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Workshops & Education

Annual Peace and Justice Action Conference

Our annual Peace and Justice Action Conference offers a large array of workshops from community leaders and educators – it truly is Education for Action! Our last conference was held on Saturday September 30, 2023 with additional kick-off events on Thursday and Friday.  Bearing the resounding theme Praxis: Building Beloved Community Now, our 2023 conference aimed to push forth our collective journey toward a more just and peaceful world.

You can register at the link below to gain retroactive access to all conference recordings.

Learn more and register now!

We are also excited to be able to offer retroactive access to previous conferences! The links below will take you to the corresponding conference registration pages. Once you register for the event, you will receive a confirmation email with the website and password you need to access all recorded conference materials.

 

Recurring Workshops

Check back here or on our Events page for upcoming workshops.

Why Race Matters Workshops

Why Race Matters: History, Systems, and Strategies workshops are offered by PJALS staff as members of the Racial Equity Trainers Cohort coordinated by Greater Spokane Progress. Visit Greater Spokane Progress to find out more about these co-hosted workshops.

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Grass-Roots Organizing Workshops

Grass-Roots Organizing Workshops (GROW), offered throughout the year, are opportunities for everyday people to reflect on our experiences, deepen our analysis, learn new skills and information, and prepare to organize for peace and justice through practice and planning!

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Peacekeepers

All our work for justice and peace is founded in the principles and practice of active nonviolence. PJALS helps train and staff events with peacekeepers who are skilled in nonviolent de-escalation techniques. We host training events for those interested in acquiring these skills.

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Past Workshops

midtone blue background with 2 photos of a rally for ceasefire. White text below the photos read, "ceasefire and beyond: what's happening in Palestine/Israel and its impacts Q&A"
Ceasefire and Beyond: What’s Happening in Palestine/Israel and Its Impacts Q&A

with Sabrene Odeh and Alice Rothchild


Join us for an educational dialogue!

In this moment, it is imperative to recognize our shared humanity and tied liberation. This facilitated Q&A session aims to create dialogue around the ongoing violence in Palestine/Israel. Participants are encouraged to submit questions ahead of time and actively engage during the webinar. Topics up for discussion include but are not limited to:

  • Historical and current conditions in Palestine/Israel
  • Rise in Islamophobic and antisemitic hate crimes and rhetoric
  • The necessary distinctions between people and their governments
  • Antisemitism, anti-Muslim racism, and imperialism fueling the United States government’s past and current role and support in the genocide faced by the Palestinian people
  • Current and lasting impacts of the ongoing violence

We are joined by Sabrene Odeh (she/her) who is the Co-founder of Baladna, an organization created for Palestinian community, organizing, and advocacy; as well as Alice Rothchild (she/her) a Jewish activist, author, and retired obstetrician who supported health care efforts in Gaza and now serves on the JVP Health Advisory Council. Following the Q&A, we take immediate action together. Join us in urging our legislators to advocate for a permanent ceasefire and the development of just and peaceful solutions to address the profound impacts on lives, displacement, and violence in Palestine and Israel.

 

Progressive Approaches to Addressing Antisemitism with Ben Lorber and Shane Burley. 2023 Peace & Justice Action Conference

Progressive Approaches to Addressing Antisemitism 2023 Conference Presentation

with Shane Burley and Ben Lorber


Based on the extensive archival research, original reporting, and over 150 interviews, our workshop is intended to take the lessons derived from progressive and antiracist approaches to community organizing and to apply them to antisemitism. Building on intersectionality, Critical Race Theory, Critical Theory, and other interdisciplinary interventions, our workshop attempts to develop a unique approach to the question of antisemitism that situates that struggle within larger movements opposing white supremacy, Christian dominance, and the legacies of settler colonialism. This workshop synthesizes the thesis and strategies that coalesced in an upcoming book for Melville House, which proposes a pathway for confronting antisemitism from within progressive social movements.

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No Turning Back: radical progress and collective liberation. pjals 2021 action conference. fighting antisemitism through solidarity & justice based approach ben lober

Fighting Antisemitism through Solidarity: A Justice-Based Approach Conference Presentation

with Ben Lorber


In our era of exclusionary ultranationalism, there is no question that antisemitism in America is on the rise, from the growing white nationalist movement to the increasingly radicalizing base of MAGA supporters. At the same time, national debates around what constitutes antisemitism are more politically charged, contentious, and confusing than ever. For progressive movements that care both about fighting antisemitism and winning justice and peace in Israel/Palestine, it’s more important than ever to get clear on these issues, as we protest Israeli human rights violations and advocate for freedom and equality for Palestinians.

Antisemitism is an ideology of conspiracy theory that locks systems of oppression in place, by keeping people confused about who’s really in charge. This interactive workshop will help us understand antisemitism through an intersectional lens, analyzing both how it impacts Jewish communities and how it works alongside other forms of oppression, such as anti-immigrant xenophobia, anti-black racism and anti-LGBTQ bigotry, to keep broader structures of racial capitalism in place. We’ll get clear on the difference between antisemitism and criticism of the actions of Israel or the political ideology of Zionism, while recognizing that antisemitism, like other kinds of oppression, can sometimes show up in progressive movements. Finally, we’ll explore strategies of fighting antisemitism wherever it shows up, from a perspective of solidarity and collective liberation.

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Approaches to Change & Power Mapping Workshop

Youth organizers Ivy and Sarah present on different ways to make change on local and national levels. They also cover how to make change by working the way up institutions or individuals who have power.

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Countering White Nationalism

Preventing Online Recruitment of Youth

With so many young people on the internet as schools are using online learning, there is more likely exposure to white nationalist recruitment content. This webinar comes with recording, slides, and resource sheet to help safeguard our youth.

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We Keep Us Safe with Organizer/Attorney/Author Zach Norris

Zach discusses his newly released book, We Keep Us Safe: Building Secure, Just, and Inclusive Communities, laying out a new vision of a care-based strategy for public safety that overturns more than 200 years of fear-based discrimination, othering, and punishment.

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Organizing Workshop

The organizing workshop will cover the basics of grassroots organizing. Specific organizing tactics, key steps to mobilization, and the anatomy of a successful campaign are included in the workshop recordings and slides.

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Anti-Asian Racism

Bystander Intervention Training

Sign up for the recordings and slides from this important workshop on how to speak up against anti-Asian racism in person or online.

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Partners & Resources