Resistance, April 2007
- 07/20/2007 : Mohamed Khatib’s presentation to Second Annual Conference in Bil’in: “What is Normalization?”
- 07/19/2007 : SAMWU First Vice President detained, strip searched by Israeli security
- 06/18/2007 : George S. Rishmawi’s presentation to Second Annual Conference in Bil’in: “Building Economy Self-Sufficiency”
- 06/04/2007 : Sam Bahour’s presentation to Second Annual Conference in Bil’in: “Building Economic Independence”
- 06/04/2007 : Mohamed Schtyer's presentation to Second Annual Conference in Bil’in: “The economy and Ending the occupation”
- 05/22/2007 : Luisa Morgantini’s presentation to Second Annual Conference in Bil’in: “40 years of occupation is enough”
- 05/19/2007 : Ilan Pappe’s presentation to Second Annual Conference in Bil’in: “Time is running out”
- 05/19/2007 : Jeff Halper’s presentation to Second Annual Conference in Bil’in: “We need an International Anti-Apartheid Campaign”
- 05/18/2007 : Omar Barghouti’s presentation to Second Annual Conference in Bil’in: “Moral Arguments and Counterarguments on BDS”
Conference 2006
7 articles
On February 20 and 21, an International Conference took place in Bil’in. Nearly 400 participants - Israelis, Palestinians and Internationals - attended this two day Conference which started with a presentation about the situation in Bil’in and some neighbouring villages such as Abud and Beit Sira. The program included also the following: discussions, workshops and think tanks, as well as a film screening about the first year of non violent resistance in Bil’in, a demonstration against the Wall, planting olive trees and holding a soccer game on annexed land…
- 03/12/2006 : International conference in Bil'in
- 02/25/2006 : An extraordinary conference
- 02/22/2006 : Extraordinary conference in Bil’in
- 02/21/2006 : Football against the Wall
- 02/19/2006 : The Joint Struggle and the Non-Violent International Struggle Against the Occupation
- 01/14/2006 : Message from Bil’in's Popular Committee Against the Wall
- 12/01/2005 : We refuse to be strangled by the wall in silence
