Hiwar is the Duke student group devoted to awareness of social and political issues of the Middle East and North Africa. Hiwar was chartered by the Duke Student Government in 2001. ‘Hiwar’ is the Arabic word for ‘dialogue’.

Hiwar events in the past year include movie viewings and discussions in freshmen and other dormitories, speaker events including British-Palestinian Reverend Stephen Sizer, a theologist on Christian Zionism, Laura Gordon, a Jewish-American woman who was returning from nine months in Gaza and spoke about her experiences, and Dr. Jeff Halper, coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.

Hiwar is hosting the Palestine Solidarity Movement conference because it is an excellent opportunity for open dialogue regarding the issues surrounding Palestine and Israel, the history of the occupation and possible solutions. It is our sincere hope that the PSM conference can serve as a place where students and activists may come together to develop tools towards ending the occupation and thus ending violence in the region.

Hiwar is a voting member of the Palestine Solidarity Movement. We are in agreement with the five points of unity which bring member groups of the PSM together:

1. End the Israeli occupation

2. Right of return for Palestinian refugees

3. Equality under law

4. Oppose racism and all forms of oppression

5. Divestment is our strategy of solidarity with the Palestinian people.