The Kent State Anti-War Committee kicks off its Palestine Awareness week today with speakers from Gaza and The Coalition for Peace in the Middle East.

The discussion, which will take place today at 7 p.m. in the Kiva, will feature Nasser Abualnour, who moved from Palestine to Akron in 2006. Abualnour made the move after Islamic University, where he was a dean, was destroyed in the war.

Martha Katz will also be speaking at the forum on the issues between Palestine and Israel. Katz has been an activist in Youngstown for almost 20 years and currently leads weekly vigils against the war in Iraq.

Both speakers will give a short presentation and then the floor will be opened for questions from the audience.

The movie “Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land” will be shown 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in Room 317 of the Student Center. The movie focuses on the lack of media coverage on the conflict between Palestine and Israel. The 2006 movie explains the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and the bitter history between the two nations that has led to the prevalent terrorism.

K.S.A.W.C. will finish the week out with a demonstration at noon on Thursday. The demonstration will begin at Cartwright Hall and move to Risman Plaza where a mock funeral service and eulogy will be held for those who have died in the war. Maps will be given out at the beginning of the demonstration for those who wish to participate.

K.S.A.W.C. member Jacquelyn Bleak said since the Palestine-Israeli conflict has been in recent news, the committee would like to get campus involved. “Since its been in the news, people have knowledge of the occupation,” Bleak said. “It is important to take a stand and get involved. If everyone doesn’t raise their, voices we’ll all be silenced.

THE CONFLICT

1917: League of Nations mandate gives Britain permission to settle Jews in Israel.

1947: U.N. partitioned land after 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

1948: About 726,000 Palestinians fled from their homes to refugee camps after the creation of Israel.

1967: After the Six-Day War, Palestine was confined to the Gaza strip.

1988: Palestinian Liberation Organization accepted the Oslo Accords, which stated that the two states would resolve the conflict peacefully. However, both sides wanted parts of the Gaza Strip in the West Bank.

1993: PLO signs Oslo Declaration of Principles, renouncing violence and accepting Israel’s existence. Many Palestinians were against this still and began creating terrorist organizations and staging suicide bombings.

2002: Operation Defensive Wall in the West Bank allowed Israelis to reclaim lands lost to Palestine.

2004: The Defensive Wall is declared unconstitutional by the International Court of Justice, though it is meant to protect against terrorism.

2003: Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah agree to a three-month cease-fire.

2006: Hamas wins national election. The U.S. and other countries cut off aid to Palestinians.

2007: The Battle of Gaza begins and Hamas takes control of the Gaza Strip.

December 2008: New Battle of Gaza.

Contact student politics reporter Melissa Dilley at [email protected].