UPDATE: On March 3rd, in partnership with the Middle East Solidarity Project, we hosted a BDS workshop and performance in Olympia, Washington featuring Remi Kanazi.  Below is the live video from that event:

Remi Kanazi, Palestinian-American poet, writer, and human rights activist based in New York City will bring his spoken word to Olympia in a performance and BDS workshop Sunday, March 3rd.

From 2-4 PM, Kanazi will provide a Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) workshop about the Palestinian call for academic and cultural boycott of Israel, misconceptions about this call, and how to mount BDS campaigns.

Author of Poetic Injustice: Writings on Resistance and Palestine and editor of Poets For Palestine, a hip hop, poetry, and art anthology, Kanazi is a recurring writer in residence and advisory board member for the Palestine Writing Workshop. He has taught, lectured, and performed extensively throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. A member of the organizing committee of the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, Kanazi has been a featured political commentator for news outlets throughout the world. Through spoken word, he inspires audiences to discover their power to act for justice and peace in Israel/Palestine. An American-born son of Palestinian refugees who deeply feels his roots, Kanazi states, “This isn’t about me being a Palestinian or me being an Arab. It’s about a system of oppression and what’s being done to a people.” Kanazi will be available for book signing.

Friday, March 15th – Where Should the Birds Fly

Olympia Film Society screening & Fida Qishta filmmaker from Gaza

6:30 pm – Capitol Theater, 206 5th Ave SE, Olympia

Event Details

We are excited to team up with the Olympia Film Society (OFS) to present this film followed by a discussion with the filmmaker. Fida Qishta is a Palestinian journalist from Rafah, Gaza, and survivor of the 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead attack on Gaza by the Israeli Military. The film tells Fida’s story of life during the past decade in Gaza and during the siege, along with the moving story of Mona, a Palestinian girl, ten-years old at the time of Operation Cast Lead.

Fida will be joined by Rachel Corrie Foundation board member Sonja Wentz for discussion with the audience following the movie.

Tickets: $5.50- OFS members, $8.50- non-members

Saturday, March 16, 2013-

Sylvester Park & The Olympia Ballroom (116 Legion Way SW, downtown Olympia)– Expect a dynamic day of social action, speakers, music, dance, food, reflection, remembrance, and community!

• 1 pm – Rally at Sylvester Park: Ten years is enough! Challenge U.S. aid to Israel and the lack of accountability for how those resources are used
• 2:30 – 9pm – Olympia Ballroom – Keynote Speakers: Phyllis Bennis and Ramzy Baroud – 10 Years
• Music and Dance- Batiste Dabke, House of Tarab, David Rovics, and more!
• Community Potluck (5:00-7:00 pm) – an Olympia tradition
• Remembrances – from Cindy and Craig Corrie and others
• Interactive Displays- A visual feast reflecting Rachel Corrie – the writer, artist, and activist, and the continuing struggle; ten years for the Rachel Corrie Foundation; ten years for our community’s work on Israel/Palestine; and ten-years of local peace-building.

Writer, analyst, and activist on U.S. foreign policy related to the Middle East and the UN, Phyllis Bennis directs the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC and is also a fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. A journalist at the UN for ten years, Bennis remains a special adviser to top-level UN officials on Middle East and UN democratization issues. In the U.S., she works actively on global peace and with Palestinian rights movements and was a co-founder of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. Bennis has authored eight books on the Middle East and the United Nations and is a frequent contributor to U.S. and global media at the BBC, Democracy Now!, Al-Jazeera, NPR, the Nation, AlterNet, Common Dreams, TomPaine.com. and more.

In a letter “to all of those participating in Shuruq: Olympia Arab Fest 2012″, Governor Christine Gregoire sent warm greetings to all participants of Arab Fest:

I count it a privilege to have a vibrant Arab-American community thriving in Washington, and I am thankful for the part Arab-Americans play in establishing a rich cultural heritage in our state.

Governor Christine O. Gregoire's letter to participants of Arab Fest 2012 in Olympia.

On behalf of the City Council, Mayor Buxbaum recently extended a welcome to Arab Fest, in a letter to the organizers. Let’s follow Buxbaum’s advice, and attend Arab Fest in Olympia, October 5-7, 2012.

» Learn more about Arab Fest…

» See the full program, browse the list of performances and events…

Mayor Buxbaum's letter welcoming Arab Fest to Olympia.