Tuesday, June 5
7:00 PM
Olympia Center, room 101/102
222 Columbia St NW, Downtown Olympia

With the US in its fourth year of occupation in Iraq, what lessons can be learned from Israel's 40-year occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights?

To mark the 40th anniversary of the illegal Israeli occupation, Olympians for Peace in the Middle East (OPME) is sponsoring a teach-in about the June 1967 War.

A common misperception about the Palestine-Israel conflict is that it has existed since the dawn of time. In reality, the conflict has transpired for less than a hundred years. One of the major events that defined the conflict is the June 1967 War, commonly known as the "Six-Day War."

The June 1967 War:

• secured US military, political, and financial support for Israel
• helped shape current US policy in the Middle East
• began the establishment of illegal Israeli settlements
• and started the longest military occupation in modern history

In order to understand US foreign policy in the Middle East, US support for Israel, and why the Palestine-Israel conflict is central to the Arab world, you must understand what happened in June 1967.

Featured speakers:

• Professor Steve Niva will be speaking on the facts behind the 1967 war and the ongoing consequences for the United States and the Middle East.
• Professor Therese Saliba will be reading oral histories she collected of Palestinians after 1967.
• Farihan Bushnaq, Palestinian-American and Olympia resident, will be giving her personal recollections of life after the 1967 War.