UPZ - The Union of Progressive Zionists

Register for "Forward Motion - Building a Sustainable Movement":: The exciting UPZ National Conference in Boston February 8th - 10th!

I'm sure you haven't forgotten that the 2008 Union of Progressive Zionists National Leadership Conference is an exciting opportunity to build upon the momentum we created last semester or that it will allow us to build a deeper national connection and a stronger network for collective planning and support!

This year's conference will take place in Boston, Massachusetts and is scheduled to begin Friday, February 8th 2008 at 3:30 PM and end Sunday, February 10th at 1:00 PM.

One of the biggest challenges to building sustainable movements on campus is transferring leadership as existing leaders graduate and go abroad. We are hoping to bring at least one experienced and one emerging leader from every campus to the conference to discuss this specific challenge! We also welcome new student activists who are interested in establishing a new group on campus if one does not already exist. At least one participant from each campus should not be a senior.

If you have any questions about the conference or how to register, please send an e-mail to upzconference@gmail.com and we'll get back to you. Also, you can contact Aviva at 610-308-3765 and Ben at 240-418-5803.

In order to register you need to complete the following steps:

1) Send an e-mail of interest and your answers to the questions below to Aviva at upzconference@gmail.com.

2) Arrange your transportation to and from Boston.

3) Send a check for $200 payable to Union of Progressive Zionists to UPZ, 114 W 26th St. #1004, New York, NY 10001. (See below for more information about conference tuition)

The registration deadline is January 18th at which point the conference will cost an extra $50 and we will be unable to guarantee you a spot. Please get in touch with us if registering by this date causes a problem for you. We encourage you to complete steps 1 and 2 as soon as possible. You must pay your tuition before the conference, but we realize some people will have to wait until school resumes to receive funding for the conference in order to pay their tuition.

The tuition for the conference is $200 plus personal travel expenses. We encourage you to make travel arrangements as soon as possible in order to find the best deals.

Check out your student government, local organizations, and campus Hillel to see if you can find funding for the conference. You know your own individual campuses best. We encourage you to make a plan for the best way to apply for funding based on your own campuses' individual process and timeline. If you want to brainstorm how to find money for the conference please contact me or my co-chair Ben Wolff, ben.wolff@gmail . com. We recommend booking flights, if you need them, ASAP to get the cheapest possible options!

To help us better plan the conference, please send your response to the following questions to upzconference@gmail.com.

1) Why is a group like UPZ important both on your individual campus, and nationally?

2) What has been your previous involvement with UPZ or similar campus groups to this date?

3) How do you plan to be involved with UPZ or similar campus groups in the future?

4) What has been your involvement with other campus groups or local organizations?

5) What would you like to accomplish on your campus this semester? Please be as specific as possible. We hope people will put thought into these details before the conference to help facilitate discussion.

Also, please let Tammy know if you have any family or friends who would be willing to host staff or speakers Friday and Saturday night of the conference. This will help us keep costs down.

The Union of Progressive Zionists (UPZ) is a network of student activists organizing on campuses across North America for social justice and peace in Israel/Palestine. The UPZ was created to provide guidance, education and resources to students who seek to impart a progressive voice into the campus debate on Israel. Extremist voices pushing rigid “pro-Israel” and “pro-Palestinian” positions have come to dominate the discourse on many campuses across North America, obscuring the issues and alienating significant numbers of Jewish and moderate students.
Because of our connection to Israel, we believe it is our duty to create a new vision for the Jewish state. As campus activists and members of the Jewish community, our strength lies in our ability to be active and critical leaders. We are committed to creating an alternative approach to Israel advocacy that embraces open dialogue and constructive activism, and that warrants critical analysis of policies, whether Israeli, Palestinian, American or other.

Declaration of Principles

The UPZ’s vision for Israel is based on the following principles:

* A just and peaceful resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict
* The cessation of all terrorist activity and violence against civilians, Palestinians and Israelis alike
* An end to Israel's military, civilian and economic occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
* A negotiated two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that recognizes the rights of self-determination for both peoples
* Social and economic parity for all citizens and residents of Israel
* The continued resolve of the U.S. and Canadian administrations and the North American Jewish community to hold Israel – and its advocates – to the values of democracy, social justice and pluralism