<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse;"><span><b>Israeli Army Refusenik and
member of Anarchists Against the Wall will be speaking on
campus!</b><br><br>
<b>When:</b> Monday, November 1st, 7pm<br><b>Where:</b> Noyes Lab Room
217<br><b>What:</b> Gal Lagassi </span></span><span>will </span>give
a presentation about what
anti-occupation
organizing looks like on the ground in Palestine/Israel, focusing on
mass mobilization against the construction of the Israeli Gaza
Strip barrier and West Bank separation wall. Gal is an Army refuser and
member of Anarchists Against the Wall, a group that does direct
solidarity
work within occupied Palestine<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse;">. <br><br>Please
note that the speaker has been changed. Sahar Verdi, who was initially
going to speak, was denied entry into the US. <br>
<br>
</span><b>Background info:</b><br>
<br>
<b>Anarchists Against
the Wall</b> (AATW) is an Israeli direct action
group that was established in 2003 in response to the construction of
the wall Israel is building on Palestinian land in the occupied West
Bank. The group works in cooperation with Palestinians in a joint
popular struggle against the occupation. Since its formation, the group has participated in
hundreds of demonstrations and direct actions against the wall
specifically, and the occupation generally, all over the West Bank. AATW's work in Palestine is coordinated through Palestinian villages' local
popular committees.
<p align="justify"><b>The Israeli Refusenik
Movement:<br>
</b></p>
<p align="justify">Military service is
mandatory after high
school for young Jewish Israelis. The <i>Shministim</i> are Israeli
youth who refuse to serve in the army because it enforces Israel’s
40-year occupation of the Palestinians. While a number of Shministim
letters
have been written in the past (read about the first letter sent to Prime
Minister Golda Meir <a href="http://december18th.org/2008/11/25/shministim-history/" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>
), dozens of youth have signed the <a href="http://www.shministim.com/" target="_blank"><b>current
letter</b></a> for <b><a href="http://december18th.org/2009/10/13/shministim-2010/" target="_blank">Shministim
2010</a></b>, which states, "Our objection to becoming soldiers of the occupation stems from our
loyalty to our values and to the society surrounding us, and it is part
of our ongoing struggle for peace and equality, a struggle whose
Jewish-Arab nature proves that peace and co-existence is possible. This
is our way, and we are willing to pay the price." About one hundred signed last year’s 2009
Shministim <b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.refusingtokill.net/Israel/ShministimLetter2008.htm" target="_blank">letter.</a></span></b> Each letter articulates the
basis for refusal by members of that year’s “graduating class.” The <i>Shministim</i> face prison terms as a result of their military refusal.</p><p align="justify">This event is sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine.</p>