Peace Works 2011: Solidarity in Action Group Photo

Remember the 2011 Peace Works weekend and support the foundation by purchasing the Solidarity in Action Group Photo today. Taken by Berd Whitlock at the Mural BDS Leaf dedication ceremony as the sun set on the last night of the conference, the photo represents the community building, networking, and connections fostered over the weekend.

This 8×10 group photo is $8.50 (+s&h). Money raised from your purchase goes to support the work of the Rachel Corrie Foundation.

The evening included Oud player Hanna Eady, a message from Craig and Cindy Corrie, and keynote presenter Alice Walker interviewed by Dr. Therese Saliba. Below is a video of the full event.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Abedalhadi Basheer, a student from Gaza, at Peace Works 2011. Photo: Emily Weisberg

Dozens of writers, activists, students, filmmakers and human rights organizers came to Olympia, Washington USA over the weekend of April 8-9 for the 5th annual Peace Works conference, organized by the Rachel Corrie Foundation.

The Rachel Corrie Foundation, began in 2003 following the killing of 23-year-old Rachel by an Israeli bulldozer in Rafah, seeks to continue her legacy through community building and the promotion of human rights activism. Created by Rachel’s parents Cindy and Craig, the foundation began the Peace Works conference in 2006 to “bring people together to address issues of war, racism, economic inequality, environmental degradation, and oppression of individuals, groups, and peoples.”

The conference was held at the Evergreen State College, which Corrie attended before her death. Workshops and lectures were offered on a variety of current Palestine-Israel issues including water rights, diminishing borders, displaced villages, the recent onslaught of racist laws, home demolitions, ethnic cleansing, class struggles, colonization, trivialization of memory, and the success and challenges in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

The conference featured writer and poet Alice Walker on Friday evening, a sold-out event during which Walker discussed her own trip to Gaza with the Corries in 2009.

Abedalhadi Basheer, a student from Deir al-Balah, Gaza, attended to speak about the ethnic cleansing and apartheid rule that he and his family face in their own country. Basheer, who came to the United States four months ago as a PhD student under a special scholarship from Washington State University, said he has seen some Palestinian solidarity since coming to Washington, but that much of Gaza’s story is left out.

“I’m a student, I also have a message,” said Basheer, who met the Corries on one of their trips to Gaza after Rachel’s death. He believes Rachel is a symbol of hope, and that her message is critical.

The Corries were unable to make it to the Peace Works conference this year, due to the ongoing trial in Israel over their daughter’s death, a case that the Corries initiated in 2005. The Corries flew to Haifa to resume the trial in March, with court sessions beginning April 3rd.

Though unable to be there in person, a video-chat was set up with the Corries so their friends who had flown in for the conference from all over the world could speak with them.

“Three-quarters of the witnesses who have testified this week have done so from behind a screen,” Cindy Corrie said of the most recent court proceedings during the video-chat. Since the beginning of the trial, Israel has allowed the state’s witnesses to hide their identity even from Cindy and Craig. “When you hear their voices, but cannot see their facial expressions, it is really dehumanizing.”

The opposite was true of Peace Works, with long time friends and new acquaintances sharing everything from laughs, to personal stories, to organizing tips and hurdles. Noah Sochet, a former Olympia resident came back to town for the conference to reconnect.

“The Corries are amazing,” Sochet said, regarding the foundation and all its work. “Peace Works is the best place – the only place – to share skills, problem solve and build coalitions.”

Sochet emphasized the role of Olympia in the Palestine solidarity movement, as well as the movement’s diversity.

“Olympia has a powerful history with activism,” he said. “The work being done here are highlighting values that are so in line with Jewish values. It makes me really proud to be a Jew in Olympia.”

There has been a lot of backlash recently from the mainstream Jewish community in the Pacific Northwest regarding Palestine solidarity work being done in Olympia. Local Jews who participate in Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions work received death threats and hate mail. The Peace Works conference is quick to refute claims of anti-Semitism, hosting workshops led by Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb and local chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace.

Jews in Diaspora, Sochet said, especially the many Jews in attendance at Peace Works, “are leading the push to rethink and redefine who we are and what role Israel plays in our life.”

Like Sochet, those in attendance at Peace Works see the work imperative to the civil rights struggles of our day. Alice Walker, who played a role in the African-American Civil Rights movement, agreed.

“[The BDS movement] is like the grandson of Martin Luther King, the granddaughter of Rosa Parks,” Walker praised during her talk on Friday evening.

Peace Works comes at a time of great change, both in Olympia and around the world. As attacks on Gaza have increased in recent days, and in the small town of Olympia, the anti-BDS movement grows more vehement, conferences such as Peace Works help to build community and bring people together for progressive change.

“This is a revolutionary time in the Arab world and elsewhere,” said Egyptian journalism Sharif Abdel Kouddous, opening the conference on Saturday.

“There are times people will always look back and remember. This is one of them.”

Emily Weisberg is a Pacific Northwest-based photojounalist, studying photography and Middle Eastern studies at the Evergreen State College. She specializes in capturing people interacting with their environment, and has worked on several multimedia documentary pieces.

Register now for Peace Works 2011: Solidarity In Action

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Olympia, Wash. – The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace & Justice will host its 2011 Peace Works event April 8-9. Solidarity in Action is a weekend conference featuring acclaimed author and activist Alice Walker as keynote presenter. Walker’s talk, entitled The Poet/Writer as Activist, will be at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, Friday, April 8, at 7:30 p.m.

Best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple (1982), Walker is also the recipient of the National Book Award, and author of more than 30 books. In March 2009, in the wake of Israel’s 22-day attack on Gaza, Walker traveled to Gaza with Cindy and Craig Corrie as part of a delegation led by Code Pink. Upon her return, Walker published a book of essays entitled Overcoming Speechlessness, which links the struggles for justice in Gaza, Eastern Congo and Rwanda with the U.S. Civil Rights movement and the South Africa anti-Apartheid struggle.

The Peace Works 2011 conference, Solidarity in Action, includes two days of networking, panels and workshops at The Evergreen State College in Olympia. Panelists will address the current situation in Israel/Palestine, strategies for justice and peace, the growing international campaigns for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) and cross-movement building. Local and national organizers will facilitate workshops to educate, motivate and provide tools for community organizing. Workshop themes will include human rights and legal campaigns; consumer, campus, cultural and interfaith BDS efforts; the civil trial in Israel concerning Rachel Corrie’s case; and strategies for using media, art and social networking to strengthen regional efforts for human rights and justice. The Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural Project will present the next phase of its downtown Olympia mural, one of the city’s most beautiful and successful collaborative projects.

Peace Works is an annual project of The Rachel Corrie Foundation, which continues the work that Rachel Corrie began with her vision, spirit and creative energy in mind.

LOCATION/DATE/TIME
PEACE WORKS CONFERENCE – Solidarity in Action: The Evergreen State College, Olympia,
Friday, April 8, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, April 9, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Click here for information, updates and registration or call the Rachel Corrie Foundation at 360-754-3998.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Alice Walker: The Poet/Writer as Activist, Washington Center for the Performing Arts,
512 Washington St. SE, Olympia, April 8, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $25 for the general public; $12.50 for students and the low-income, and will be available at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts; 360-753-8586.

Co-sponsorship Opportunity
If you or your organization is interested in co-sponsoring this years conference, please contact Becca Pilcher. Co-sponsorship opportunities are available at the following levels. Download the co-sponsorship form here.

• Friend of the Foundation: $50.00 – $150.00 (Your name will be listed in the Conference Program.)
• Partner in Peace: $150 – $350.00 (A black & white ad for your company will be placed in conference program, seen by up to 300 people.)
• Ally in Action: $350 – $600.00 (The above perks plus one free ticket for the entire weekend including Alice Walker at the Washington Center.)
• Harbinger of Justice: $600.00+ (The above perks plus an ad placed on the RCF website and in the Washington Center program viewed by up to 1000 people OR 2 Free Tickets to the full conference including Alice Walker.)

Contact: Rebecca Pilcher, Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice
Email: becca@rachelcorriefoundation.org
Phone: 360-754-3998

Alice Walker

Rachel Corrie’s legacy inspires people around the world to create positive, nonviolent change in their communities. The Peace Works series of events and conferences honor that legacy by linking action to critical thought, community organizing, and personal reflection.

This year’s Peace Works Conference theme is Solidarity In Action. Scheduled workshops and events include:

• Human Rights and Strategies for Justice in Palestine/Israel
• Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Campaigns & Grassroots Organizing
• Organizing with the Olympia Rafah Solidarity Mural Project
• Cross Movement Building,
• Social Networking as an organizing tool
• Report Back on Trial in Israel by the Corries
• Celebration with music and dancing Sat. evening in Downtown Olympia

The keynote speaker is Alice Walker, poet, author, and social justice activist.

Pre-registration information will be released shortly. Until then, put April 8-9, 2011 on your calendar and join the Rachel Corrie Foundation family for an amazing two days of learning, organizing, and celebration!

With a two-day conference, and special pre-conference activities and events, Peace Works 2006 will focus on the struggle in Palestine and Israel. Events in the Middle East are unfolding at a dizzying pace with confusion about what they mean and what can and should be done about them.

We can think of no more important time for a significant discussion on the situation in Israel and Palestine, the U.S. role there, and how we can best support efforts for a just peace in the region.

For more information on Rachel and her writings, visit these sites:

• Rachel’s Words
• Rachel Corrie Memorial
• Articles and updates related to Rachl at ISM’s website
• The correspondence of Rachel Corrie (archived at The Guardian)