Assessing the Limits of Civil Society in the Palestine State Project

A seminar with Nadia Hijab, Executive Director, Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network.

The Palestinian leadership recently attempted to bring international law back into the picture. Palestinian civil society has made greater gains in this sphere, yet faces serious constraints in translating these gains into meaningful political outcomes.

In this talk, the Executive Director of Al-Shabaka Nadia Hijab describes the limits on the Palestinian struggle for justice due to the paralysis and fragmentation of the Palestinian national movement – despite certain achievements such as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, among others. She also addresses the dilemmas this prevailing disarray poses to Palestinian activists as well as the international solidarity communities. 

Victor Kattan, a post-doctoral fellow at the Law Faculty of the National University of Singapore, spoke about the course of the Middle East peace process over the last 25 years, and the implications that Palestine’s decision to join the International Criminal Court might have on that process by drawing on political biography, international law, and his own experiences of working in Jerusalem and in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Samer Abdelnour explores the topic of Israel and the apartheid analogy, and presents a novel framework through which to better understand and challenge the complex nature of Israeli apartheid.

Nidal Sliman and Phyllis Bennis discuss the role of international organizations in Palestine in the past, as well as their future role, in light of recent Palestinian efforts to obtain membership and recognition (in particular from the UN and the ICC). They discuss the viability of a peace settlement coming out of these organizations as well as logistical issues and administrative barriers within the organizations that may impede that progress.

Al-Shabaka Policy Member Nidal Sliman and Guest Author Valentina Azarov talk about the analysis behind their policy brief, "Activating Palestine's UNESCO Membership."

In fall 2013, the Palestine Awareness Coalition posted four maps on Vancouver`s TransLink buses and SkyTrain stations entitled Disappearing Palestine. This ad campaign received wide attention & media coverage at both the provincial & national levels. Here Dr. Faris comments on the historical context of the maps.

Video from the 2013 Palestine Center Annual Conference. In a rich discussion, moderated by journalist George Hishmeh, Osamah Khalil and Manal Jamal discussed the past and present role of Arab states in the question of Palestine, the situation of Palestinians in Syria, and the future of the Palestinian national movement.

Video from the 2013 Palestine Center Annual Conference. Ali Abunimah and William Quandt, professor of politics at the University of Virginia, discussed the “peace process” and alternatives to it, including the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and the growing attention to the “one-state solution.”

From self-immolation to a region on fire, the past two months have brought forward transformational change in the region. What are the implications of these uprisings on other Arab states? How does this change relations between the Arab states and between them and the United States? How does this change relations between the Arab states and the United States? Do the ongoing uprisings change the way we think of the Palestine question? All of these questions and more will be addressed by a distinguished panel of guests in our discussion.