A night of culture, lectures from top academics, the screening of a film and broad panel discussions – this is not the program of a cultural festival, but the schedule of New York City’s events during “Israeli Apartheid Week.”
Apartheid Week is a series of anti-Israel events held in over 40 cities across the world and took place this year on the week of March 1. This is the fifth consecutive year the event takes place, and while in previous years the events were marginal and raised little public interest, 2009’s Israeli Apartheid week hosted some well known figures in a series of events meant to taint the State of Israel’s image.The event was organized by a coalition of several pro-Palestinian organizations such as Adalah and the Coalition for Justice in the Middle East.
Organizers said interest in this year’s festival was larger then ever, mainly due to Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, and the effect it had on global public opinion.
The events scheduled for the week featured the screening of a documentary comparing the South African apartheid policies with what the organizers call the “Israeli apartheid policies.”
Speakers at the event include novelist and publicist Elias Khoury and successful author Ahdaf Soueif. Nir Harel of the Israeli organization Anarchists Against the Wall was also on the list of speakers at the events.
{Ynet Report/Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel}
