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Format: Lecture/Debate
Speakers: Ali Abu Awwad and Robi Damelin
The event was very well attended with a mixture of Muslim and Jews in the audience. I noticed some Jewish women partially wearing the head scarf which I felt was a very nice gesture. The event started nearly an hour late due to technical difficulties with the lap top. The delay was causing some agitation in the audience. However, the event got started with a 1hr 20min documentary called Encounter Point which was about the two speakers and other members of the Parent Circle.
Following the documentary, and after a standing ovation, Robi Damelin spoke first, passionately and firmly about her cause and answered questions posed by members of the audience. She also claimed she was a Zionist but as it is understood with the negative connotations attached to it. Robi Damelin was a human rights activist in South Africa during the apartheid and continues her activism in Israel/Palestine.
But it was Ali Abu Awwad who I felt really stole the limelight, he was waiting patiently to speak, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if other members of the audience, like me had begun to get the impression that his English may be poor and hence he wouldn’t do much talking. But when he did have the opportunity to speak, he spoke with even more passion, and determination, the event was an overwhelming success.
Is their work having any affect on the politicians in power?