GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY TRAINING & LOBBY DAY

March 6 - 7, 2011
Cesar Chavez School for Public Policy · Washington, DC


Schedule of Events:
(may be subject to change)


Official Event Locations:

Sunday, March 6
Cesar Chavez School for Public Policy
709 12th St. SE
Washington, DC 20003

Monday, March 7
The Methodist Building Meeting Room
100 Maryland Avenue NE (Capitol Hill)
Washington, DC 20002

click here for transportation information

 

EVENTS SCHEDULE

PLEASE NOTE: Your registration for the Grassroots Advocacy Training and Lobby Day covers only the official events of March 6 - 7. Affiliated events for students and youth will take place during the Campus Organizing Conference on Saturday, March 5.


SATURDAY, MARCH 5: Affiliated Events (separate registration required)

12:00 - 6:00 PM: Campus Organizing Conference

Sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee in cooperation with Interfaith Peace-Builders and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

Featuring Panels and Interactive Workshops for Students and Youth Activists! Learn the skills to catalyze your activism on your campus and in your community, featuring a special opportunity to “stump the chump” and hear from experienced organizers on how to respond creatively to difficult organizing scenarios

Register with Grassroots Advocacy Training Days and get a discount registration of $70 for three days! (Registration for March 5 events is restricted to students and youth only)

 

7:00 - 8:00 PM: Evening Event - "Telling the Story of Gaza"

Location:
Busboys and Poets
2021 14th Street, NW (14th and V St.)
Washington DC

Join bloggers Adam Horowitz (Mondoweiss) and Laila el-Haddad (Gaza Mom) as they discuss their contributions to the new book "The Goldstone Report: The Legacy of the Landmark Investigation of the Gaza Conflict" (Nation Books).

Food and drink available for purchase
Click here for more information 

 

SUNDAY, MARCH 6: Official Events

Location:
Cesar Chavez School for Public Policy
709 12th St. SE
Washington, DC 20003

Cesar Chavez School for Public Policy is accessible by Metrorail from Eastern Market Station (Orange/Blue Lines). Click here for a map of location and directions to/from Eastern Market Station. NOTE: Parking is limited at the school and is only on the street. Participants are encouraged to travel via metro. For metro directions and times, check www.wmata.com.


9:00 - 9:30 am: Registration and Welcome


9:30 – 11:00 am: Keynote Address

ISRAEL/PALESTINE IN THE AGE OF OBAMA AND THE TEA PARTY: What Does the Future Hold?

Nadia Hijab is Co-Director of Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network, and a writer, public speaker and media commentator.  Ms. Hijab's first book, Womanpower: The Arab debate on women at work was published by Cambridge University Press and she co-authored Citizens Apart: A Portrait of Palestinians in Israel (I. B. Tauris). She was previously Editor-in-Chief of the London-based Middle East magazine before serving as a senior development officer at the United Nations in New York. She now runs her own consulting business on human rights, human development, and gender. Ms. Hijab has served as co-chair of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, and currently sits on its advisory board, and is a past president of the Association of Arab American University Graduates.

Note: Rob Malley was originally scheduled to present the keynote address but was forced to withdraw due to scheduling conflicts.

 

11:00 – 11:15 am: Morning Break (light refreshments)

11:15 am – 12:15 pm: Introducing our Policy Asks

A chance to focus on Monday's Lobby Day, this session will introduce our shared policy asks and discuss strategies to use on Capitol Hill

  • Josh Ruebner - National Advocacy Director at the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
  • Abed Ayoub - Legal Director at the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

 

12:15 - 2:00 pm: Lunch Break (lunch provided for pre-paid registrants)

Break-Out Sessions: Meet with Your state lobbying groups to discuss congressional asks and plan your meetings.

1:15 - 2:00 PM: Optional Informational Workshops

  • The Interfaith Peace-Builders Delegation Experience: What Makes an IFPB Delegation Unique? Presented by Emily Siegel, Delegations Coordinator for Interfaith Peace-Builders
  • Using 'Reality Snippets' to Reshape American Public Opinion: New Media and Your Activism. Presented by Ed Thompson of the Chicago Faith Coalition for Middle East Policy
  • Understanding the Israel Lobby: How You Can Challenge AIPAC in DC this May. Presented by Medea Benjamin, Rae Abileah and Shaden Dowiatt of CODEPINK
  • US-registered 501(c)3's and the Israeli Settlement Industry: Who Funds the Settlements and How Can We Stop Them? Presented by Abed Ayoub of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and members of Northern Virginia Citizens for Middle East Peace
  • Local DC Organizing: From the Grassroots to the National and Global. Presented by Robby Deisu and Jane Zara of the Washington Peace Center, who will make the connection with how public monies spent on military aid and war could be spent at home to address the needs of our community

 

2:00 – 3:30 pm: Workshops

Workshop 1: Mobilizing the Grassroots: Generating Leverage through Constructive Campaigns

  • Anna Baltzer - award-winning lecturer, author, and National Organizer at the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
  • Loubna Qutami - an International Executive Board Member for the Palestinian Youth Network and Special Events Coordinator at the Arab Cultural Center in San Francisco
  • Dalit Baum - Coordinator of whoprofits.org, a project of the Coalition of Women for Peace (Israel), and director of Global Exchange's Palestine Economic Activism Project


Workshop 2:  Bringing Solidarity Home: Supporting Palestinian and Israeli Partners While Working for Change Locally

  • Andrew Kadi - human rights activist, member of Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel, and occasional contributor to the Guardian's Comment is Free, The Electronic Intifada, MondoWeiss, Left Turn, and other publications
  • Jennifer Bing - Regional Program Coordinator of the Great Lakes Region of the American Friends Service Committee


Workshop 3: Faith Based Organizing:  Engaging Religious Communities and Creating Interfaith Space

  • Naeem Baig - Vice President for Public Affairs at the Islamic Circle of North America
  • Mark Braverman - Executive Director of Friends of Tent of Nations North America and Board member of the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions USA


Workshop 4: Ending Military Aid to Israel: Mobilizing for Policy Change in Your Community

  • Josh Ruebner - National Advocacy Director at the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

 

3:30 - 3:45 pm: Afternoon Break

 

3:45 - 5:00 PM:  Facilitated Panel Discussion

Policy Levers and Grassroots Fulcrums: Where Can We Push and Be Most Effective?

Facilitated by Mike Daly, Program Coordinator for Interfaith Peace-Builders. Panelists include:

  • Adam Horowitz - Co-editor of Mondoweiss, founding member of Jews Against the Occupation in New York city and board member of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice
  • Loubna Qutami - International Executive Board Member for the Palestinian Youth Network and Special Events Coordinator at the Arab Cultural Center in San Francisco
  • Phyllis Bennis - Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and Steering Committee member of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

 

5:00 – 5:15 pm: Final Plenary Meeting and Details for Monday


5:30 - 8:00 pm: Social Event and Fundraiser

Mi Vecindad
Cuban, Salvadoran, Mexican and Pan-Latin Cuisine
1129 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington DC
(1 block from training site - Click here for directions)

Food available for purchase
Free entrance for Grassroots Advocacy Training Registrants
Non-registrants suggested donation: $10 - $50

Special Guest: Daoud Nassar
A Palestinian farmer living and working in the fertile hill country south of Bethlehem, Daoud Nassar's farm has been in the family for four generations. The farm, is ringed by Jewish settlements and the encroaching Separation Wall.  The family has been offered millions for the land, but they remain steadfast. "This land is our mother," says Daoud. "Our mother is not for sale." Under his leadership, the family has taken the case to establish the family's land rights to the Israeli Supreme Court and established The Tent of Nations providing arts, drama, and education to the children of the villages and refugee camps of the region.

 

 

MONDAY, MARCH 7: Official Events

Location:
Capitol Hill

Optional Meet-up Location:
The Methodist Building Meeting Room
100 Maryland Avenue NE (Capitol Hill)
Washington, DC 20002

Between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM the Meeting Room at The Methodist Building will be available for registrants to use for meeting, resting, and storing bags.

The Methodist Building is accessible by Metrorail from Union Station (Red Line). Click here for a map of location and directions from Union Station.

10:00 am – 5:00 pm: Meetings on Capitol Hill

Participants are responsible for booking meetings with their congressional representatives. IFPB will not book meetings for you, but we will put you in contact with others that register form your state and congressional district prior to February 28.

Click here for information on scheduling a meeting with your member of congress, including a template meeting request that you can personalize and send to your congressional offices!

Download background readings and information on your representatives' voting records here.

3:30 pm– 5:30 pm: Evaluation Session

The Methodist Building Meeting Room
Union Station Metro (Red Line)
Click here for a map of location and here for directions to/from Union Station.

A review and evaluation of the lobby day focused on tangible achievements and avenues for growth and success. Moderated by Joe Groves - Senior Fellow at Interfaith Peace-Builders.

 

MONDAY, MARCH 7: Affiliated Events

Location:
American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Heritage Center
1732 Wisconsin Ave, NW
Washington, DC

6:30 - 8:30 PM: Reception and Panel Discussion

The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation welcome you to a reception and panel discussion on current events and policy prescriptions for the Middle East.

Pizza and refreshments provided
More information and speakers to be announced

The ADC Heritage Center is accessible by the DC Circulator Bus from Union Station (the Union Station - Georgetown Line). The DC Circulator departs from Union Station - Parking Deck Mezzanine Level and drops off passengers at Wisconsin Ave NW & 34th St NW (one block from the Heritage Center). Click here for a DC Circulator route map (the Union Station - Georgetown Line appears in orange).

 

TUESDAY, MARCH 8: Affiliated Events

Location:
Rayburn House Office Building, Room B-339 (Capitol Hill)
Washington, DC 20002

9:00 - 10:30 AM: Congressional Briefing
Sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee in cooperation with Interfaith Peace-Builders and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

How U.S. Policy Impacts Us: Testimonies From Israelis and Palestinians
Israeli and Palestinian witnesses will tell seldom heard stories that raise critical questions about the effects of U.S. policies on three key issues: property rights, freedom of movement, and U.S. military aid in the region. Voices of those who are directly affected by the conflict will be highlighted.

Refreshments will be served
Click here for more information

Featuring expert testimony from:

  • Daoud Nassar. Palestinian Christian Daoud Nassar offers Palestinians, Israelis and international visitors a place to come together in peace on his farm southwest of Bethlehem. He will address challenges posed by nearby Israeli settlements to his property.
  • Leila el-Haddad. Palestinian blogger and journalist from Gaza, Ms. Haddad obtained her M.A. in Public Policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She will address freedom of movement for Palestinians in Gaza.
  • Elik Elhanan. Former Israeli soldier and current peace advocate, Elik Elhanan has been involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict both as a fighter and as a victim. In 1997 his sister was killed by a Palestinian suicide bombing in Jerusalem. He is a founding member of Combatants for Peace. He will address military aid and militarism within Israel.
  • Moderator: Helena Cobban. Veteran writer and researcher on global affairs. Ms. Cobban publishes "Just World News," a blog on international issues with broad international readership.



REGISTER TODAY TO GAIN IMPORTANT SKILLS FOR YOUR ACTIVISM AND MAKE AN IMPACT IN CONGRESS!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

DOWNLOAD AND DISTRIBUTE THE FLYER!

This event is sponsored by:
Interfaith Peace-Builders and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

Endorsed by:
American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Christian Peacemaker Teams - Palestine, CODEPINK: Women for Peace, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Friends of Sabeel - North America, Friends of Tent of Nations - North America, the Islamic Circle of North America, ICNA Council for Social Justice, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions - USA, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Middle East Research and Information Project, the National Peace Foundation, Students for Justice in Palestine (American University), and the Washington Peace Center


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