Conference Part 1

Saturday, April 30
Time:  9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Location:  Hilton Houston Southwest
Address:  6780 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX  77074  
click here for directions

Identifying Final Status Needs of the Palestinians
Discussion led by Dr. Azmi Bishara, Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset

8:30 am - 9:00 am	Registration / Coffee
8:00 am - 9:00 am	Film:  McCloskey vs. Kahane debate "Why Terrorism?" Produced by Mark Green. A fiery debate between arch-Zionist Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was assassinated in 1990, and former Congressman Pete McCloskey (D-CA) who championed Palestinian rights and American democratic principles. Meir Kahane, who wrote the book "They Must Go!", referring to his belief that Palestinians must leave their own homeland of Palestine-Israel so that Jews can claim it as a Jewish state, reveals the profound racism that belies Zionism. Many people in the audience seemed to be in agreement with him. Incredibly, the debate offers timely insight into the current political situation although it was taped in 1986! 57 mins
9:00 am - 9:15 am	Welcome & Introduction of Organizers / Overview of Conference / Brief remarks by Pax Christi, Al Awda representatives/ Introduction of Moderator
9:15 am - 10:25 am	Moderated Plenary Discussion (part 1) on Identifying Final Status Needs of the Palestinians led by Dr. Azmi Bishara, with Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, Ora Wise and Mohammed Abed
10:30 am - 11:00 am	“Israeli Settlement Activity: Roadblock on the Roadmap to Peace” Mohammed Al-Atar, Director of Palestinians for Peace and Democracy
11:00 am - 11:10 am	Break
11:10 am - 12:10 am	Workshops - Round 1   SKILL-BUILDER FOR ACTIVISTS   “Promoting a Just Peace in the Face of Organized Resistance in America”, by Jeff Blankfort, has covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the past 30 years as a journalist and photographer   AWARENESS BUILDER “Self-Determination in a Bi-national Reality: New Modes of Activism for a Joint Israeli-Palestinian Future”, by Ms. Ora Wise, Israeli-American Peace Activist, and Mohammed Abed, Palestinian-American peace activist
12:15 pm  1:15 pm	"The Palestinian Right of Return Movement All Over the World" - Video Presentation with Dr. Salman Abu Sitta Lunch

1:15 pm - 1:20 pm

Break

1:20 pm - 2:20 pm

Workshops - Round 2   SKILL-BUILDER FOR ACTIVISTS “Clash of Narratives: How to Work with Mainstream Media”, by Dr. Robert Jensen, journalism professor at University of Texas-Austin   AWARENESS BUILDER “One State Solution”, Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, co-founder and national treasurer of Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition.

2:20 pm - 2:30 pm	Break
2:30 pm - 4:45 pm	Moderated Plenary Discussion (part 2) on Identifying Final Status Needs of the Palestinians, led by Dr. Azmi Bishara,  with Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, Ora Wise and Mohammed Abed
4:45 pm - 5:00 pm	Reading of Houston Declaration by former US Congressman Pete McCloskey / Overview of Saturday evening and Sunday events

 
Press Conference
 
Saturday, April 30  *  7:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Arab-American Cultural & Community Center (Blty 8 @ Hwy 59)
10555 Stancliff Road, Houston, TX 77099

Public reading of the declaration of Palestinian needs in any final settlement to the conflict, formulated during the Saturday Know Justice, Know Peace! conference.  On hand with Dr. Azmi Bishara to answer questions will be former U.S. congressional representatives Paul Findley and Pete McCloskey.

Conference Part 2
 
Sunday, May 1
Time:  9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Location:  Hilton Houston Southwest
Address:  6780 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX  77074  
click here for directions
 
Strategizing political support for the final status needs of Palestinians
Led by Paul Findley, former U.S. Congressman and author of They Dare to Speak Out

8:30 am - 9:00 am	Registration / Coffee
8:00 am - 9:00 am	Film:  McCloskey vs. Kahane debate "Why Terrorism?" Produced by Mark Green. A fiery debate between arch-Zionist Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was assassinated in 1990, and former Congressman Pete McCloskey (D-CA) who championed Palestinian rights and American democratic principles. Meir Kahane, who wrote the book "They Must Go!", referring to his belief that Palestinians must leave their own homeland of Palestine-Israel so that Jews can claim it as a Jewish state, reveals the profound racism that belies Zionism. Many people in the audience seemed to be in agreement with him. Incredibly, the debate offers timely insight into the current political situation although it was taped in 1986! 57 mins
9:00 am - 9:30 am	Intro / The Lay of the Land:  AIPAC and American foreign policy in the Middle East (Jeff Blankfort)
9:30 am - 10:00 am	Intro / “How to Influence a Captive U. S. Congress”, Josh Ruebner, lobbyist for End the Occupation.
10:15 am - 10:30 am	Intro / Paul Findley -  Where do we go from here? (Short speech)
10:30 am - 10:45 am	Intro / Pete McCloskey - Where do we go from here?  (Short speech)
10:45 am - 11:45 am	Where do we go from here?   Moderated panel discussion [McCloskey, Findley, Ruebner, Blankfort] with audience Q & A– Devising a winning political strategy to win US congressional support for justice for Palestinians
11:45 am -12:00 pm	Final remarks and closing.
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm	Reprise: "The Palestinian Right of Return Movement All Over the World" - Video Presentation with Dr. Salman Abu Sitta  (DVD presentation)