The national Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions conference to be held in Melbourne on October 29-31 will be addressed by an exciting range of speakers – some of which are listed below. For the full program and registration details, see the Australian Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Campaign for Palestine website.
Rafeef Ziadah
Rafeef is a Palestinian activist, unionist and spoken word artist. She is a member of the steering committee of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) Rafeef is also a founding member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) promoting the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestement and Sanctions (BDS) campaign in Canada and an organizer of the international Israeli Apartheid Week. Rafeef is a member of the Canadian Union of Public Employees and was a member of the CUPE’s international solidarity committee for three years.
Samah Sabawi
Samah is an Australian-Palestinian writer and social justice activist. She is co-author of Journey to Peace in Palestine and a former executive director of the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations.
Anna Baltzer
Anna is a Jewish-American Columbia graduate and Fulbright, who has worked as a volunteer with the International Women’s Peace Service in the Occupied West Bank, documenting human rights abuses and supporting Palestinian-led nonviolent resistance to the Occupation. Anna is the author of the book Witness in Palestine and speaks widely in the USA and internationally on the Palestinian struggle for human rights and self-determination. Anna is being brought to Australia as part of a national speaking tour organised by Australians for Palestine and will speak at the Australian national BDS conference on Saturday October 30.
Ofer Neiman
Ofer Neiman is a co-editor of the Occupation Magazine, and one of the activists in the Israeli support group for the BDS campaign, “BOYCOTT! Supporting the Palestinian BDS call from within”. He works as an editor and a translator. He believes that Israeli peace and anti-occupation groups will not be able to change reality from within, without support from the outside. Ofer will join the conference launch via internet/video hook up from Jerusalem.
Kevin Bracken
Kevin is a long-time unionist and supporter of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination. Kevin is currently the secretary of the Victorian branch of the Maritime Union of Australia and the president of the Victorian Trades Hall Council.
Yousef Alreemawi
Yousef is a Palestinian academic and advocate for Palestinian and refugee rights. Yousef presents Palestine Remembered, Australia’s only English language program on Palestine, on Radio 3CR. He is also the founder of the Australian Society for Palestinian Iraqi Refugees Emergency – an humanitarian project which seeks to resettle in Australia, the Palestinian-Iraqi refugees living in refugee camps on the Iraq-Syrian border.
Alex Whisson
Alex is a long time Palestine solidarity activist. He is the former convener of Friends of Palestine in Western Australia and is currently the Public Advocate for Australians for Palestine Melbourne.
Kim Sattler
Kim is a long-time unionist, who was active in the South African anti-apartheid campaign. Kim is currently the secretary of Unions ACT in Canberra and recently participated in the Union Aid Abroad APHEDA Middle East Study Tour 2010.