ThisJune, two IJAN U.S. organizers attended a gathering held at Big Mountain/Black Mesa that focused ondecolonization. Big Mountain/Black Mesa is a portion of the ancestralhomeland of the Diné (Navajo) people who since the 1970's havebeen resisting relocation by Peabody Coal and the U.S. Government overcoal extraction.

Thegathering, organized by Black Mesa Indigenous Supportin collaboration with the community of resisters on Black Mesa,sought to lay groundwork for joint struggle by bringing together organizationsworking on the front lines of anti-colonial struggles, as well as alliedorganizations. 

This year, several large community Seders (a ritual meal in observance of the Passover holiday) were held using the IJAN Liberation Haggadah (a program for Seder). Many other people held smaller gatherings in their homes using this resource. Passover is traditionallya celebration of the Exodus story, and the IJAN Liberation Haggadah draws on themes that grapple with the concept of liberation as presentedin religious text as well as secular traditions that celebrate the human commitment to liberating ourselves. 

In the San Francisco Bay Area, approximately 200 people attended a Seder which raised money for IJAN and the Stop the JNF Campaign. Hamilton, Ontario, had two Seders, with a total of about 90 people in attendance. In Atlanta, about a dozen people attended a Seder in an IJAN member's home.

These Seders were a part of the cultural work of de-linking Zionism and Judaism/Jewish identity. Consistent with the project of rejecting Jewish isolationism, all Seders were well attended by people who are not Jewish. Said one participant in the Hamilton Seder, "Theenvironment, the mix of people and the atmosphere were moving and inspiring." A participant in the Atlanta Seder reported, "It was an intimate space, and people really opened up. We talked about how to confront power. We laughed and sang and studied together. We parted witha prayer and a challenge, "Next year, may Palestine be free."

The first thematicWorldSocial Forum to focus on Palestine tookplace in Porto Alegre, Brazil from 28 November - 1 December 2012.The Forum featured over 125 workshops and a large march and rally insupport of Palestine. It was an important gathering of Palestinianand solidarity activists to continue to strengthen the movement forPalestinian liberation and self-determination.

IJAN sent adelegation of six to the forum including members from Canada,Argentina and the U.S. Most of us attended as part of the U.S.-CanadaJoint Struggle Delegation - adelegation of 25 activists working in grassroots struggles for theliberation of people and land, which IJAN played a central role inorganizing.

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While most IJANers from the Bay Area were at the the 2010 US Assemblyof Jewsin Detroit, some IJANers who stayed in the Bay tookpart in the 5am Sunday historic morning picket, with approximately 800 otherpeople, of the Israeli Zim Lines ship in theport ofOakland. It was a very successful action and prevented the ship from beingunloaded. This is the first time this has happened in the USand also the first time many locallabor groups and unions have taken action in support of Palestinian people and itis a precedent setting action and a big step forward for the BDS movement bothin the Bay and nationally.