WORLD CAPOEIRA GROUPS STAND WITH PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11/26/2015 WORLD CAPOEIRA GROUPS STAND WITH PALESTINIAN PEOPLEGroups to call attention to occupation of Palestine on November 29 Salvador, Bahía, Brazil - Heeding a call from the Capoeira Freedom Collective –Palestine (CFCP), Capoeira groups around the world will host solidarity rodas on the 29th of November –the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Events are already planned among groups in Palestine, Brazil, England, the United States, Germany, Italy, Jordan, France and Spain. Capoeira players, known as capoeristas, are seeking to call attention to the continued occupation by Israel of Palestine. Groups will use the traditional “roda de capoeira”, or capoeira circle, which has been recently recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, as a space for public education and awareness about the continued and increasing atrocities committed by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people. Since October 1 of this year, Israeli security forces have killed 94 Palestinians who are desperate to end the decades-old occupation. “Capoeira is a traditional Afro-Brazilian martial art with a philosophy of freedom and resistance to oppression, so it is natural for capoeiristas to identify with the struggle for the Palestinian people,”says Anthony Wells, capoeirista with the Washington DC branch of the International Capoeira Angola Foundation. In 1977, the UN General Assembly established November 29th as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people. This year, rodas will also coincide with an October call by the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for a “solidarity wave”of creative actions with Palestinians around the world. #capoeirafreepalestina#SolidarityWaveBDS Contact: Anthony Wells Email: capoeira.palestine@gmail.com