State of the Siege, State of the Struggle

Toronto — 11 March 2011.

Moderated by Shozab Raza and William Nakhid. Speakers:

Riham Barghouti is a founding member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), which is part of the BDS National Committee in Palestine. She is also a founding member of Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel. Adalah-NY has been carrying out a successful boycott campaign against Israel settlement builder Lev Leviev since 2007. Barghouti lived in Palestine from 1995- 2005, during which time she worked at Birzeit University and earned her Masters in Gender, Law and Development. She also holds a Masters in Education and is currently a teacher in New York City.

Ali Abunimah, a writer and commentator on Middle East and Arab-American affairs, lives in Chicago. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Jordan Times, Lebanon’s Daily Star and Ha’aretz, among others. He is a frequent guest on local, national and international radio and television programs. Abunimah lectures at colleges in the United States. He was born in the United States and grew up in Europe. Both of his parents are originally from Palestine. Abunimah travels often to the Middle East and is a full-time researcher in social policy at the University of Chicago. Recent book contributions include “No Justice, No Peace,” in The Anti-Capitalism Reader, edited by Joel Schalit. New York: Akashic Books, 2002; “The US Media and the New Intifada” (with Hussein Ibish) in The New Intifada, edited by Roane Carey. New York: Verso Books, 2001; The Palestinian Right of Return (with Hussein Ibish), Washington, DC: ADC, 2001; “The Media’s Deadly Spin on Iraq” (with Rania Masri) in Iraq Under Siege edited by Anthony Arnove. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2002 (Updated Edition).