Puerto Rico to Palestine

Puerto Rico to Palestine:
Uniting Struggles in Defense of the Land

On April 20, ‘07 Puerto Rican Activist Tito Kayak scaled 10 story Israeli Surveillance tower & unfurled Palestinian Flag as Palestinian Film Journalist Emad Bornat documented the action.The two will speak and show the documentary “Bil’in Against the Wall”.

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(Scheduled cities in US & Puerto Rico are listed below.)
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Saludos! Greetings! Salaam! Shalom!

We invite you to join us in hosting Tito & Emad on their speaking and film tour: “Puerto Rico to Palestine: Uniting Struggles in Defense of the Land”. The tour will take place from August 23rd until Sept. 21st, 2007, in Puerto Rico and cities in the US. This event represents an effort to strengthen ties between communities that are struggling in defense of the land, environmentally, politically, for survival and for the sake of justice. We will present some of those parallels and examples of inspired resistance that will help cross germinate ideas for nonviolent action that can be shared with all struggles. Emad Bornat’s documentary film from Palestine will be shown, including Tito Kayak scaling a tower in Palestine with the Palestinian flag. Read below to find out how you can invite the tour or help to financially support the tour.

This past April our delegation, from Puerto Rico and Ithaca, NY, Tito Kayak, Dara Guadalupe, Ivan Torres, and Mary Anne Grady Flores, traveled to Palestine. We attended an international conference on Nonviolent Popular Joint Resistance in the West Bank Palestinian village of Bil’in, where there is steadfast, creative nonviolent resistance against the Separation Fence, confiscation of land and Israeli military occupation. In 2005, 60% of Bil’in land was expropriated to construct a separation fence and make way for a new settlement, an extension of Modi’in Ilite. During the conference, the Bil’in Popular Committee invited participants from 22 countries to share resistance from different places to strengthen the resistance against the construction of the wall and occupation of Palestine. Emad Bornat and international journalists documented Tito’s dramatic climb up the surveillance tower and unfurling of the Palestinian flag, and this solidarity action was flashed around the world.

Emad Bornat has documented the 30 months of nonviolent struggle of his village to reclaim the stolen land and end the Israeli occupation. Emad, a former film journalist for Reuters, has worked with many international film makers. His work is featured in the film, “Bil’in My Love”, winner of the Jerusalem Film Festival, 2006. His first film “One Year of Peaceful Resistance”, won second prize at the 2007 Al-Awda Film Festival in San Diego, California. His second film, “Bil’in Against the Wall” has been entered in film festivals in US cities for this fall 2007. His films are available to for entry in university film festivals. He was arrested and beaten by Israeli Defense Forces and imprisoned for rock throwing despite evidence showing his innocence.

Both Emad and Tito continue their nonviolent struggles in defense of their lands. Every Friday Emad risks his life to film the demonstrations resisting the confiscation of the village land. Just last week on August 2nd, 2007, he documented 200 settler families moving illegally into the incomplete condominium settlement, despite a pending Israeli High Court decision determining the legality of the settlement. Just this week Tito along with 4 other Puerto Rican activists climbed a crane to prevent the illegal construction of luxury condos costing $1-2 million per unit, which will prevent public access to the public beach in Old San Juan.

You can help these struggles in Defense of Puerto Rican and Palestinian land: