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Protest Israeli Batsheva Dance Company at the Harris Theater
Where: The Harris Theater, 205 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601 (map)
When: Friday, January 27th at 6:30 PM
Facebook Event
On Friday January 27th, the Israeli dance troupe Batsheva Dance Company will perform at Chicago’s Harris Theater. Consistently identified by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as “one of Israel’s greatest cultural ambassadors,” Batsheva’s international tour is being sponsored by the Israeli government. Batsheva is not simply a dance company, it is part a larger campaign by the Israeli government that aims to use art and culture to whitewash Israel’s human rights abuses against Palestinians, and show “Israel’s prettier face.” By hosting Batsheva, The Harris Theater is not only whitewashing Israel’s apartheid and war crimes, but also violates the 2004 call by Palestinian Civil Society to engage in an academic and cultural boycott of Israel. Join us in letting the Harris Theater know that whitewashing is not welcome in Chicago!
Convened by Palestinian organizers, activists, and institutions. Supported by Students for Justice in Palestine-Chicago, US Palestinian Community Network, For The People Artists Collective, American Friends Service Committee-Chicago, Jewish Voice for Peace-Chicago
More information:
The Palestinian people, through the broadest coalition of Palestinian groups, have asked artists to support a cultural boycott of Israeli cultural institutions. Palestinian artists face daily humiliation, checkpoints, and imprisonment. In response, artists and human rights activists worldwide are currently boycotting Batsheva until the dance troupe takes a stand against the Israeli government’s abuse of Palestinian human rights.
Batsheva Dance Company is backed by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which funds a “Brand Israel” campaign “to send artists overseas in order to ‘show Israel’s prettier face, so they are not thought of purely in the context of war.’” The Brand Israel campaign is entrenched in apartheid, occupation, and colonialism against the Palestinian people, as well as a blatant whitewashing of the ongoing repression against Palestinians, including the siege of 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza and the collective punishment inflicted against Palestinians on a daily basis.
While the Brand Israel campaign aims to portray Israel as a progressive hub for art and culture, Palestinian artists face enormous barriers to creating their own work as a direct result of Israel’s racist policies and violent occupation. Israeli Minister of Culture, Miri Regev, is notorious for her blatant repression of Palestinian cultural life. In the past, she has pulled funding from a Palestinian children’s theatre for creating political work. Palestinian artists also face repression on an individual level. For instance, in December of 2015, Palestinian circus artist Muhammad Abu Sakha, who works with students with disabilities, was arrested by Israel without charge. He is still being held indefinitely for unspecified “illegal activities”. And Palestinian cultural institutions like The Freedom Theatre are regular targets of Israeli raids, with equipment destroyed by the Israeli army, and many of its actors prevented from traveling to perform, and repeatedly arrested without charge.
We will not allow Batsheva to represent Israel as a progressive hub of art and culture through the Brand Israel program, while the state simultaneously suppresses Palestinian life, art, and culture. We stand with the Palestinian call for boycott until Israel adheres to standards of international law, in pursuit of freedom, justice, and equality for all Palestinians.
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Project SHINE
Summer Help IN English
Apply to LEAP’s Project SHINE and Teach English in the Palestinian Refugee camps of Lebanon this Summer
Apply Today
Deadline: February 17, 2017
ABOUT LEAP
Learning for the Empowerment and Advancement of Palestinians (LEAP) is an educational empowerment program for Palestinian refugee-youth in Lebanon dedicated to nurturing the intellectual growth and creative curiosity of our students. LEAP encourages youth to become agents of change by supporting them in their educational pursuits during their most formative years.
LEAP aims to illuminate the plight of Palestinian refugees, particularly in Lebanon, through volunteer-run educational programs and scholarship opportunities; simultaneously facilitating a rich cultural exchange, and deepening the understanding of Palestinian refugees. It provides a space in which ideas, goals and aspirations can be nurtured to their full potential. Learn more...
PROJECT SHINE - Summer Help IN English
The SHINE project is a summer intensive English program. LEAP recruits volunteers to provide English courses and recreational activities, while living and working in the refugee camps of Lebanon. In turn, our volunteers learn about the Palestinian refugee reality in general, but particularly in Lebanon where the situation for Palestinian refugees is particularly dire, especially in recent years due to the Syrian refugee crisis. Volunteers and students share a mutual learning experience. Upon return to their home communities, volunteers are encouraged to raise awareness about the plight of Palestinian refugees and amplify the voices of refugees through report-backs, information sessions, and other community events.
In addition to the remedial English classes, SHINE offers students weekly field trips and recreational activities to encourage physical and emotional growth at a pivotal stage in students’ lives. Some of these activities include yoga, debke (a Palestinian folkloric dance), theater, social media, film, photography, poetry, and creative writing.
WHY LEAP IS IMPORTANT
Only one third of refugee-students enrolled in first grade at UNRWA schools go on to complete their high school education. One major factor contributing to high dropout rates is failure to pass the Lebanese Brevet high-school entrance examination. The exam is administered inEnglish and Palestinian refugee students exhibit high failure rates in marked contrast to their Lebanese counterparts simply because they are not proficient in English.
Project SHINE provides a summer session in remedial English in order to prepare students for the Brevet examination, strengthen their English proficiency, and provide a space for intellectual and recreational activities to change the routine of camp life during the summer and nurture children’s intellectual curiosity and growth.
LEAP EXPECTATIONS
LEAP seeks dynamic, compassionate, and motivated volunteers who enjoy working with young adults; value the right to quality education for all people; believe in refugee-rights; have a passion for social justice; maintain respect and diplomacy in their interactions with people of different backgrounds; and are capable of working under challenging circumstances.
Volunteers must be prepared to work in small classrooms with sporadic or scarce electricity, extreme heat, and limited resources. Volunteers must also be able to endure difficult living conditions such as cramped and uncomfortable apartments, as well as extreme heat and discomfort. Most importantly, LEAP volunteers must be culturally sensitive and consideration of local norms, as well as carry themselves in a mature, appropriate, and respectful manner at all times during the program since they are both representatives of LEAP and by extension, our partners.
Volunteers must demonstrate experience in one or more of the following: previous work or knowledge of the MENA region, particularly Lebanon; Arabic; an understanding of the social and cultural dynamics of the region; educational experience; previous work with youth in tutoring, afterschool programs, recreational activities, etc; advocacy; refugees/IDPs; management and coordination; working abroad; and/or psycho-social support.
We strongly encourage interested applicants to apply. This is a unique opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of the Palestinian refugee reality in Lebanon. The Program has consistently been described as a meaningful, unforgettable experience, for youth and volunteers alike, and we hope that you will join our team.
GET INVOLVED
To apply to Project SHINE, please complete the online application before the deadline on 17 February 2017. Apply today!
To learn more, support our projects and/or partner with us, please visit the LEAP website.
Contact: info@leap-program.org
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