Largest gathering for Palestine in US opens Thanksgiving Day in Chicago

(CHICAGO 11/27/2013) – The American Muslims for Palestine, a national education and advocacy organization, will host its sixth annual national conference, “The Conference for Palestine in the US: A Blessed Land; A Noble Cause,” from Nov. 28-30 at the Crowne Plaza O’Hare in Rosemont, IL. 

Keynote speakers include Israeli historian Ilan Pappe, Columbia University Professor Rashid Khalidi, best-selling author Max Blumenthal, and Laila El-Haddad, who recently was featured as co-author of The Gaza Kitchen on Chef Anthony Bourdain’s show Parts Unknown, which traveled to the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip to sample authentic Palestinian cuisine. Last year, 3,000 people attended the conference. This year to date, registration is up about 50 percent. 

 “This year’s conference theme highlights the religious aspect to the Holy Land, which is sacred to so many people,” said AMP Chairman Dr. Hatem Bazian, a professor of Near Eastern and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. “AMP does not at all discount the Jewish or Christian connection to Palestine. We only want to reassert our heritage in the Holy Land, which has all but been erased from the narrative because of colonialism and western orientalist thought.”

In fact a session titled, “Jerusalem: A Rooted History of Tolerance and Co-existence,” features Jewish, Christian and Muslim speakers, who will speak about their connection to Jerusalem and how the holy city should be accessible to all people. 

Programs for youth, young adults, small children will run throughout the weekend as well as a Campus Activism Track for college students.

Members of the media are welcome to attend. For more information on the conference and a full program schedule, go to www.conference.ampalestine.org. To register for free, use Discount Code MEDIA. 

To schedule interviews, please contact AMP Director of Media and Communications Kristin Szremski at 708.717.4180 or at [email protected].