Join us for our organizing meeting. We’ll discuss plans to intensify our campaign for Apartheid Free ballot measures and to support the campaign against Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS) for contracting with the Israeli Firm Eleos that Southern VT for Palestine has launched. We will meet as a large group and then break up into our five working groups—Action, Campaigns, Education, Vermont Labor for Palestine, and Collective Care. Join us, get organized, and build the movement for a free Palestine! 

Vermont Palestine Conference:

The Struggle for Land and Liberation

Old North End Community Center

20 Allen St, Burlington, VT

October 19, 2024

10am to 7pm

Register at this link for our state-wide educational and activist conference about the struggle to free Palestine. It is free and open to the public, but we encourage those who can to donate $10 to defray costs. To protect the health of all attending, masks will be required. The ONE Center’s building and parking lot is ADA accessible. The ONE Center also has gender neutral bathrooms. Thanks to the People’s Kitchen, the conference will provide a Halal lunch including vegan options for all attending. We encourage everyone who can to donate to the People’s Kitchen to support their work. 

Schedule

9am Registration Opens

10am – 11:30am:  Palestine Today: War, Genocide, Resistance & Solidarity

Speakers: Ashley Smith, Aria Aber, Samia Abbas & Kali Akuno 

12pm – 1pm:  Lunch Break

1pm -- 2:30pm Workshop Block 1

Palestine 101: Colonization & Resistance

Speakers: A Palestinian resident of Vermont and a Member of Jewish Voice for Peace

Dismantling the Colonial-Carceral State: Abolitionists for Palestinian Liberation

Speakers: Jayna Ahsaf & Jonathan Elwell 

Land & Food Sovereignty in the Struggle for Liberation

Speakers: Henry Nichols, Nils Mccune, & Yasmeen El-Hasan

Organizing Apartheid Free Communities, Ballot Measures, & the Fight for BDS

Speakers: Paul Fleckenstein, Willow Butler, & Zoe Jannuzi

Defending our Civil Rights & Resisting the New McCarthyism

Speakers: John Franco & Will Cornish

3pm – 4:30pm Workshop Block 2

An Injury to One is an Injury to All: Labor for Palestine

Speakers: Heather Bowan, Calum Buchanan, & Theo Weeland 

Skilling up for Hard Conversations: An Interactive Workshop

Speakers: Debra Stoleroff & Jason Hersch

No Pride in Genocide: Fighting for Queer & Palestinian Liberation

Speaker: Vivan Bose-Pyne

Migrant Justice Knows No Borders: From Palestine to Mexico Border Walls Have Got to Go

Speakers: Madeline Sharrow & Marita Canedo, 

We Will Not Stop, We Will Not Rest: The Fight for Divestment on Campus

Speakers: Athena Antippas, Logan Roots, Rowan Wade, & Antonio Golán

5pm – 6pm: Building the Struggle for Palestinian Liberation

Speakers: Michele Eddleman McCorkmick, Helen Scott, Merih Etgü, Wafic Faour, & Fhar Miess 

6pm - 7pm Social 

Sponsored by the Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation

FAQ:

Who is this for?
Any and all who are interested in learning more about Palestinian liberation and intersecting struggles/causes, as well as what the struggle for liberation looks like in Vermont. This is a space for seasoned organizers and also anyone brand new to the cause!

Why should I come?
Come if you would like to learn more about both Palestinian liberation and also interconnected Vermont specific struggles for liberation, if you want to strategize, and/or if you want to connect with others who care about Palestinian liberation. There will be lots of information at the conference to help you figure out “what’s next” for you if you would like to get more involved!

How much does it cost?
It is FREE and open to the public, but we encourage those who can to donate $10 to help defray costs. (It is 100% volunteer lead and all donations will go towards facility costs, materials, etc)

Is food provided?
Yes! Lunch will be provided by the People’s Kitchen. It will be 100% halal with vegan options available. We encourage everyone who is able to donate to the People’s Kitchen to enable them to sustain their work.
We will have some life refreshments available later in the day as well but you are welcome to bring some of your own snacks as well.

Accessibility:

-        The Community Center is ADA accessible including in their parking options, entrances, elevators, and bathrooms

-        Gender neutral bathrooms are available on each level

-        Masks will be required by all who attend (it will not be possible to mask during the lunch portion but there will be separate conference rooms available during that time where masks will still be required for anyone who needs a mask required space)

-        Please inform us on the registration if you have any other specific access needs including religious or cultural and we will do our best to accommodate!

Are kids welcome?
Yes! Kids are very welcome. Free childcare will be offered during the plenary sessions (10-11:30am and 5-6pm) and kids are welcome to attend any of the other portions with adult supervision. (Children are also welcome to attend the plenaries but they likely won’t be very engaging for kids).

Will there be recordings available?
There will be recordings of the opening and closing plenaries. They will be available at (coming soon!). While we won’t be able to reproduce the same level of connection opportunities that will happen in-person at the conference, we recommend you attend the next VCPL meeting you are able to (listed under events on this website) as the next best thing!

I can’t come for the whole day – is that okay?
Absolutely! You are welcome to come to whatever portion you are able to.

Suggestions for what to bring with you:

• Something to take notes on

• A pen

• A mask

• A water bottle (refill station available on site)

• Snacks (we will provide some as well) 

How do I get there/is there parking available?

Parking is available at the ONE Center parking lot and on side streets.

I have more questions!
Please email us at vcplconference@proton.me

We hope to see you there! 

Volunteer to Staff Vermont Palestine Conference

We need everyone who can to volunteer to organize and staff our conference on Saturday, Oct 19th in Burlington. Please fill out this form. Indicate which areas you would be interested in helping with and a member of the coalition will follow-up with more details. There are many ways to contribute even if you aren't sure you will be able to attend in-person on the 19th - please fill out the form even if you can't confirm your ability to attend yet!

At our meeting, we’ll discuss building the state-wide conference on October 19 and update everyone on the Apartheid Free Community campaign for organizational affiliations and ballot measures. We will meet as a large group and then break up into our five working groups—Action, Campaigns, Education, Vermont Labor for Palestine, and Collective Care. Join us, get organized, and build the resistance for a free Palestine!

At our meeting, we’ll assess our participation in Burlington’s Pride Parade, discuss plans for the state-wide conference on October 19, and update everyone on the Apartheid Free Community campaign for organizational affiliations and ballot measures. We will meet as a large group and then break up into our five working groups—Action, Campaigns, Education, Vermont Labor for Palestine, and Collective Care. Join us, get organized, and build the resistance for a free Palestine!

Join VCPL’s contingent at this year’s Pride Parade, defend the Pride Center against Zionist attacks, and build solidarity for Queer and Palestinian liberation. We will have a float, banners, and placards. Come early, help set up, and also volunteer to help staff the Parade. Look out for more details about the exact assembly location and march route once they’re released by the Parade organizers. Join us in the fight for collective liberation! Until all of us are free, none of us are free!

At our meeting, we’ll plan our contingent at Burlington's Pride Parade, the state-wide conference in October, and the Apartheid Free Community campaign for organizational affiliations and ballot measures. We will meet as a large group and then  break up into our five working groups—Action, Campaigns, Education, Vermont Labor for Palestine, and Collective Care. Join us, get organized, and build the resistance for a free Palestine!

Genocide Joe Biden has broken his promise to draw a red line to stop Israel’s invasion of Rafah. He continues to support, fund, and arm the Zionist state as it carries out ethnic cleansing and genocide in occupied Palestine. Now is the time for the people of this country to draw our own red line, demand an immediate end to the war, suspension of all US aid to Israel, and the liberation of Palestine from colonial occupation from the river to the sea. Join our Red Line for Palestine contingent in Montpelier’s parade on July 3. Dress in red! Get your union, organization, and faith group to mobilize its members and join us. Help us petition to get a resolution against Israeli apartheid on the Montpelier ballot and join the campaign to make Vermont an apartheid free state.

Jewish Voice for Peace and the Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation invite you to come sing for a ceasefire at the Monkey House at 7:30pm in Winooski on June 29. In between songs, we’ll speak about our campaign to stop the war, end all US aid to Israel, and fight for a free Palestine. In particular, we’ll raise awareness about our effort to get all groups in Vermont to adopt the Apartheid Free Community Pledge and help us get Apartheid Free Resolutions on the March 2025 ballot in as many towns and cities as possible. Join us in song and struggle!

Join VCPL for our organizing meeting in Barre! We’ll plan actions against Israel’s genocidal war, talk about our campaign for organizational endorsements of Apartheid Free Communities, and organize for Apartheid Free Referendums on the March 2025 ballot in cities and towns across Vermont. We will meet as a large group for political updates on the war and our local, state, and national struggle in solidarity with Palestine. After that we will break up into our five working groups—Action, Campaigns, Education, Vermont Labor for Palestine, and Collective Care. Join us, get organized, and build the resistance for a free, free Palestine!