UPDATE: This was a very well attended event, and fortunately, there are mp3 audio files. Abu Sarah was introduced by Jordy Silverstein and the meeting was chaired by Sivan Barak-Baroda of the AJDS Executive. If you want to save the mp3s, use your right hand mouse button.
Aziz 1
Aziz 2
[ Abu Sarah views are those of the pragmatic ‘radical middle’ — a person who will talk to anyone, without pulling any punches about his lack of rights as a Palestinian, including the right and necessity of non-violent protest.
Aziz certainly ‘acceptable’ to liberal Jewish audiences because he is free of invective and prepared to talk to anyone. But he is no uncle Tom-the occupation and its machine is evil and as a refugee he still lacks a passport. If people think that he can be easily paraded around as ‘nice Palestinian’, and that they can pretend it is all OK and nothing needs to be done, I think they are wrong.
Due to a glitch, his full discussion of the implications of non-violent protest at Nabi Saleh (where there has been a history of attacks and killing by the IDF), a the very end of the first audio was cut off. He was making the point that the fear of the IDF that the spread of non-violent protest to many places means game over for the Israel army and the occupation. Their activity becomes totally unjustified. I think he also mentioned the history of non-violent protest spreading in other countries as well. At 26′ in the second audio, he also takes up the issue of ‘legitimization’ and ‘delegitimization’– Larry Stillman ].
As Israel and Palestine again descend into a tragic cycle of violence the AJDS is proud to present a talk on December 10, World Human Rights Day by National Geographic Explorer of the Year and peace activist: Aziz Abu Sarah.
Aziz Abu Sarah will discuss the currently unfolding events in Gaza, Palestinian non-violent resistance and the UN Statehood bid.
Community Event at: Caufield Park Pavillion on Monday 10 December at 7pm
Location map here
Aziz Abu Sarah is a Palestinian peace activist, born and raised in Jerusalem.
Aziz is also a columnist with Al Quds newspaper and is the co-executive director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. He runs alternative tours to the Middle East with a focus on Israel and the West-Bank through MEJDI a social enterprise he co-founded.
Aziz has spoken in hundreds of universities, churches, synagogues and mosques on the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, peace, reconciliation, and interfaith dialogue.
He was recently named National Geographic Explorer of the Year.
More information on Aziz can be found here and here