The LA-8 Case, Civil Liberties, and Jewish-Arab Solidarity: Two Events in Olympia

Saturday, Feb. 2, 7pm — The Evergreen State College — Lecture Hall 1 — Film & Guest SpeakersSunday, Feb. 3, 2pm — Traditions Café — 5th & Water St. Olympia — Talk and Community Discussion

“Voices in Exile: Immigrants and the First Amendment” (1988, 30 min)

Since 9-11 and the passage of the USA Patriot Act, balancing civil liberties with national security is a major concern. VOICES IN EXILE follows an astonishing 20-year deportation case against Palestinians in Los Angeles that foreshadows current government use of “secret evidence.” This riveting video examines plans for rounding up Arab Americans, reminiscent of the WWII internment of Japanese Americans.

Michel Shehadeh is one of the defendants and leading respondents in the landmark Los Angeles Eight case, the longest running political immigration case in US history. Recently all charges were dropped by the government against the LA 8 after twenty-one years of legal struggle. Shehadeh’s writings have appeared in many publications, such as the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, Al-Jazeera net and Al-Adab magazine.

Joan Mandell is an award-winning filmmaker whose films, Tales from Arab Detroit, Gaza Ghetto, and Voices in Exile, are widely taught on US college campuses. Mandell has taught film and video production, international film history and media literacy at the University of California/Irvine and the College for Contemporary Studies, Detroit. As a Jewish-American, she will also speak about the history of Jewish-Arab solidarity in the struggle for Civil Liberties and Palestinian Rights.

Sponsored by Evergreen’s SESAME and The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace & Justice

(read more about the Fifth Annual SESAME Middle East Film Festival )