Winnipeg conference calls for witness, testimony and moral courage
While genocide continues in Gaza and Nakba increases throughout Palestine, some 120 individuals from across Canada gathered in Winnipeg, May 14-16, at the conference “Palestine, Settler Colonialism and an Ecumenical Call to Action” to learn, network and inspire one another to take action for Palestinian justice and liberation. CFOS was a co-sponsor of this event.
Keynote speakers, Palestinian theologians John and Samuel Munayer, spoke about a Palestinian theology of martyrdom and how it calls for witness and testimony. South African scholar Sarojini Nadar warned against the danger of biblical concepts like “chosenness” legitimating genocide. Heiltsuk First Nation professor Carmen Lansdowne explored the concept of “sintering solidarities” as a metaphor for bonds of connection between oppressed people.
Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, keynote speaker. Photo by Gwendolyn Friesen.
On Nakba Day, May 15, lived theologian Shadia Qubti and musician Samia Odeh, Palestinians living in Canada, shared the stories of how their own families were impacted by the Nakba (the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes by Israel in 1948). A cultural evening with poetry, music and film portrayed the devastation, destruction and death in Palestine, as well as the beauty, resilience and “sumud” of Palestinian resistance.
Artists Samia Odeh, Rana Atie and Joy Banks participate in a panel discussion on art as resistance. Joy’s banners hang in the background.
Panelists discussed Kairos Palestine II, art as resistance, and strategies for action; workshops ranged from apartheid-free communities, to advocacy to government, to public witness campaigns, to linkages between settler colonialism in Palestine and Turtle Island and more. An exhibit of tatreez (Palestinian embroidery) and other fabric arts, prepared by Palestinian women of Manitoba, graced the chapel of Canadian Mennonite University, where the conference took place.
Visual display provided by Palestinian women of Manitoba. Photo by Gwendolyn Friesen.
Participants lamented the continuing failure of Canadian churches and the federal government to act with moral courage in defense of Palestinians. But they left the conference with a deep sense of connection with one another and with the call to act with Palestinians for freedom and liberation.
Stay tuned for a more in-depth report on the conference.