The largest gathering for Palestine in the US opened with much fanfare Thursday

With movie screenings, scintillating lectures and workshops, great Palestinian cuisine, a colorful bazaar and enticing children’s activities, there was something for everyone.

It’s not too late to register!
Today's offerings include:

• Lecture and book signing by Israeli historian Ilan Pappe, author of “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.”
• Two leadership workshops by Mohammed Abbasi and Manal Fakhoury.
• Palestinian history lesson for youth.
• Field trip for children to the Jumping Zone.
• A bazaar full of Palestinian products such as olive oil, books, Islamic clothing and other items.

Reassessing Oslo
The main hall was full for presentations given by AMP national board member Dr. Osama Abu Irshaid, Rafeeq Jaber and Hatem Abudayyeh about the Oslo Peace Accords and how they’ve failed the Palestinian people.
Twenty years after the Accords were signed, Palestinians are wholly dependent upon foreign aid, 60 percent of the West Bank has been opened for the Israeli development of Jewish-only colonies and Jewish settlers increased from just over 100,000 to 630,000 today,” Dr. Abu Irshaid told the crowd.

Movie Screenings
Earlier in the day as guests began arriving at the hotel, two documentaries produced by Al Jazeera were screened with permission from the news outlet. “A Girl Called Jewel,” followed Almaza (Jewel) Al Samouni, after 30 of her family members were killed in Operation Cast Lead. The screening room was filled to capacity for the second film, “The Price of Oslo,” which focused on Norway’s involvement in secret negotiations that ultimately lead to the fateful handshake between the PLO’s Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin on the White House lawn.

Understanding Palestine’s history

Sheikh Abdelfattah Mourou, a leader in the Tunisian Islamic Tendency Movement, gave a powerful and resounding lecture about the Islamic significance of Palestine. He was joined by Sheikh Kifah Mustapha and Sheikh Amin Al-Ali. While the main session was in Arabic, an English parallel session on the same topic featured AMP Chairman Dr. Hatem Bazian, and Sheikh Ziad Hamdan.

Children, Youth, and Young Adults
Hundreds of children and high school students turned out for a variety of programs that included games, a screening of the Academy Award-nominated movie, 5 Broken Cameras, among other things.

Register today!