Under the heading "Separated in the Past - Together in the Future, Obstacles and Perspectives for a Just Solution" [1], this conference brought together speakers who are well known for their unambiguous stand on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, including: Ilan Pappe, Haidar Eid, Mazin Qumsiyeh.

We present below the videos of their speeches to our readers. These outstanding presentations deserve wider dissemination among the public, which has been quite misinformed, not just by mainstream media, but also by figures in the solidarity movement who have, since long, monopolized the debate [2], deliberately marginalising the voices who rightly wanted to clarify the real issues, and to promote a meaningful support for the Palestinian victims.

Indeed, when asking activists and supporters who wanted to contribute effectively to the Palestinian peoples struggle against the colonial occupier - whether in France, Belgium, or Switzerland - we have found that many of them were kept in ignorance of the real issues. While many of them reacted in 2009, confusion and marginalization - fuelled by accusations of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial - remain nevertheless prevalent in large organizations.

Ilan Pappe - “Ethnic cleansing in Palestine and the right of return for Palestinians”

Ilan Pappe, Israeli historian, Professor of History at the University of Exeter (UK), has written many books and works with local and international journals. He is the author of : “The Making of the Arab-Israeli Conflict” (London and New York 1992), “The Israel/Palestine Question” (London and New York 1999), “La storia della Palestina moderna” (Einaudi 2004), “The Modern Middle East” (London and New York 2005) and “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” (2006).

The text of the lecture is available
 in English: http://www.silviacattori.net/article1451.html
 in French: http://www.silviacattori.net/article1475.html
 in German : http://www.silviacattori.net/article1476.html

Haidar Eid – “Analogies between Apartheid South Africa and Israel and the current situation in Palestine”

Dr. Haidar Eid is Associate Professor in the Department of English Literature, Al-Aqsa University, Gaza Strip, Palestine. Dr. Eid is a founding member of the One Democratic State Group “One Democratic State Group” (http://odsg.org/co) and a member of Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (http://PACBI.org).

Mazin Qumsiyeh - "Civil resistance against occupation and apartheid in Palestine"

Mazin Qumsiyeh is a tireless activist for Palestinian human rights who returned to his hometown of Beit Sahour in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and now teaches at Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities. He previously served on the faculties of the University of Tennessee, Duke and Yale Universities. He is now president of the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People in Beit Sahour, a suburb of Bethlehem. The author of “Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human Rights and the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle” (2004), Qumsiyeh is both a human rights activist and a scientist who has a lengthy list of publications on genetics to his credit.
See his website: http://qumsiyeh.org/