[Jewish] Thursday: Wondering what the *&!# is going on in Israel & Palestine? Come Learn. *FOOD*

[Yonatan Tal Schechter]

Join us for the first UPZ meeting of the semester, featuring

A Screening of Part 1 of the documentary series In the Land of the Settlers:
Overview of the Settler Issues

and a talk with former settler and Israeli soldier turned peace activist

Kobi Skolnick

Thursday, February 28 - 7:00 pm - FPH 108

and, of course, FREE FOOD.



Visit www.hampedia.org (Search for UPZ) or contact Sharon at
srg04 at hampshire.edu for more information


About Kobi:
Growing up in a right-wing religious extremist Jewish settlement deep in
the West Bank, Kobi was involved with right-wing groups from a young
age. But his experiences in the Israeli army caused him to renounce
violence and become an activist for peace. He is now living in New York
City, studying neuroscience and social change. Kobi is an active member
of Combatants for Peace, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom- The Jewish Alliance for
Justice and Peace, and has spoken at UPZ chapters around the country.

About In the Land of the Settlers:
In this five-episode documentary series, prolific Israeli news anchor
Chaim Yavin follows settlers throughout the territories of the West
Bank. Yavin worked on “Land of the Settlers” for two years and in some
occasions preferred to forgo the use of a film crew and just go out by
himself, with a small hand-held video camera. After the series aired in
Israel it garnered critical praise for its honest and raw portrayal of
the situation.
Working on the series, “I came to realize, once again how extremely
powerful the settler groups are,” Yavin said in an interview with the
Israeli magazine Yediot Ahronot. “In fact, they are the ones dictating
our daily national agenda in Israel.”

About UPZ:
Hampshire's Union of Progressive Zionists (UPZ) is part of a network of
student activists organizing on campuses across North America for social
justice and peace in Israel/Palestine. The UPZ was created to provide
guidance, education and resources to students who seek to impart a
progressive voice into the campus debate on Israel. Extremist voices
pushing rigid “pro-Israel” and “pro-Palestinian” positions have come to
dominate the discourse on many campuses, obscuring the issues and
alienating significant numbers of Jewish and moderate students.

Because of our connection to Israel, we believe it is our duty to create
a new vision for the Jewish state. As campus activists and members of
the Jewish community, our strength lies in our ability to be active and
critical leaders. We are committed to creating an alternative approach
to Israel advocacy that embraces open dialogue and constructive
activism, and that warrants critical analysis of policies, whether
Israeli, Palestinian, American or other.