ADC Hosts Palestine Panel in D.C.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) held a Palestine Panel on June 14 in Washington, D.C. as part of its 35th Anniversary National Convention. The panel, titled “Non-Violent Tactics to End the Israeli Occupation and Protect Palestinian Human Rights” comes at the heel of the Congressional briefings that took place in D.C. on treatment of detained Palestinian children by the Israeli military.
The ADC panel was headed by Ramah Kudaimi, who works with the US Campaign to end the Israeli Occupation; Philip Farah, who is a founding member of the Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace and the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace; Nadia Ben-Youssef, a lawyer and a human rights advocate; and Hasan Newash, an anthropologist and published poet.
In addition to the Panel, ADC hosted a Palestine Luncheon with Dr. Yousef Jabareen, a human rights scholar and lawyer in Israel. After living for over 20 years in Israel as an Arab-Palestinian, Dr. Jabareen was recently elected as a member on the Israeli Parliament via the Joint Arab List.
Since the rise of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and its undeniable success, which according to the Rand Study is costing Israel $15 billion in revenue, non-violent tactics have hit the forefront of the Palestinian resistance movement. With Israel maintaining its military stronghold, one that is primarily backed by United States taxpayer money, those vying for Palestinian rights have drastically moved away from violence throughout the years as a tactic in achieving freedom from the Israeli occupation.
Panels addressing non-violent tactics, such as the one held by the ADC, are vital in the movement against the oppressive Israeli state. Unlike a violent movement, which in turn will cause a backlash of severe and unmatched military violence from Israel, a non-violent approach is more likely to garner support and sympathy from those who have been turned off by violent acts of resistance.
ADC has yet to release notes or conclusions from its Palestine panel.
