Genocide in Gaza and Palestinians’ struggle under Israeli occupation: What can we do?
Sunday, February 23 at 12:30 p.m.
Join us Sunday, February 23 at 12:30 p.m. to hear from Amin Odeh with Voices for Palestine and Kayla Blau with Jewish Voice for Peace about their experiences in Gaza and the West Bank, challenges faced by Palestinians, American media bias, and what we can do to help.
To register, visit this registration link. You may attend in person or via Zoom. After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link.
For those attending in person, lunch will be served in the Fellowship Hall of First Church, 180 Denny Way, Seattle, at 11:45 a.m. after the worship service. A $5 donation is requested for lunch. The speakers will be introduced at 12:30 and the program will end by 1:45 p.m.
The backdrop for this event is the film The Occupation of the American Mind that shows how the Israeli government and pro-Israel lobby groups have influenced the American media for over 50 years to shape the views of American people on Israel’s control of the West Bank and Gaza.
Before the event, at your convenience, you can watch the 49-minute film directed by Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp. Here is a link to see the film at no cost: THE OCCUPATION OF THE AMERICAN MIND | New & Abridged (49 mins) | Released Oct. 25, 2023. Although it is not necessary to see the film to attend the Feb. 23 event, the film is well worth watching.
After speaking, Amin Odeh and Kayla Blau will answer questions from participants.
Amin Odeh, Voices for Palestine
Amin Odeh was born and raised in a refugee camp near Bethlehem in the West Bank. His family became refugees after they were forced out of their homes by the Israeli army and armed settlers in 1947. In the first Palestinian Intifada (uprising) in 1987 he was detained several times by the Israeli army and was held in military prisons for resisting the occupation.
After moving to the U.S., Amin continued to advocate for the Palestinian cause. When the second Intifada (uprising) started in 2000, he and other Palestinians in Seattle started an organization called Voices for Palestine. The main focus of the group is to educate the public about the Palestinian struggle under the Israeli military occupation.
Kayla Blau, Jewish Voice for Peace
Kayla Blau is a Seattle-based writer, social worker, and volunteer organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), where she is part of JVP’s core leadership group. JVP is a grass roots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of U.S. Jews, and is the world’s largest Jewish organization standing in solidarity with Palestine.
Kayla co-leads JVP’s media communications and is knowledgeable about press bias which dehumanizes Palestinians and justifies the genocide in Gaza. Her writing can be found in Crosscut, South Seattle Emerald, Real Change, and The Stranger. Kayla’s latest essay “Holy Land, Holy Life” can be read at https://www.theseventhwave.org/kayla-blau/.
Praise for the film
As Israel continues its slaughter of Palestinians with U.S. backing, the new abridged version of this riveting 2016 film meets the current political moment like nothing else. Watch it to understand why so many Jews like myself are saying these words proudly right now: Not in our name. Dave Zirin, The Nation
This film shows, with devastating precision, how effective propaganda can hide crimes that are epic in scale and have catastrophic consequences. Please see this film …and talk about it. Ken Loach, Filmmaker and Activist
Why is Israel/Palestine the world’s most intractable conflict? One key part of the answer is U.S. public support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine. This incisive film explains how Israeli public relations and a compliant U.S. media keep the American people confused and co-opted, derailing a serious debate about international law and moral principle. Robert Jensen, Professor, School of Journalism, University of Texas at Austin
Not only land, but also minds can be colonized. The brilliance of this documentary is that itmanages to tell the story of both forms of colonization simultaneously. The first story reveals how Palestinian land was colonized and how the Palestinian people have been struggling for self-determination ever since. The second story uncovers how the American media has colonized the minds of its audiences ..by transforming Israelis into victims and Palestinians into oppressors. Nerve Gordon, Professor of Politics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
A cutting carefully argued expose of the decades-long campaign of Israel and its defenders to deceive the U.S. public about the historical roots and present realities of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. The film also offers a measured analysis of the role of the pro-Israel lobby in forming U.S. Middle East policy and the complicity of the United States in the perpetuation of the conflict. Let’s hope the filmmakers are right that the tide of public opinion is turning in favor of equal rights for all – and that U.S. policy will eventually be forced to follow suit. Chris Toensing, Executive Director and Editor, Middle East Report