7:30 p.m.

Over 300 Lebanese and 100 Palestinians have been killed, and many more injured, since Israel's latest assaults on Gaza and Lebanon began. Lebanese children have been slaughtered alongside their Palestinian brothers and sisters, and Lebanese and Palestinian infrastructure destroyed by Israeli military machinery - bought and paid for by US tax dollars, as the US government gives economic, political and military support to the Zionist army of occupation and invasion as it wages war upon the Arabs of Palestine and Lebanon - its latest act in the Zionist war against the Arab people. It is imperative that our voices be HEARD against these crimes!! Join us on Friday, July 21 - Bring your Palestinian and Lebanese flags and your commitment to justice!!

Stop the War on Lebanon and Palestine!!
Freedom for All Arab Political Prisoners in Zionist Jails!!
End US Aid to Israel Now!!
The People of Palestine Have the Right to Return!!

DIRECTIONS:

By Car: NJ Turnpike exit 9 to Route 18 North. After 3 miles, take Albany St/Route 27 toward Princeton. George Street is second light. Street parking can likely be found by turning right on George St, then left on Somerset.

By Train: Take NJ Transit Northeast Corridor Line to New Brunswick. If you exit on Somerset St, walk to the bottom of the hill, then turn right on George Street. Albany Street/Route 27 is the next block. If you exit on Easton Ave, walk left to the bottom of the hill, then turn left onto Albany Street/Route 27. George Street is the next block.

7:00 p.m.

Join us to view this film that tells the story of a theatre group that was established by Arna Mer Khamis. Arna comes from a Zionist family and in the 1950s married a Palestinian Arab, Saliba Khamis. On the West Bank, she opened an alternative education system for children whose regular life was disrupted by the Israeli occupation. The theatre group that she started engaged children from Jenin, helping them to express their everyday frustrations, anger, bitterness and fear. Arna's son Juliano, director of this film, was also one of the directors of Jenin's theatre. With his camera, he filmed the children during rehearsal periods from 1989 to 1996. Now he goes back to see what happened to them. An important story of life under occupation, and of cultural and political resistance.

Friday, May 12th Resisting Occupation Through Film: Balata Film Collective

The Bridge (Made in Palestine exhibition space)
521 W. 26th St. 3rd Floor
New York City

7:00 p.m.

$5 - $10 suggested donation

The Balata Film Collective was initiated to enable young Palestinians from Balata Refugee camp to use film as a method to break their isolation, challenge their oppression, and represent their lives to the world. This May 2006, 3 members of the collective will be touring the U.S. sharing their films and their stories, and hoping to build connections with other film collectives and film makers involved in the global struggle for justice and liberation.

Ruby Said (26 years old), who had no prior experience with video cameras or computers, became active in the Balata Film Collective in Spring of 2005. Since then, she has participated in the making of 5 short films and the documentary film "Nour's Dream". Ruby is also a women's rights activist and a secretary at the Yafa Cultural Center where she coordinates children's activities.

Mohammed Farraj (28 years old) helped to found the Balata Film Collective and balatacamp.net news service after he was released from spending 2 years in zionist prisons in winter of 2004. Mohammed is a prisoner rights and human rights activist and a journalism student at An-Najah National University.

Mohammed Hajhamad (32 years old) has run many drama programs and summer camps for children in Balata Camp, and he is the head theater trainer of A'edoon ("We Will Return") Dabke and Art Theater group in Balata Camp's Yafa Cultural Center. Mohammed has been working in theater since 1993, and has directed many plays, several television pieces, and most recently the documentary film "Nour's Dream".

The Balata Film Collective will be raising funds during their visit to help them achieve the following goals:

• Founding theaters or cinemas to make our films available for every one who wants to see them.
• Training children, youth and adults in Balata Camp how to make documentaries and how to use cameras to deliver their ideas.
• Participating in film festivals to deliver our ideas to the world.

Sponsored by New Jersey Solidarity - Activists for the Liberation of Palestine, Al Jisser Group and Al-Awda NY.

Thursday, May 11th Resisting Occupation Through Film: Balata Film Collective

7:00 p.m.
New Brunswick Public Library
60 Livingston Ave
New Brunswick, NJ

$5 - $10 suggested donation

The Balata Film Collective was initiated to enable young Palestinians from Balata Refugee camp to use film as a method to break their isolation, challenge their oppression, and represent their lives to the world. This May 2006, 3 members of the collective will be touring the U.S. sharing their films and their stories, and hoping to build connections with other film collectives and film makers involved in the global struggle for justice and liberation.

Ruby Said (26 years old), who had no prior experience with video cameras or computers, became active in the Balata Film Collective in Spring of 2005. Since then, she has participated in the making of 5 short films and the documentary film "Nour's Dream". Ruby is also a women's rights activist and a secretary at the Yafa Cultural Center where she coordinates children's activities.

Mohammed Farraj (28 years old) helped to found the Balata Film Collective and balatacamp.net news service after he was released from spending 2 years in zionist prisons in winter of 2004. Mohammed is a prisoner rights and human rights activist and a journalism student at An-Najah National University.

Mohammed Hajhamad (32 years old) has run many drama programs and summer camps for children in Balata Camp, and he is the head theater trainer of A'edoon ("We Will Return") Dabke and Art Theater group in Balata Camp's Yafa Cultural Center. Mohammed has been working in theater since 1993, and has directed many plays, several television pieces, and most recently the documentary film "Nour's Dream".

The Balata Film Collective will be raising funds during their visit to help them achieve the following goals:

• Founding theaters or cinemas to make our films available for every one who wants to see them.
• Training children, youth and adults in Balata Camp how to make documentaries and how to use cameras to deliver their ideas.
• Participating in film festivals to deliver our ideas to the world.

DIRECTIONS:

From Rutgers University Campus or New Brunswick Train Station: Take the F bus to the Livingston Avenue bus stop. Library is two blocks down Livingston Avenue on the left.

From NJ Turnpike Exit 9, Route 1 or Route 18 North: Take Route 18 North to New Brunswick. Exit at New Street. Follow New Street to 3rd traffic light (Elks Club on corner). Turn left onto Livingston Avenue. Library is on your left.

Traveling South on Route 18: Exit at George Street/Rutgers University. Follow George Street to Livingston Avenue. Turn right onto Livingston Avenue. Library is two blocks past the stop light on your right

7:00 p.m.

$5 suggested donation

Balata Refugee Camp is one of the most hard-hit communities in Palestine's West Bank. The over 30,000 residents, refugees of the 1948 Nakba, live in a heavily militarized zone where tear gas, gunshots, and military searches are a part of everyday life. Join us to see these remarkable films - made in Balata Camp by young Palestinians, members of the Balata Film Collective!

In cooperation with Al Jisser Group and Al-Awda NY, New Jersey Solidarity - Activists for the Liberation of Palestine will be bringing 3 members of the Balata Film Collective to The Bridge! Please join us on May 3rd to view several of their short films and help us raise funds to cover their travel expenses for their U.S. tour.

PALESTINE AWARENESS WEEK 2006 AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY - New Brunswick, NJ APRIL 24 - APRIL 29 Join us for Palestine Awareness Week at Rutgers University! While six million Palestinian refugees are prohibited from returning home, while Palestinians face death and destruction on a daily basis for living in their land, while the US and its allies demand Palestinians acquiesce to oppression or be starved into submission, while a massive 25-foot high apartheid wall is tearing apart Palestinian land, and while every day, Palestinians struggle to live, learn, work, play, love and exist on their land, the US pours billions of dollars into the apartheid, racist colonial-settler state of israel - a state built upon the dispossession of Palestinian land and the oppression of Palestinian people. It is time to be AWARE of what is done in our name and with our money, and take a STAND! Become aware at these meetings: Monday, April 24th A SURVIVOR SPEAKS: AL-NAKBA AND THE STRUGGLE FOR PALESTINE 7:00 p.m. Room 411C, Rutgers Student Center 126 College Ave New Brunswick, NJ Directions to Scott Hall: http://maps.rutgers.edu/building.aspx?id=278 Join New Jersey Solidarity - Activists for the Liberation of Palestine for a presentation by Dawud Assad. Dawud Assad is a survivor of the Deir Yassin massacre, who lived through al-Nakba, and today lives in New Jersey and is a prominent member of the Arab and Muslim communities. A 17 year old Palestinian at the time of the Deir Yassin massacre, he miraculously survived the massacre, but had to live with the loss of more than 20 members of his extended family. His traumatic experience meant among other things the dealing with the loss of his 2 year old brother, his 96 year old grandmother and the arrest of his 6 year old sister. He lived through al-Nakba and is a living testament today of both the dispossession of Palestinians and the ongoing struggle for return and liberation. Thursday, April 27th PARADISE NOW: FILM VIEWING AND DISCUSSION 6:30 p.m. Room 411C, Rutgers Student Center 126 College Ave New Brunswick, NJ Directions to Scott Hall: http://maps.rutgers.edu/building.aspx?id=278 Join New Jersey Solidarity - Activists for the Liberation of Palestine to meet, view and discuss PARADISE NOW, Hany Abu Assad's Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated Palestinian film. Saturday, April 29th PALESTINE CONTINGENT: ANTI-WAR MARCH IN NYC New Brunswick: Gather at 9:45 AM at the New Brunswick train station New York: Gather at 11:00 AM on the Northeast Corner of Broadway and 21st Street. **You must approach Broadway from the east side (walking east-to-west along 21st Street from Park Avenue South. There is no way to cross Broadway from the west side, as it will be cordoned-off. Any train to Union Square will leave you east of Broadway. Look for Palestine flags! As the April 29 anti-war rally in New York City approaches, it is vital that the voice of Palestine be heard, loud and clear! When we march against the criminal war against and occupation of Iraq, we must also march for a free Palestine, and against the US/Zionist war on Palestine!! Bring your flags, kuffiyehs, signs and banners and make sure the call for a free Palestine is heard!!

Sunday, April 16th LYRICS FOR LIBERATION: Voices of Resistance! Featuring HBO Def Poet MARK GONZALES with SON OF NUN - HASAN SALAAM

7:00 p.m.
Scott Hall 135
43 College Avenue
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ

Directions to Scott Hall: http://maps.rutgers.edu/directions.aspx?id=291

From New York: Take the 5:56 pm NJ Transit Northeast Corridor Line from NY Penn Station to New Brunswick station to arrive at 6:44 pm.

For full direction details for coming by train, see arriving by train.

This incredible event is FREE! Bring all your friends!

Don't miss this evening of hip-hop and spoken word for Palestine - and for justice and liberation everywhere! Art and poetry have always been an integral part of the culture of resistance and liberation. Come for an unforgettable night of amazing performances by renowned spoken word and hip hop artists sharing their LYRICS OF LIBERATION.....

Featuring:

MARK GONZALES is a Hip Hop Theatre playwright, HBO Def Poet, performance lecturer, and founder of the Human Writes Project. He has been commissioned to perform his productions for Cornell University, the Cali (IE) Hip Hop Theatre Festival, members of the United Nation, U.S. Congress, and conferences across the United States. Gonzales uses spoken word and hip-hop theatre to focus on elements of oppression from African and indigenous drums to drum tracks; from the West Coast to the West Bank; from private property to mural Marxists. His performance lectures range from his identity as a Chicano born in Alaska, to his travels to Palestine and the Carribean. His lecture "Hip-Hop and Hegemony," uses spoken word and a turntable to give audio examples of how hip-hop has served and is serving as a tool of resistance, rebellion and enlightenment. In 2003, Gonzales traveled throughout the West Bank to document firsthand the struggle of the Palestinians for social justice. From these writings and dialogues, he has compiled several performance pieces and a Hip-Hop Theatre play; the result is a daring and innovative way of promoting social justice through Hip-Hop culture. Tapdancing between Fanon and Freire, Mark's words temporarily pirouet into your eardrums, only to take permanent residence in your cranium. Mark Gonzales is currently on a full Fellowship to obtain a Master's Degree Education from the University of California, Los Angeles. His target area is beautiful Watts, California. For more information and samples of Mark's work:
http://www.myspace.com/HWProject
http://www.onecypher.com/interviews/mark/mark.htm

SON OF NUN is a Baltimore city high school teacher, organizer, activist, and poet who doesn't just entertain his crowds -- he empowers them. s.o.n. has performed at universities, activist conferences, demonstrations, rallies ­ such as the Sorry State of the Union in front of the U.S. Capitol, and at nightclubs in Baltimore, DC, New York, Pennsylvania, and Chicago to name a few. He's opened for Mr. Lif, Akrobatic, Buck 65, Odd Jobs, Roni Size & Reprazent, and performed with Adam F., Diesel Boy, DJ Die, DJ Krust, and others. s.o.n. has appeared on the Invisible Records two disc compilation notes from thee real underground volume 2 with King Rhythm, and on the critically acclaimed WHAT'S LEFT album by King Rhythm on the Quatermass label (visit www.kingrhythm.com for reviews). s.o.n.'s range extends from hip hop, to spoken word, to drum 'n' bass, to freestyling with a live band. Earlier this summer the song "Fight Back" from s.o.n.'s full length cd ­ Blood and Fire - was selected from over 500 submissions to appear on the second volume of the renowned Peace Not War cd compilation with artists such as Anti Flag, Ani DiFranco, Paris, Lyrics Born, The Evens, Sonic Youth, and others to benefit antiwar groups. Most recently another song, "Free Palestine", from s.o.n.'s full length cd was chosen to appear on NPR's (National Public Radio) Open Mic Stage. It was voted, overwhelmingly, to be the best song of the week by visitors to the site. For more information and samples of s.o.n.'s work:
http://www.sonofnun.net

HASAN SALAAM aims to be at the forefront of the revolution. His commanding presence holds no punches as he relates to today's youth with honesty and fearlessness. Consequently, misguided portrayals of urban life and a lack of hip-hop with substance on the airwaves has birthed a new emcee. Attracted to hip-hop since the age of 10, the New Jersey native equates hip-hop to jazz. "I use words like an instrument," Hasan explains. "There's a build up in emotion and a climax you can feel." Smashing stereotypes and mediocre emcees, he delivers socially aware raps with an undeniable, bassy voice with grit. With his first independent release, Paradise Lost, Hasan asserts his message is one of total freedom despite hardship. Using music as a platform for positive social change, he has also performed all over the East Coast including a nationally aired performance on C-SPAN at last year's Anti-War Rally in Washington D.C. Gaining exposure in the underground, Hasan eventually edged forward opening performances for the legendary Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaata, Curtis Blow, Wyclef, Naughty by Nature, Busta Rhymes, Black Moon, Floetry, Common, and dead prez.

For more information:
http://www.hasansalaam.com
http://www.myspace.com/hasansalaam

Tuesday, April 11th Film Showing: "Naji Al-Ali: An Artist with Vision"

7:00 p.m.
The Bridge - Made In Palestine art gallery
521 W. 26th St. 3rd Floor
New York City

Documentary: 52 minutes, 1999. Directed by Kasim Abid.

The story of Naji al-Ali, the Palestinian cartoonist whose immortal character, Handala, a small refugee child, continues to symbolize and epitomize the determination, resourcefulness and steadfastness of the Palestinian people's struggle for return to and liberation of Palestine, is told in this remarkable and important film.

Emerging from humble beginnings in the refugee camps, for over 30 years he was an uncompromising critic of a regressive Arab political culture and of Western intervention in Arab affairs. Interviews with leading Arab journalists and poets, former jail mates, his wife and others give us insight to his unrelenting commitment to his people, and into his subtly satirical cartoons that stirred the hearts of millions of refugees. NAJI AL-ALI, AN ARTIST WITH VISION examines the forces that shaped Naji as an artist, as a human being, and shows how his experiences mirror those of other exiled Palestinians.

Known as the Palestinian Malcolm X, Naji is still the most popular artist in the Arab world, loved for his defense of the ordinary people, and for his criticism of repression and despotism. Paradoxically, strict censorship and widespread illiteracy in the Arab world helped Naji to achieve his remarkable success. His unrelenting cartoons exposed the brutality of the Israeli army and the hypocrisy of the PLO, earning him many powerful enemies. The turning point in Naji's story was the publication of his cartoon satirizing Egyptian journalist Rashida Muhran, Yasser Arafat's official biographer. Arafat was furious and Naji was forced to leave for London.

Despite some arrests by Scotland Yard and an investigation by MI5, the assassin's identity has never been revealed. Reviews

"Highly Recommended! Especially appropriate for college and university libraries that support programs in politics, Middle Eastern studies and the arts. Commemorates the life of a man who lived according to his ideals and never forgot his people, even when he was among the highest paid journalists in the Arab world. Naji lives on through his cartoons, and the video makes it possible to share this controversial artwork with a new audience, despite persistent attempts at censure." - Educational Media Reviews Online

"This valuable film... goes a long way toward preserving the memory of Naji al-Ali, allowing future generations to draw inspiration from this remarkable individual. Does an outstanding job of introducing not only the personality of al-Ali, but also the most important events shaping his work... Includes an excellent cross-section of the thousands of political drawings Al-Ali published in his lifetime." - Al Jadid: A Review & Record of Arab Culture and Arts

"NAJI AL-ALI, AN ARTIST WITH VISION offers a valuable and vital primer into an extraordinary life, lived in extraordinary times in an unfortunate land. Al-Ali's cartoons illuminate the [film] ...and offer a wonderful visual documentation of the pain of Palestine. The history of the Palestinian struggle can never be recorded without some reference to the trenchant cartoons of Naji al-Ali." - Politics and Culture

...As part of the National Day of Action for Divestment...

Take a stand for Palestine at Rutgers University!

RUTGERS: DIVEST FROM ISRAEL NOW!

Vigil and Speakout: 6:00 PM - Brower Commons - College Avenue Campus; Rutgers University; New Brunswick

Tabling and flyering all day, before and after vigil and speakout!

On March 29, 2006, join us to call upon Rutgers University to divest from all corporations doing business with the state of Israel. As U.S. - and New Jersey - taxpayers' money goes to support Israeli colonialism, apartheid, racism and oppression, numerous U.S. corporations do extensive business with this apartheid state. It's time that Rutgers University's investment monies were invested ethically - not in companies whose behavior and investments enable the ongoing oppression in Palestine!

Currently, six million Palestinian refugees are denied their fundamental right to return home - because they are Palestinian Arabs... 919 Palestinian children have been murdered in the past five years.. 8000 Palestinian political prisoners remain in Israeli jails... A 25-foot high wall is being built carving apart Palestinian cities and Palestinian land...

It's time for Rutgers University to STOP INVESTING in APARTHEID and STOP INVESTING IN OPPRESSION!

Join us to remember the victims of apartheid, oppression and dispossession and demand justice for Palestine!

The National Day of Action for Divestment coincides with March 30 - Yom al-Ard, the Day of the Land. The Day of the Land is a Palestinian day of commemoration of the struggle for the land of Palestine and the steadfastness of Palestinians in holding to the land, despite occupation, oppression, dispossession and apartheid. Specifically, it commemorates the struggle of Palestinians within Palestine 48 - that part of Palestine seized by Zionist armies in 1948. While nearly a million Palestinians were exiled from their land and forced from their homes and properties - today forming the world's largest refugee population, forbidden from exercising their fundamental right to return home - other Palestinians remained in the land, often displaced as internal refugees, intent upon holding to their Palestinian identity and existence within an entity based upon the negation of Palestinian existence and self-determination. On March 30, 1976, six Palestinians of Palestine 48 were murdered as they protested the ongoing expropriation of their land in an attempt to "Judaize" the Galilee. The Day of the Land is a day to remember all Palestinian martyrs, of Palestine 48, the West Bank and Gaza, and in exile, and to rededicate ourselves to the struggle of all Palestinians for liberation, self-determination and return to all of the land of Palestine.

Join us to welcome three Palestinian health workers from Ibdaa Health Committee of Deheisheh Refugee Camp in Palestine, as they discuss the political situation, the health situation for Palestinians under occupation, the health needs of Palestinian refugees, and the very important work of the Ibdaa Health Committee. They are touring the US to educate the public and health communities here about the severe health crisis that exists in Palestinian society as a result of occupation and oppression, and the important work that Ibdaa Health Committee is doing to address the health needs of the Palestinian people at a grassroots level in Deheisheh.

Their tour is designed to support the work of Ibdaa Health Committee and our speakers will be happy to accept any donation to support the work of the Health Committee. This event is free and open to the public! Please attend to hear these important voices.

Speakers and biographies:

Wisam Hasanat

Wisam is from Dayr Duban Village. He was born and raised in Dheisheh Refugee Camp along with his six brothers and four sisters. Wisam was politically active during the first Intifada as a young adolescent. He was shot in both legs by an Israeli soldier while participating in a demonstration against the military occupation. Wisam received his practical nursing degree in Hebron; he is currently completing his BSN at Al Quds University. He works at Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation and Surgery. His specialty areas include surgical and emergency care. He has worked and continues to work with patients who were wounded by gunshots, explosions and beatings by Israeli settlers and soldiers. Wisam is an active member of the Nursing Union and Union of Palestine Healthcare workers. He also provided psychological support services to those whose family members were killed and/or imprisoned by Israeli soldiers in addition to those whose homes were demolished.

Wisam is the founding member and director of the Ibdaa Health Committee. He is married and has two sons.

Areej Ja'fari

Areej is from Dary Rafat Village. She was born and raised in Dheisheh Refugee Camp. She is currently completing her BS degree in Computers and Information Systems. Promoting gender equality and empowerment of women constitutes her primary political aim. Areej is an active member of the Health Committee in which she works with the Women's Health subcommittee. She joined the first women's basketball team and is currently the coordinator of the Women's Committee where she organizes educational programs and other activities for women such as English and computer classes, and empowerment and leadership training for female youth. Areej has five sisters and two brothers.

Talal Shihadeh

Talal is from Faluja Village. Following the 1948 Nekba, his family fled to Hebron where they lived until the 70s. Fearing for their lives due to the Israeli settlers and soldiers, they fled to Dheisheh Refugee Camp. Talal was politically active within the resistance movement prior to and during the first Intifada; he is a former political prisoner. He assumed a leadership role within the student union at Bethlehem University while working on his nursing degree. He organized political, social and cultural activities. Talal is a founding member of the Ibdaa Health Committee and currently serves as the Director of Public Relations. Talal is a nurse with more than 17 years of experience. He worked at Agosta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem for 14 years. However, due to the construction of the apartheid wall and denial by the Israeli Authority to obtain a travel permit he was forced to leave his position. Talal currently works at Beit Jala General Hospital. His specialty areas include surgical and emergency care and pediatrics. He is also an active member in the Nursing Union and Union of Palestine Healthcare Workers. He is currently completing his MA in Public Health at Al Quds University. Talal is married and has two sons.

New Jersey Solidarity - Activists for the Liberation of Palestine is proud to support the Al Jisser Group sponsored "Made in Palestine" art exhibition!

Join Al Jisser for the gala opening celebration of MADE IN PALESTINE in New York City. After nearly two years of fundraising, MADE IN PALESTINE has arrived! Curator James Harithas and exhibition artists, including Samia Halaby and Zuhdi al-Adawi, will attend this event. The gala opening will feature food and wine, beautiful Arabic music, and the wonderful art of MADE IN PALESTINE. Don't miss the grand opening - truly an event to remember!

See http://www.aljisser.org for more information.

Zuhdi al-Adawi is a Palestinian artist and former political prisoner whose work is part of the "MADE IN PALESTINE" exhibition opening in New York City. While imprisoned in Ashkelon prison, he taught himself to make art, and secretly made art during his time in prison, hiding his work and sneaking it out with visitors; when his art was discovered, he would be thrown in solitary confinement. In 1985, Zuhdi al-Adawi was released in a prisoner exchange but was exiled to Lebanon; he since moved to Damascus, Syria, where he lives today. He is joining us for the opening of "MADE IN PALESTINE" in New York City, in which some of his art made as a prisoner is featured, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to host him in New Jersey.

Please join us on Monday, March 13 to welcome him to New Jersey, to hear about his experiences, his life, and his art, and to honor this freedom fighter for Palestine, as an activist and as an artist.

Zuhdi al-Adawi has continued to produce art in Damascus, and will speak about the struggle for Palestine, the political prisoners' struggle for freedom, and his artistic creations.

To read more about Zuhdi al-Adawi, please see: http://www.aljisser.org/artists/za.html

To see some of Zuhdi al-Adawi's art, please see: http://www.aljisser.org/art/za.html

DIRECTIONS:

From Rutgers University Campus or New Brunswick Train Station: Take the F bus to the Livingston Avenue bus stop. Library is two blocks down Livingston Avenue on the left.

From NJ Turnpike Exit 9, Route 1 or Route 18 North: Take Route 18 North to New Brunswick. Exit at New Street. Follow New Street to 3rd traffic light (Elks Club on corner). Turn left onto Livingston Avenue. Library is on your left.

Traveling South on Route 18: Exit at George Street/Rutgers University. Follow George Street to Livingston Avenue. Turn right onto Livingston Avenue. Library is two blocks past the stop light on your right

International Presence and Solidarity with Palestinians in Al-Khalil (Hebron)

Chelli Stanley and John Harmer are members of the Tel Rumeida Project (www.telrumeidaproject.org) and have worked in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in Hebron since the project began in August 2005. The Tel Rumeida Project was formed as a response to increased settler violence in the neighborhood of Tel Rumeida, Hebron, in Palestine. Tel Rumeida is a small Palestinian neighborhood widely-acknowledged as housing the most violent and extremist faction of the Israeli settler movement. Palestinian families who live directly next to these settlers are often virtual prisoners in their homes, subject to the settlers' violent attacks and destruction of property.

Chelli and John will speak about the current situation in Tel Rumeida and present documentary footage of settler attacks filmed in the neighborhood since the Tel Rumeida Project began.

In just five months, members of the Tel Rumeida Project recorded more than 120 settler attacks in the small neighborhood. Yet from the moment internationals began living in Tel Rumeida, the Israeli army and Kiryat Arba police have tried to remove the international human rights presence from the neighborhood by using a variety of means, including constant intimidation, threats, violence, false charges, arrests, and deportation. When internationals call the security forces for assistance while settlers are attacking them or Palestinians, the Kiryat Arba police and IDF habitually threaten, assault, arrest, and harass the members of the Tel Rumeida Project.

John Harmer is a 35 year old artist living in Brooklyn. John studied art in the southwest and began exploring activism there through his work as a sculptor and painter co-founding a radical art collective and exhibiting work critical of globalization and the military industrial complex.

John first visited the West Bank in spring of 2005 visiting for 2 weeks to broaden his own understanding of the Palestinians' struggle for freedom. Drawn by his initial experiences in the Hebron neighborhood of Tel Rumeida, John returned to Palestine in November of 2005 to work with the Tel Rumeida Project.

Chelli Stanley is a 24-year-old and the co-founder of the Tel Rumeida Project. She has spent 10 months living in the West Bank and is deeply committed to Palestinian rights. She grew up in Maine and has a degree in sociology.

DIRECTIONS:

From Rutgers University Campus or New Brunswick Train Station: Take the F bus to the Livingston Avenue bus stop. Library is two blocks down Livingston Avenue on the left.

From NJ Turnpike Exit 9, Route 1 or Route 18 North: Take Route 18 North to New Brunswick. Exit at New Street. Follow New Street to 3rd traffic light (Elks Club on corner). Turn left onto Livingston Avenue. Library is on your left.

Traveling South on Route 18: Exit at George Street/Rutgers University. Follow George Street to Livingston Avenue. Turn right onto Livingston Avenue. Library is two blocks past the stop light on your right

Documentary: 52 minutes, 1999. Directed by Kasim Abid.

The story of Naji al-Ali, the Palestinian cartoonist whose immortal character, Handala, a small refugee child, continues to symbolize and epitomize the determination, resourcefulness and steadfastness of the Palestinian people's struggle for return to and liberation of Palestine, is told in this remarkable and important film.

Emerging from humble beginnings in the refugee camps, for over 30 years he was an uncompromising critic of a regressive Arab political culture and of Western intervention in Arab affairs. Interviews with leading Arab journalists and poets, former jail mates, his wife and others give us insight to his unrelenting commitment to his people, and into his subtly satirical cartoons that stirred the hearts of millions of refugees. NAJI AL-ALI, AN ARTIST WITH VISION examines the forces that shaped Naji as an artist, as a human being, and shows how his experiences mirror those of other exiled Palestinians.

Known as the Palestinian Malcolm X, Naji is still the most popular artist in the Arab world, loved for his defense of the ordinary people, and for his criticism of repression and despotism. Paradoxically, strict censorship and widespread illiteracy in the Arab world helped Naji to achieve his remarkable success. His unrelenting cartoons exposed the brutality of the Israeli army and the hypocrisy of the PLO, earning him many powerful enemies. The turning point in Naji's story was the publication of his cartoon satirizing Egyptian journalist Rashida Muhran, Yasser Arafat's official biographer. Arafat was furious and Naji was forced to leave for London.

Despite some arrests by Scotland Yard and an investigation by MI5, the assassin's identity has never been revealed. Reviews

"Highly Recommended! Especially appropriate for college and university libraries that support programs in politics, Middle Eastern studies and the arts. Commemorates the life of a man who lived according to his ideals and never forgot his people, even when he was among the highest paid journalists in the Arab world. Naji lives on through his cartoons, and the video makes it possible to share this controversial artwork with a new audience, despite persistent attempts at censure." - Educational Media Reviews Online

"This valuable film... goes a long way toward preserving the memory of Naji al-Ali, allowing future generations to draw inspiration from this remarkable individual. Does an outstanding job of introducing not only the personality of al-Ali, but also the most important events shaping his work... Includes an excellent cross-section of the thousands of political drawings Al-Ali published in his lifetime." - Al Jadid: A Review & Record of Arab Culture and Arts

"NAJI AL-ALI, AN ARTIST WITH VISION offers a valuable and vital primer into an extraordinary life, lived in extraordinary times in an unfortunate land. Al-Ali's cartoons illuminate the [film] ...and offer a wonderful visual documentation of the pain of Palestine. The history of the Palestinian struggle can never be recorded without some reference to the trenchant cartoons of Naji al-Ali." - Politics and Culture

DIRECTIONS:

From Rutgers University Campus or New Brunswick Train Station: Take the F bus to the Livingston Avenue bus stop. Library is two blocks down Livingston Avenue on the left.

From NJ Turnpike Exit 9, Route 1 or Route 18 North: Take Route 18 North to New Brunswick. Exit at New Street. Follow New Street to 3rd traffic light (Elks Club on corner). Turn left onto Livingston Avenue. Library is on your left.

Traveling South on Route 18: Exit at George Street/Rutgers University. Follow George Street to Livingston Avenue. Turn right onto Livingston Avenue. Library is two blocks past the stop light on your right

If you've ever been involved, if you've never been to a meeting but would like to get more active, if you've always been active...

If you want to take a stand for Palestine in 2006....

Join us for our general meeting on Sunday, January 29, to plan our exciting events and activities for 2006, work to build Al-Awda newspaper, and strategize together on building support for the Palestinian struggle for liberation and return!

Your help is needed and wanted to make a difference, build the movement and make change!

All welcome!

For more information:
Phone - 973-954-2521