Anti-Apartheid awareness
Posted on Mar 07, 2013 in News
Students for Justice in Palestine announces UAB’s first appearance of Israeli Apartheid Week this week. It brings a week and a half full of events for students to be informed and educated on what is occurring in Palestine.
Students for Justice in Palestine announces UAB’s first Israeli Apartheid Week this week. Facebook.com
Israeli Apartheid Week is a worldwide movement to educate the public on the illegal actions taken by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people. The term “apartheid” specifically means the illegal act of dominance on a race of people by another race through the suppression of their people.
The first event of the movement is a Student-Led Teach-in on today, March 5 at 6 p.m. in room 145 at the Education Building. This event will teach UAB students about life in Palestine before and after the wall around Gaza and West Bank was constructed.
The Teach-in will also educate students of the United States government involvement in Israeli actions. Students will also learn how they can become involved in the movement and what they can do to help.
The following evening at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Hall, there will be an event called Cultural Resistance. The purpose of this event is to celebrate and showcase how the Palestinian culture has remained resilient during Israeli’s actions.
Cultural Resistance will entail spoken word by students and teachers. The spoken word will either be original works by the performers or works previously done by world renowned activist, such as Remi Kenazi.
Along with the spoken word, there will be traditional Palestinian food accompanied by traditional seating on rugs and floor pillows. There will also be traditional music along with a Palestinian line dance called Dabke.
On Thursday in the Alumni Auditorium at 6 p.m., there is a movie showing of Rana’s Wedding. This movie showcases the struggle of Palestinian’s through the life of a young girl and her strive to be married to her fiancée.
The next event takes place all day outside of the HUC from March 11 to 13, and is called the Mock Apartheid Wall. This wall will be painted to symbolize the wall around Gaza and West Bank.
The wall will be covered with graffiti similar to that of the graffiti on the actual wall. The wall will also feature facts and information about the Israeli Apartheid Movement and Palestine.
The final event will be at 6 p.m. on March 13 in Alumni Auditorium. There will be a movie showing of Roadmap to Apartheid. This movie brings forward connections between the current Apartheid movement in Palestine and the Apartheid movement occurred in South Africa several decades ago.
Following the movie there will be a panel for students to ask questions. In addition to the panel Theodore Foster, a professor of African studies , will speak on the South African Apartheid and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.
There is also a chance that UAB alumnus Dr. Omar Al-Barghouti will attend the event to speak on the Israeli Apartheid Week movement.
With over 200 active organizations on campus across the United States the main goal of Students for Justice in Palestine is to educate and inform college students around the nation about the actions of the Israeli government. The organization also promotes the active boycotting of Israeli products, services, and business and plans to host future movements to encourage UAB’s faculty and staff to join in the boycott.
Michael Newton
Staff Writer
mjnewton@uab.edu