Film Screening & Discussion: The Wanted 18
The Middle East Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School and The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School are pleased to present:
The Wanted 18
Join us for a screening of this new Just Vision documentary and a discussion led by
Marshall Ganz
Senior Lecturer in Public Policy
Harvard Kennedy School
and
Suhad Babaa
Executive Director, Just Vision
Impact Producer for The Wanted 18
and
Hilary Rantisi
Director, Middle East Initiative
Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School
Thursday, February 25, 2016
6:00 PM
Starr Auditorium, Belfer Building, Harvard Kennedy School
Free admission and open to the public
Pizza and refreshments will be served
About the film:
In the award winning documentary, The Wanted 18, directors Amer Shomali and Paul Cowan bring to life a story of nonviolent resistance during the First Intifada through a clever mix of stop motion animation and interviews.
It is 1987, and the Israeli army is in hot pursuit of 18 dairy cows in Beit Sahour, a town in the West Bank/Occupied Territories, after a group of Palestinians begins producing milk for the town’s residents. Consequently, the dairy is forced to go underground. The Israeli soldiers find themselves in a game of cat-and-mouse as residents of the town work together to shuttle the cows from barn to barn. The fugitive cows of Beit Sahour and the “intifada milk” become legendary, often distributed under cover of night.
The film recreates the story of The Wanted 18 from the perspectives of the Beit Sahour activists, Israeli military officials, and the cows, in order to create a humorous and thought-provoking tribute to the power of grassroots activism and nonviolent resistance.
Learn more about the film: The Wanted 18
About Marshall Ganz:
Marshall Ganz grew up in Bakersfield, California, where his father was a Rabbi and his mother, a teacher. He entered Harvard College in the fall of 1960. He left a year before graduating to volunteer with the 1964 Mississippi Summer Project. He found a “calling” as an organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and, in the fall of 1965, joined Cesar Chavez in his effort to unionize California farm workers. During 16 years with the United Farm Workers he gained experience in union, political, and community organizing, became Director of Organizing, and was elected to the national executive board on which he served for 8 years. During the 1980s, he worked with grassroots groups to develop new organizing programs and designed innovative voter mobilization strategies for local, state, and national electoral campaigns. In 1991, in order to deepen his intellectual understanding of his work, he returned to Harvard College and, after a 28-year “leave of absence,” completed his undergraduate degree in history and government. He was awarded an MPA by the Kennedy School in 1993 and completed his PhD in sociology in 2000. As senior lecturer in public policy at the Kennedy School, he teaches, researches, and writes on leadership, organization, and strategy in social movements, civic associations, and politics. He has published in the American Journal of Sociology, American Political Science Review, American Prospect, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and elsewhere. His newest book, Why David Sometimes Wins: Leadership, Organization and Strategy in the California Farm Worker Movement, was published in 2009, earning the Michael J. Harrington Book Award of the American Political Science Association. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in divinity by the Episcopal Divinity School in 2010.
About Suhad Babaa:
Suhad Babaa is the Executive Director at Just Vision, an organization dedicated to increasing media coverage and support for Palestinian and Israeli grassroots leaders working to end the occupation and build a future of freedom, dignity and equality for all. She previously served as the Director of Programming, overseeing Just Vision’s educational and community outreach efforts across the United States, Israel, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In this role, she directed Just Vision’s US-based outreach strategy, and worked closely with policymakers, community leaders, educators and students. Suhad has addressed dozens of audiences at venues including the United Nations, Harvard University and film festivals, mosques, synagogues and churches across the country. She has been an integral member of the team’s impact campaigns around the award-winning films Budrus and My Neighbourhood.
Suhad is a Global Shaper at the World Economic Forum and Princeton Emerging Leader. She graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania where she received a BA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics.
About Just Vision:
Just Vision is a team of human rights advocates, journalists, and filmmakers that highlights the power and reach of Palestinians and Israelis working to end the occupation and build a future of freedom, dignity and equality for everyone in the region. They drive attention to compelling local role models in unarmed movement-building and demonstrate what is possible when leaders at the grassroots choose to act. They tell their under-documented stories through award-winning films, digital media and targeted public education campaigns that undermine stereotypes, inspire commitment, and galvanize action.
About the Middle East Initiative:
The Middle East Initiative (MEI) was established to deepen and strengthen Harvard Kennedy School’s relationship with the governments and peoples of the Middle East. MEI has a series of programs designed for political, civil service and business leaders from the region with the aim of strengthening good governance and seeking solutions to public policy problems in the Middle East. MEI also actively engages in community outreach to create a space for dynamic interaction around issues relating to the Middle East.
About the Program on Negotiation:
The Program on Negotiation (PON) is a university consortium dedicated to developing the theory and practice of negotiation and dispute resolution. As a community of scholars and practitioners, PON serves a unique role in the world negotiation community. Founded in 1983 as a special research project at Harvard Law School, PON includes faculty, students, and staff from Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Tufts University.
At PON, we are committed to developing the theory and practice of negotiation, to nurturing the next generation of negotiation teachers and scholars, and to helping students become more effective negotiators. We accomplish this through research, seminars, courses, conferences, publications and special events.
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