Listen to audio recording of the event by downloading the mp3 file, click here to download.
The Palestine Solidarity Committee is proud to participate in the fourth consecutive International Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW), the key event being a public rally with Azmi Bishara on the 3rd of February at the Career Centre in Soweto. The lecture will be broadcast in all the countries that have joined together in planning the week's activities and will serve as the international launch pad for their respective IAW campaigns.
On the run and fearing for his life, unable to return to his home because of the threat of being arrested for treason, Israeli citizen and former member of the Israeli Knesset, Azmi Bishara, still pulls no punches. Bishara is an acclaimed international speaker, prolific writer, well-known intellectual, activist, academic and former member of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament). His resignation from Parliament came last year in April amidst allegations of espionage and treason, allegations that he dismisses as completely ridiculous.
Bishara will be telling an audience in Soweto that his experience as a Palestinian citizen of Israel was very similar to the lives that Black people lived under apartheid. Israel, he says, speaking with the knowledge of a parliamentarian of that country, is an apartheid state.
Other speakers at Sunday’s event will include General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, Eddie Makue and Makoma Lekalakala of the Social Movements Indaba. All speakers will illustrate the parallels between South African and Israeli apartheid and the two liberation struggles.
The aim of the Israeli Apartheid Week is an international initiative to push forward the analysis of Israel as an apartheid state and to bolster support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions of Israel campaign. The lecture will be broadcast in all the countries that have joined together in planning the week's activities. The South African segment will culminate with this public rally in Soweto on Sunday. International activities will continue around the globe until the 11th of February in the USA, Canada, Palestine and the United Kingdom. The week's events will include lectures, multimedia events, cultural performances, film screenings, demonstrations, and more.
If any further details are needed do not hesitate to contact us.
Event: Global Launch of the International Apartheid Week
Main Speaker: Azmi Bishara
Day: Sunday, 3rd February 2008
Time: 14h00
Venue: Career Centre, Cnr Old Potch Road & Immink drive, Diepkloof, Soweto (opposite the Lesedi clinic and adjacent to the BP garage).
Info: 082 660 0723 / 073 906 0017 / info@psc.za.org / witspsc@gmail.com
Transport to and from the event, for Wits students, will be available from the AMIC Deck Bus Stop, on Yale Road, East Campus at 12h30 on Sunday.
082 660 0723 / witspsc@gmail.com