Come for a screening of 5 Broken Cameras, followed by a discussion with IYAD BURNAT, one of the leaders of the struggle against Israeli Occupation & the building of the apartheid wall in Bil'in, Palestine. The discussion with Iyad Burnat will touch on the stories and struggles of the village of Bil'in, as well as strategies for non-violent popular resistance. Iyad will show personal photos and videos of demonstrations and we will hear a first-hand account of his resistance to military occupation and oppression and the Palestinian people's struggle for freedom and dignity.
Iyad Burnat is head of the Bil'in Popular Committee and a leader of the village;s non-violent popular resistance movement. Since 2005, residents of Bil'in have held weekly demonstrations against the building of the Israeli separation wall through the community's agricultural lands, and the steady encroachment of illegal settlements. The demonstrators are joined by Israeli and international peace activists, and have maintained a commitment to non-violent methods of resistance in spite of armed, military opposition that has resulted in the death of some, and the injury of many.
Despite Israeli repression, Bil'in villagers continue nonviolent protests against the Wall. The legal proceedings managed to get the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice to order a re-routing of the wall section built on Bil'in land, which resulted in the villagers reclaiming 275 acres of the 600 acres Israel was planning on using to build the Wall-a minor triumph for the villagers.
These demonstrations are the subject of the recent award-winning documentary film 5 Broken Cameras, which was made by Iyad's brother, Emad Burnat. When his fourth son, Gibreel, is born, Emad gets his first camera. For more than five years, Emad films the struggle, which is lead by two of his best friends, alongside filming how Gibreel grows. Very soon it affects his family and his own life. Daily arrests and night raids scare his family; his friends, brothers and him as well are either shot or arrested. One Camera after another is shot at or smashed, each camera tells a part of his story.
Sponsored by: Hunter SJP, Columbia SJP, Brooklyn College SJP, John Jay SJP, New School SJP, Existence is Resistance.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2012 ~ 6:30 PM (Doors open at 6PM)
Hunter College, 695 Park Avenue, North Building - Lang Hall, 4th Floor
Enter on 68th & Lexington Avenue, Hunter West Building
