Palestinian American Congress Conference May 22-23

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release Contact: Amani Ghouleh
April 6, 2009 708.601.3713

Palestinian American National Conference
Palestine …The Key To Peace
Chicago - The Palestinian American National Conference (PANC) is an educational cultural conference about the history of the Palestinian struggle in the Middle East. The community will be holding its second annual conference hosted this May in Chicago, Illinois.

This year’s speakers include, Abdel Bari Atwan, the Editor of Al-Quds Newspaper in London, and Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Palestinian Minister of Agriculture and Social Affairs. Both are dedicated, strong voices for the peace process and justice in the Middle East.

Organizers state “The convening of a Palestinian American National Conference inclusive of every Palestinian living in America will be an annual event. The American Palestinian people are an important and integral part of American Society and as such should be empowered to become an effective force in US policy towards Palestine. Therefore, as responsible American citizens we have a duty and a right to convince our government that there will be no peace in the Middle East without a free Palestine. On May 22nd and 23rd, of 2009, we are holding this conference in Chicago at the Rosemont Crowne Plaza Hotel, with recognized International and American speakers, panel discussions and a full range of activities. This conference will be held to appeal to a wide audience to help rescue our people from the slums of the refugee camps and the brutality of the Israeli Military Occupation “.

Conference details:
Friday and Saturday, May 22 & 23, 2009
Crowne Plaza, 5440 N. River Road
Rosemont, IL 60018

www.panconference.com

A Press Conference will be held on Friday May 22nd, 2009 at 4:30 PM
Scheduled Press Conference Speakers include:
Abdel Bari Atwan, Editor of Al-Quds Al-Arabi Newspaper of London, United Kingdom.
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Palestinian Minister of Agriculture and Social Affairs.
Anna Baltzer, International Women’s Peace Service.
Adam Shapiro, Documentary Producer.
Dr. Gada Talhami, Professor of Third World Politics and Women Studies, Lake Forest College, IL
Rev. Dr. Don Wagner, Director of Center of Middle Eastern Studies, North Park University, IL.
Dr. Joel Kovel, Former Professor of Social Studies at Bard College.
Dennis Kucinich, Ohio Congressman (D). (Video Conference)

Israeli-Palestinian Journalists address journalism issues Monday Dec. 3 in Jerusalem

Israeli and Palestinian Journalism Conference
Ambassador Hotel, Sheikh Jarrah, Off Nablus Road (at the
intersection for the police department)
It is a few blocks north of the American Colony Hotel ... the number there is
541-2222

Journalists from the print media and Internet media address their experiences, your background, what you have learned about covering the Middle East, describe your beat, what you look for, what challenges you might face and how you deal with them ... any
examples of great stories, tough stories, stories you can't get to do because of barriers ... things you would like to see change, etc. (Humor is always good)

Our purpose is not to get into a political debate, but obviously, as we all know, politics is the world in the Middle East so it will surely inject itself into the discussion. But the purpose is to focus on professional journalism, and also introduce journalists together, Palestinians and Israelis.

------------------- Program ------------------
NAAJA EVENTS
SPJ-Arab Journalists

Monday, Dec. 3, 2007
Ambassador Hotel, Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem
1st Floor Conference Room

Sponsored by NAAJA, SPJ-Arab Journalists

PANEL 1: Internet Media: Strategies and Challenges facing Internet News Web and
Blog sites
Monday, Dec. 3, 2007, 12-2:30

- Moderator, Charley Warady, co-host, Israelisms, an online weekly audio blog of
life in Israel (Confirmed)
- Alan Abbey, Former editor, YnetNews.com, one of the most popular English
language news sites from Israel (Confirmed)
- Khaled Abou-Aker, Editor, AMIN.org, a center for Palestinian, Israeli and
Middle East opinion (Confirmed)
- Elizabeth Cohen, MidEastYouth.com one of the highest ranked Middle East news
blogs on the Internet (Confirmed)
- Fadi Abu Sada, Director Palestine News Network, an online news agency
(Confirmed – or a representative if he is not allowed to cross from Bethlehem)
- Sherif Hedayat, standup comedian, online video producer


PANEL 2: Traditional Media: Strategies and Challenges facing coverage of the
Palestine-Israel Conflict
Monday, Dec. 3, 2007, 2:45-5:30

- Moderator: Ray Hanania, syndicated columnist, SPJ-Arab Journalists coordinator, and Arab Writers Group Syndicate manager.
(Confirmed)
- Steve Linde, managing editor, The Jerusalem Post, editor at Israel Radio.
Linde has worked at the Jerusalem Post for the past 10 years and 18 years at
Israel Radio. (Confirmed)
- Lisa Zilberpriver, reporter Haaretz Newspaper. (confirmed)
- Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy Newspapers Jerusalem Bureau (Confirmed)
- Joel Greenberg, Middle East correspondent for the Chicago Tribune (Confirmed)
- Zaki Abu Al-Halaweh, correspondent for al-Quds Newspaper (Confirmed)
- Issa Sharbati, correspondent for al-Hayat al-Jadida newspaper (Confirmed)

The event is open to the public. We encourage you to have lunch at the
Ambassador Hotel prior to the conference.

end