DAVID-BAPTISTE CHIROT: Only 3 Days Left Until the 8th Annual National Organizers' Conference: Important Announcements

Dear US Campaign supporter,

We are only 3 days away from the 8th Annual National Organizers' Conference in Chicago. This is your last chance to pre-register for the conference by clicking here. On-line registration will close at 12:00PM, Noon Eastern, tomorrow, Thursday, September 10. If you haven't pre-registered for the conference by tomorrow's deadline, then you can still register for the conference on-site on Saturday; however we cannot guarantee conference registration materials and Saturday night dinner for you if you register on-site. So if you are planning on coming to the conference, please register on-line right away by clicking here.

The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is also excited to invite you to Speaking Out, a night of solidarity and entertainment to benefit the work of the US Campaign, Saturday, September 12! We are honored to welcome the Director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University, Professor Rashid Khalidi and Palestinian political analyst Omar Barghouti as our keynote speakers. Fr. Miguel d'Escoto, President of the UN General Assembly, will also share a special message.

Join us in Chicago, September 12-13 to help plan the future of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation!

1) Deadline to Register, Thursday September 10, 2009 at 12:00pm (noon) Eastern

The deadline to register on-line for the conference is Thursday, September 10th at 12:00pm, Noon Eastern. The registration fee for the conference is $60. It will include Saturday dinner, conference packets, and admission to the Saturday night key-note speeches.

Click here to register today.

If you haven't pre-registered for the conference by tomorrow's deadline, then you can still register for the conference on-site on Saturday; however we cannot guarantee conference registration materials and Saturday night dinner for you if you register on-site. So if you are planning on coming to the conference, please register on-line right away by clicking here.

2) Read the 2008-2009 Annual Report

Click here to read what we've done since our last annual conference.

3) Read the Proposals to be discussed

We thank our member groups in good standing for submitting programmatic proposals under the pre-assigned categories.

You can read the proposals by clicking here.

4) Read the National Conference Agenda

Click here to read the conference agenda.

5) Read over the Steering Committee Nominees

The Steering Committee is the highest decision-making body of the US Campaign between annual conferences. It is responsible for policy decisions, strategic planning, fundraising, and personnel decisions.

Click here to see who has nominated themselves to serve on the US Campaign's Steering Committee.

If you would like to run or nominate someone to run for the Steering Committee, please click here.

6) Renew your organizational membership dues

If your organization has not paid its 2009 membership dues, then your conference delegates will not be able to vote for proposals or for Steering Committee members.

Click here to see if your organization has paid its 2009 membership dues.

7) Our official response to Shalom International's Call for Protest of our Conference

It has been brought to the attention of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation that the Chicago Chapter of Shalom International will be protesting our 8^th Annual National Organizers' Conference on Sunday, September 13, at 1PM. According to their website, the protest will be taking place across the street from our conference venue.

The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation strongly believes in everyone's right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. The US Campaign is liaising with the conference venue to assure the safety and security of all conference attendees and prevent any disruptions to our conference. We have no reason to believe that the protesters will attempt to disrupt the conference or threaten the safety and security of its participants.

The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation strongly urges all conference attendees to avoid any interaction with any protester during its 8^th Annual National Organizers' Conference for the following reasons:

1) The US Campaign strongly opposes any and all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism, and believes that unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism do not deserve any response or engagement on our part.

2) We have important business to take care of during our conference to advance our agenda of changing U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine to support human rights, international law, and equality for all. Let us not divert our valuable attention and time together at our conference.

3) Protesters love to garner media attention for their actions and we all know that nothing leads to better media coverage than confrontation. Do not give the protesters the satisfaction of drawing additional attention to their cause. Ignore them.

The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation would like to thank in advance all conference participants and member groups for adhering to our call not to engage protesters in any way. And we look to seeing you in Chicago on Saturday for an exciting and successful conference!