TONIGHT: Omar Barghouti, Marc Lamont Hill and Rebecca Vilkomerson in Sold-out Event at NYU

Despite the Trump administration's latest attempt to silence criticism of Israel by denying entry to the Co-Founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, Omar Barghouti, tonight's panel discussion at NYU with Barghouti, Marc Lamont Hill and Rebecca Vilkomerson will proceed - with Barghouti participating via video.

Hosted by Jewish Voice for Peace and the NYU chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, the event Jim Crow to Jerusalem: Time to Break the Silence on Palestine will be live-streamed on the Jewish Voice for Peace Facebook page. In addition to Barghouti, the panel discussion will feature Marc Lamont Hill, (widely respected commentator, academic, journalist who lost his job at CNN over his support for Palestine), and Rebecca Vilkomerson, JVP Executive Director. The panel will be moderated by NYU students Leen Dweik (president of NYU SJP) and Amanda Lawson (organizer with Incarceration to Education Coalition at NYU).

A petition by Jewish Voice for Peace and the Arab American Institute condemning the U.S. government's denial of entry to Barghouti has gathered 20,000 signatures in four days.

Despite holding a valid U.S. visa, on April 10th, Omar was banned from entry by U.S. immigration officials in Tel Aviv. Denying Omar the ability to travel to the United States for a speaking tour, meetings with policy makers and journalists, an unprecedented Passover dialogue at a Chicago synagogue, and to attend his daughter's wedding is clearly an attempt to silence political advocacy on behalf of Palestinian rights.

Rebecca Vilkomerson, Jewish Voice for Peace Executive Director:
"From the attacks on Marc Lamont Hill and Rep. Ilhan Omar, to banning Omar Barghouti from entering the U.S., it's increasingly clear that the Trump administration is attempting to silence any and all criticism of Israel. At tonight's event I will be proud to speak with Barghouti and Hill about our defense of Palestinian human rights and support for BDS. Our event is called "From Jim Crow to Jerusalem: Time to Break the Silence on Palestine" - now Omar will have to appear via video, and the title will resonate more than we could have ever imagined."

Omar Barghouti, Co-Founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement:
"This U.S. entry ban against me, which is ideologically and politically motivated, is part of Israel's escalating repression against Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights defenders in the BDS movement for freedom, justice and equality. Israel is not merely continuing its decades-old system of military occupation, apartheid and ethnic cleansing; it is increasingly outsourcing its outrageous, McCarthyite repression to the U.S. and to xenophobic, far-right cohorts across the world."

JVP Executive Director Rebecca Vilkomerson and BDS Movement co-Founder Omar Barghouti are available to speak with the media (noting that Barghouti is 7 hours ahead of EST).

Some seats may still be available for media - contact Sonya E Meyerson-Knox if you would like to attend (sonya@jvp.org | 929-290-0317)

The event will be live-streamed at https://www.facebook.com/JewishVoiceforPeace