We are in an unprecedented moment in history. As we bear witness to the ongoing and brutal genocide against the Palestinian people, we are also part of building a mass movement that is committed to struggling for Palestinian national liberation. The demands for an end to the genocide, lifting of the siege of Gaza, an end to all US aid for Israel, and a free Palestine echo in the streets, in classrooms and universities, disrupting the halls of government and the daily lives of all genocide-profiteers. All backers of Zionism, Israel, and US imperialism have been put on notice. The perpetrators of genocide and occupation have names and faces, and the masses of people around the world stand against them in the millions. The movement for Palestine has never been stronger: but with this strength comes a monumental responsibility. This moment calls on us to strengthen our relationships, our strategies, our tactics, and our unity for the struggle ahead. We must build a shared assessment of the moment, and chart out the next phase of our struggle. The Palestinian people have been fighting for liberation for over 100 years, and are committed to continuing this fight generation after generation, until victory. Join us as organizations, collectives, movement leaders, community members, students and intellectuals, artists and cultural workers, and activists for a three-day convening to reflect, exchange, and strengthen ourselves and our fight for a free Palestine. Keynote by Sana’ Daqqa Sana’ Daqqa is an activist, journalist, and the wife of the martyred Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa. She has been a longtime activist in struggle to free Palestinian political prisoners, and is an accomplished journalist and analyst on issues of anticolonialism and political strategy. Sana’ and Walid gave life to their daughter Milad through the smuggling of sperm, and she has become a symbol of hope and resilience for the Palestinian people facing forced separation and imprisonment by the Occupation. Sana’ is currently leading a campaign to release the body of the martyr Walid Daqqa, which continues to be held illegally in Zionist prison until today.

Since its inception, Zionism has enjoyed significant support from imperial powers—first the British who colonized and delivered Palestine to Zionist settlers, and then the resource-hungry United States, keen on expanding its scope of power across the world. In exchange for acting as a proxy power for advancing US interests in the region, the Zionist project receives unconditional political and military aid. The mass movement for Palestine has exposed the shared agenda between US imperialism and Zionism throughout the past seven months, firmly charging the United States with the genocide of the Palestinian people. This session will deepen our analysis of the so-called “special friendship” between the U.S. and Israeli State as one rooted in racist state violence domestically and global domination abroad. Speakers: Richard Becker, Sara Kershnar, Yara Shoufani, Rabab Abdulhadi Moderator: Layan Fuleihan

The Palestinian people have experienced endless warfare for over a century, yet never before have Palestinians endured a genocide of such catastrophic proportions. While this phase of the war on Palestine demonstrates a continuity of Zionist land-theft, imperialist collusion, and systematic annihilation of Palestinian life, it also presents important transformations within the Palestinian, Israeli, regional, and international political fields. This discussion will reflect on the lead-up to and contemporary impact of the war on Palestine, highlight the conditions on the ground, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip, and offer insights on the stakes of the current moment for the future of Palestine and the Palestinians. Speakers: Ghassan Abu Sitta, Mustafa Barghouti, Jehad Abu Salim, Taher Herzallah Moderator: Laura Khoury

Sana’ Daqqa is an activist, journalist, and the wife of the martyred Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa. She has been a longtime activist in struggle to free Palestinian political prisoners, and is an accomplished journalist and analyst on issues of anticolonialism and political strategy. Sana’ and Walid gave life to their daughter Milad through the smuggling of sperm, and she has become a symbol of hope and resilience for the Palestinian people facing forced separation and imprisonment by the Occupation. Sana’ is currently leading a campaign to release the body of the martyr Walid Daqqa, which continues to be held illegally in Zionist prison until today.

In April, students across North America took the solidarity movement by storm. Over one hundred encampments erupted in a matter of days, lifting the movement to new heights and setting the example of commitment to the struggle. The demands of the encampments revealed the deep linkages between ruling class institutions and the Israeli settler state, and their Popular Universities exposed the hypocrisies of higher education in the imperial core. The brutal suppression that followed is only a demonstration of the pressure the student movement was able to exert over the ruling class. This session will engage student organizers from across the world in a discussion on the strategies and tactics of the student intifada, the lessons learned, and the future of the student movement against the genocide and for a liberated Palestine. Speakers: Dawod Al-Taamari, Ibtihal Malley, Monty Rumbold, Ghaied Hijaz Moderator: Nidaa

Historically, anti-imperialist and anticolonial liberation movements have shown us the importance of building sustainable political organizations. In this new phase of our movement, Palestinians in the North American diaspora and solidarity organizations must understand and adapt to the protracted nature of our struggle for liberation. This workshop will provide a dialectical comparative analysis of the North American anti-war movement in relation to the contemporary Palestinian liberation movement. What conditions have led us to this new phase, and how do we utilize this moment of heightened contradictions to advance our struggle for liberation from within the imperial core? Speakers: Wisam Rafeedie, Vijay Prashad, Hana Masri Moderator: Brian Becker

Since the early 20th century, the Palestinian national liberation movement has cultivated a resistance project that sought to unify the Palestinian popular classes around shared vision and strategy. The various conditions facing the Palestinian people in the struggle against imperialism and colonialism—from exile to occupation, from siege to political isolation—has required creative forms of resistance. At the heart of the strategy for Palestinian liberation is the conviction that the struggle must transform the whole of society on social, political, psychological, and spiritual levels for it to succeed. More recently, the Palestinian resistance has proven itself resourceful and resilient in the face of conspiracies to liquidate the Palestinian struggle through normalization. This discussion will explore the advancements made by the Palestinian resistance over the last decade, demonstrating the role of the popular cradle in sustaining the Palestinian struggle. Speakers: Tara Alami, Raja Abdelhaq, Abdaljawad Omar, Jeanine Hourani Moderator: Sarah Abdelshamy