São Paulo – Several events in Brazil will celebrate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The official date, established by the United Nations (UN), is November 29th, but in the country the celebrations should occur this and next week. The National Congress – Lower House and Senate – will hold a solemn session on the subject on December 2nd. “Our recommendation is wherever there is a Palestinian community, that the date be remembered,” says the Palestinian ambassador to Brasília (the Brazilian capital), Ibrahim Alzeben.
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People was created by the UN General Assembly in 1977. At the National Congress, federal representative Nilson Mourão was the one who proposed the creation of the solemnity at the Chamber of Representatives and senator João Pedro made the proposal to the Senate. The Palestinian embassy to Brasília should take part in the solemnity.
There will also be celebrations at the state and municipal levels, as well as actions implemented by the communities of Palestinian origin. The Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo, for instance, is going to hold a solemn session next Friday (27th). The event, proposed by state representative Said Mourad, should include a photographic exhibition on Palestine at the Monumental Hall of the Assembly, starting at 09:00 am, a solemn session at the Juscelino Kubitschek Plenary, at 08:00 pm, and a cocktail afterwards.
The University of Brasília (UnB) has already started the celebrations by promoting, starting on Monday (23rd), the Week of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Up until Friday (27th), there will be debates, exhibitions of poems and caricatures, as well as a film screening. The idea is to elicit historical and political reflection on Palestine. The Week is part of the actions of the Department of Philosophy at the Board of Directors for Sports, Art and Culture of the Institute of Arab Culture (ICArabe).
Celebrations should also take place in cities such as Goiânia, in the state of Goiás, Campinas, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, and other initiatives in the Federal District. In the city of Natal, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, the ICArabe will promote, alongside Cineclube Natal, a screening of the film “The Gate of Sun” (Bab El Shams). The film, directed by Yousry Nasrallah, tells the story of a Palestinian named Yunis. The award-winning film is an Egyptian, French and Palestinian co-production.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum