Xook k'iin.
Spore hosts: Boycott
Documentary, Julia Bacha, 2021
6. November 2024
19.00-22.30
19.00-22.30
Save the Date
For free
for adults
in German/in English
BOYCOTT
Julia Bacha| USA | 73" | 2021
English with German subtitles
Two U.S. presidential candidates who are both reluctant, if not hostile, towards supporting Palestinian rights. A German electoral landscape in which the political “center” has become so extreme that calls to end a genocide are seen as radical. Regardless of who wins the U.S. presidency on November 5, and regardless of who gets into the next German parliamentary coalition, we have far to go before Palestinians’ humanity is recognized and represented in European and North American government institutions.
In this “post-election special” held the day after the U.S. presidential vote, we begin with a screening of the 2021 documentary film Boycott - When a news publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona, and a speech therapist in Texas are told they must choose between their jobs and their political beliefs, they launch legal battles that expose an attack on freedom of speech across 37 states in America. Boycott traces the impact of state legislation designed to penalize individuals and companies that choose to boycott Israel due to its human rights record. A legal thriller with “accidental plaintiffs” at the center of the story, Boycott is a bracing look at the far-reaching implications of anti-boycott legislation and an inspiring tale of everyday Americans standing up to protect our rights in an age of shifting politics and threats to freedom of speech.
After the film, we then ask a panel of experienced political activists and community organizers: where do we go from here? When so many of the most powerful policymakers have failed to recognize or take action, especially over the past year, against ongoing Israeli violations of international law, how can activists and members of the public keep fighting for human rights and freedom for Palestinians and stand against the illegal actions of their own countries, which insist on ignoring the UN and international law?
19:00-20:20: Original Film (English)
20:30-21:30: Discussion Panel with Lara Friedman, Yasmeen Daher, Shir Hever and a surprise guest, moderated by Lucas Febraro
Lara Friedman is the President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP). She is a leading authority on the Middle East, with particular expertise on U.S. foreign policy in the region, on Israel/Palestine, and on the way Middle East and Israel/Palestine-related issues play out in Congress and in U.S. domestic politics, policies, and legislation. Lara is also a preeminent subject-matter expert in the area of anti-Palestinian legislation and “lawfare,” including the weaponization and instrumentalization of the definition of and concerns about antisemitism.
Yasmeen Daher is a political philosopher, feminist author and community organizer. She holds a PhD in philosophy from the University of Montreal. Her dissertation, entitled The Art of Living Together: On Political Engagement and the Ethics of Companionship, explores how direct political participation can not only reshape the public sphere, but also redefine our ethical and political relationships. Yasmeen previously taught at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute in Canada and at Birzeit University in Palestine. She is currently the director of the Febrayer Network, a Berlin-based organization that promotes independent Arab media in the MENA region.
Shir Hever is a political economist who studies the economic aspects of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory. He is the manager of the Alliance for Justice between Israelis and Palestinians (BIP), and the military embargo coordinator for the Boycott National committee (BNC). He published two books and gives talks on various topics related to his research.
Lucas Febraro is a Brazilian-born activist and political content creator based in Berlin. He has served as communications director for DiEM25 as well as for the BDS movement. Febraro is actively involved in various social and political causes, including Palestinian rights, and often critiques misinformation in global conflicts. He regularly writes and speaks about issues such as media manipulation, propaganda, and social justice.
