Victory at U of T: PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE TO GO AHEAD ON CAMPUS

> From Tom Keefer ([email protected])


*please forward widely*

VICTORY AT U of T!
PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE TO GO AHEAD ON CAMPUS!

November, 28th, 2003.

Pro-Palestinian activists won an important victory this week as
the University of Toronto administration accepted the demands of
the Palestinian Solidarity Conference organizers and provided a
space for the conference to be held on U of T property, with the
basis of unity for the conference upheld as the fundamental
principles upon which the conference has been organized.  The
University reversed its position after receiving a flood of
emails and letters from concerned students, faculty and community
members from across Canada and the world.  University
administrators were meeting throughout the week to deal with the
uproar that their initial decision to cancel the conference had
caused, and a student protest and sit-in at the office of student
affairs on Wednesday Nov 26th, was instrumental in getting the
university to accede to our demands.

The university has provided a space at 40 St. George Street
(Between Harbord and College) at the Bahen Centre for Information
Technology for the conference to take place.

People who support the conference are being asked to meet at 40
St. George St. (and NOT in front of OISE as was previously
announced) at 10:30am for the conference registration.  We
suspect that Zionists will likely try to disrupt the event, and
we encourage our supporters to show up on time and to display
restraint and discipline in the face of Zionist provocations.
The conference will be kicked off at 11:00am with a presentation
from U of T students who led the campaign to overturn the
university's decision, and which will also serve as a chance for
organizers to thank all of those groups and individuals who
rallied to defend our rights and for our supporters to make
statements in support of the conference.

As part of the agreement between the University and the
conference organizers, a registration form has been jointly
authored by the organizers of the conference and the University
of Toronto which states that all participants attending the
conference must:

1.) Agree to abide by the University of Toronto's Policy on the
Disruption of Meetings;

2.) Sign a document which outlines that "discussion in the
conference shall be in accordance with the Universitys Statement
on Freedom of Speech and that making homophobic, racist or sexist
comments are inconsistent with the responsible exercise of free
speech";

3.) Be advised that the conference organizers subscribe to the
original basis of unity for the conference and that "this event
has been planned in a manner which is consistent with these
principles".

The original 6 point basis of unity is then listed on the form,
and attendees of the conference are required to sign the form to
attend the conference.

The conference organizers feel that this agreement, which was
reached after a week of pressuring and negotiating with the
University, will achieve our goal of having a successful
conference which will provide a safe space for anti-racist,
feminist and pro-Palestinian activists and which will also be
free of Zionist provocations and disruptions.  It is a clear and
resounding victory, not only for us, but for all student
activists, and it will allow us to carry out our fundamental
goals of discussing the criminal activities of the Israeli state
and working to build a solidarity movement in support of the
Palestinian people here in Toronto.

We would like to take this opportunity to offer our most sincere
thanks to all of the many individuals and organizations which
have supported us in this struggle and we once again invite all
of our supporters to join us in participating in this important
event.

In Solidarity,


The Palestinian Solidarity Conference organizers.




TORONTO PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE  SUNDAY NOV 30TH  2003.

The conference will be taking place at 40 St. George Street
(Between Harbord and College) at the Bahen Centre for Information
Technology.  We are asking that conference attendees and
supporters show up at 10:30am sharp to register.  The purpose of
the conference is to provide a space for activists to come
together for a day of educational workshops and a day of planning
focused around creating a concrete plan to organize Palestinian
solidarity actions in Toronto over the course of the next six
months.  There is a political basis of unity for the conference
which serve as political principles which all participants at the
conference must respect in order to attend.

The Basis of Unity is as follows:
1. We support the Palestinian right of return. It is
non-negotiable.
2. It is becoming increasing clear that a two state solution is
not a viable or acceptable option for the Palestinian people.
3. Israel is a racist apartheid state.
4. Our activism is imbued with an anti-colonial feminist
practice.
5. We support the right of the Palestinian people to resist
Israeli and colonialism by the means of their choosing.
6. Actions that we organize out of this conference will be
developed under the framework of respecting a diversity of
tactics.

SUNDAY

* please bring a packed lunch and food for yourself if you can.
Due to the last minute planning of the conference we have not
been able to provide food*

10:30am  11:00am: Conference Registration.

11:00am  12:00pm: Welcoming statement by conference organizers
and a presentation from UofT students who led the campaign to
overturn the university's decision to cancel the conference.

12:00am  1:30pm:  Strategies for overcoming the repression of
Palestinian solidarity activists on campuses and combating the
criminalization of dissent and attacks on immigrants and
refugees.

1:30pm  3pm: The historical context of the Palestinian Right of
Return, the realities and nature of Israeli apartheid, and
strategies for organizing successful national liberation
movements.

3:15pm- 4:45pm: Feminist and Queer politics within the context of
the Palestinian liberation struggle.  This session will address
queer politics and the Palestinian liberation movement as well as
feminist struggles within the occupied territories, Zionist
claims of "diversity" and the larger question of anti-oppression
politics within the Palestinian national liberation movement.

4:45-5:30 Dinner Break

5:30pm-7:30pm Debating and discussing the adoption of specific
action plans that can be implemented to organize actions and
events here in Toronto. We can use this space to coordinate
existing campaigns and strategies but will also use this to
develop a strategy for organizing our own direct action
strategies for advancing the politics defined in our basis of
unity.

For more information about this conference please email
[email protected] check out
http://arab.sa.utoronto.ca/support.htm or www.al-awda.ca.



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