U.S. Palestinian National Conference

Reclaiming Our Voice, Asserting Our Narrative
Organized by The U.S. Palestine Conference Network (USPCN)       
Washington, DC Area Declaration. November 11, 2007                   

“. . . revitalizing our grassroots activism, speaking confidently for ourselves, and
maximizing our potential as the agents of change in our collective struggle for justice,
return, and liberation.”
From the Detroit Declaration - June 25, 2006

The U.S. Palestine Conference Network’s (USPCN) fourth meeting was held in the Washington,
DC Area the weekend of November 9-11, 2007.  The planning meeting was attended by more
than 50 activists, organizers and community members from California, Colorado,
Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, DC and Wisconsin and included a growing number of
women and young people.  Previous meetings were held in Detroit, Cleveland, and Chicago.


The Coordinating Committee resigned from their positions on the meeting’s opening night,
nominations were made the second day, and elections were held on the final day of the
meeting.  The current Coordinating Committee is made up of eleven individuals; six
returing and five new.

Preparation for the U.S. Palestinian National Conference, to be held in Chicago the
weekend of August 8, 2008, continued during the Washington, DC Preparatory Meeting.  We
developed action plans and timelines for the Conference’s various committees and
subcommittees.   The all-inclusive Conference for Palestinians in the United Sates will be
a space for empowerment, action, networking and communication.  A program with a rich mix
of theme-oriented workshops, including education/political vision, youth/family,
advocacy/strategy, and culture/identity, is in development.  The program will also include
a track focused on the Nakba.  A budget was set up and we began a promising fundraising
effort.  Meeting participants also started a discussion on what is to follow the National
Conference.

Fully aware of and acknowledging the weight of this critical historical junction, the
meeting participants affirmed the following:

1. We emphasize our unity as a Palestinian people, the indivisibility of our cause and our
collective responsibility and accountability to each other.  Palestinians in the United
States must be responsible for organizing themselves. We recognize that our history as
Palestinians is intertwined with the history of the Arab people.  Therefore we welcome our
Arab sisters and brothers to help us accomplish this important task.  We will also build
working relationships with all who join us in solidarity, especially oppressed minorities
and people of color.

2. As politicians and diplomats engage in present and future negotiations, including
Annapolis, we remind all that no peace can be legitimate or enduring without full
implementation of our inalienable rights, including self-determination and the right of
return.

3. We reiterate our support for the Palestinian Civil Society Call to Action of 2005,
which called for Boycotts, Divestments, and Sanctions along the same lines that proved
effective internationally against apartheid South Africa.

4. We express grave concern and call for an immediate lifting of the brutal and illegal
siege of Gaza.  We are also concerned about the acute suffering of Palestinian communities
and their brethren in Iraq, Lebanon, and elsewhere.  We urge all people of conscience to
contact U.S. politicians, the media, the United Nations and other decision makers to
effect corrective actions and to end any and all support for these and other war crimes
and crimes against humanity.

We approach the 60th anniversary of the Nakba, the major catastrophic ethnic cleansing of
Palestine, with humility and determination to act. We urge all Palestinians and all
supporters to join us and the many organizations that have called for a year of
commemoration and action starting with November 29th, the International Day of Solidarity
with the Palestinian People.  Key dates will be recognized with actions, education, and
fundraising, including March 30th (Land Day), April 9th (Deir Yassin), May 15th (Nakba),
June 5th (Naksa) and September 16th (Sabra and Shatila) .  A national day of commemoration
is planned for May in front of the United Nations in New York. We urge all to renew and
intensify involvement, activism, and avocacy in this pivotal year.  We must collectively
assert that 60 years of colonization and occupation is enough.

Organizations and individuals who wish to join, shape, and contribute to the Outreach,
Program, Fundraising and/or Media committees should contact us at PalestineConferenceUSA@y
ahoo.com.

We are confident that the National Conference, and the steps taken towards it, will be
considered significant milestones in our empowerment as a community and in achieving our
collective Palestinian goals.  Please visit us at www.PalestineConference.org.

Mazin Qumsiyeh
http://justicewheels.org