Jerusalem
Women Speak
Three Women, Three Faiths, One Shared Vision
Three women
- Christian, Muslim and Jewish
- who are living the history of the history of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict will share their experiences and hopes for a just
peace.
They are mothers, daughters, wives and grandmothers. They have suffered loss of
life, homes, businesses and are all exposed to random violence They offer a
perspective of families who have lived for generations in the Middle East.
In spite of this these three women who have never met are willing to travel
together for 17 days (March 17 - April 2) to talk about the situation they
face. They are here to demonstrate that peace is possible between Palestinians
and Israelis despite the ongoing violence
This is a unique opportunity to hear the personal side of history from women
whose lives have been shaped by the ongoing violence and occupation.
* Nahla Assali, Muslim Palestinian, Age 65, Co-founder and Chair of Project
Loving Care
* Dr. Nuha Khoury, Christian Palestinian, Age 41, Deputy Director of Dar al-Kalima
Academy
* Michal Sagi, Jewish Israeli, Age 35, Member of Checkpoint Watch
Interviews, talk show appearances, and community presentations are currently
being scheduled. They may be arranged by contacting Partners for Peace. For
additional biographical information on the women contact Partners for Peace.
Partners for Peace is an NGO based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to help
bring about a just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Tour schedule for DC - To arrange interviews call Mike Brown 202-215-9057,
local contacts or attend event.
Washington, DC
Wednesday, March 17
300 p.m.
American University
McDowell Formal Lounge
4400 Massachussetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20016
Contact Nora Cochran at the Women and Gender Studies Program of AU 202.885.2981
or ncochran@american.edu
Bethesda, MD
Wednesday, March 17
730 p.m.
Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation
7727 Persimmon Tree Lane
Bethesda, MD 20817
Contact Haya Laufer, 301-340-7324 or
haya@min.net
Washington, DC
Thursday, March 18
930 a.m.
Capitol Hill Briefing
1302 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC
Contact Gloria B. Smith, Office of Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, 202-225-8885 or
GloriaB.Smith@mail.house.gov
Washington, DC
Friday, April 2
1030 -
noon a.m. Woman’s National
Democratic Club Luncheon
1526 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC
Luncheon buffet available after event, RSVP (credit card) to Patricia, (202)
232-7363 x 3003, emailpfitzgerald@democraticwoman.org, Cash only at door
Friday, April 2
230 p.m.
Georgetown University
White Gravenor Building, Rm. 311
Washington, DC 20057
Please contact Rania Kiblawi,
Public Affairs Coordinator, CCAS at ccasevents@georgetown.edu or call
202-687-6215.
Co-sponsored by The Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS)
Silver Spring,
MD
Friday, April
2
7:00 p.m.
Muslim Community Center of Silver Spring
15200 New Hampshire Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20905
Contact Azad Ejaz, 301-526-3817 or azadejaz@comcast.net
Washington, DC Wednesday, March 17
Charlottesville, Virginia Thursday, March 18
Lynchburg, Virginia -- Friday, March 19
Charlotte, North Carolina Saturday-Monday, March 20-22
Atlanta, Georgia Tuesday-Wednesday, March 23-24
Birmingham, Alabama Thursday-Friday, March 25-26
Asheville, NC Saturday-Monday morning, March 27-28
Greensboro, NC Monday afternoon-Tuesday, March 29-30
Richmond, VA Wednesday-Thursday, March 31-April 1
Washington, DC Friday, April 2
Speaker Bios
Muslim Palestinian Participant
Nahla Assali
A Muslim Palestinian, Nahla Assalli was born in West Jerusalem in 1938. In 1948,
after the Deir Yassin massacre, her father sent the family to live in Damascus.
They were never allowed to return to their original home in West Jerusalem. She
is a refugee registered with the United Nations.
Ms. Assali received her BA in English Literature from the American University of
Beirut and her MA from Indiana State University. She recently retired from
Birzeit University’s Department of English Language and Literature after working
for more than 25 years as a lecturer. She lives in Beit Hanina between Ramallah
and East Jerusalem.
Ms. Assali works for children’s rights in her position as co-founder and chair
of Project Loving Care, a child sponsorship program initiated in 1968. Ms.
Assali is also co-founder and chair of the Saraya Centre for Community Services,
which provides training for women and informal education for children.
She writes, "What we actually need is a ‘fair hand’ to take hold of Ariadne’s
thread and unravel all the complexities of the situation."
Christian Palestinian Participant
Dr. Nuha Khoury
A Christian Palestinian, Dr. Nuha Khoury was born in Jerusalem and lives and
works today in Bethlehem. Her family’s roots date back to the early Christian
community in Palestine. She is the Deputy Director of the Dar al-Kalima Academy,
where she administers programs, raises funds, and gives lectures to visiting
groups on the current political situation, Islamic history, and Palestinian
women.
Dr. Khoury received her PhD in Islamic History from the University of
Michigan-Ann Arbor in 1996. Between 1997 and 1999 she taught at Bethlehem
University.
Dr. Khoury is a member of the Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Palestine and Jordan and a church elder at the Christmas Lutheran Church in
Bethlehem. She organized and ran the Palestinian area studies section of the
Friends World Program at the Middle East Center in Jerusalem.
Her father died tragically in January of 2004 when he was denied passage past a
checkpoint on the way to the hospital because he did not hold a “sickness
permit” to attest to his massive heart attack. Even his American passport was
not able to get him to a Jerusalem hospital. She notes that her father’s story
“is only one among hundreds of thousands of stories.”
Jewish Israeli Participant
Michal Sagi
A Jewish Israeli, Michal Sagi is the daughter of Israeli-born parents of
European descent. She was raised in Haifa and currently lives in Jerusalem.
For the past seven years, Ms. Sagi has worked at Melitz, an
organization providing informal educational services to Israelis and Diaspora
Jews. For seven years prior, Ms. Sagi worked at the Jewish Agency for Israel to
promote solidarity in the Jewish community throughout the world.
Last year Ms. Sagi participated in the Palestinian-Israeli delegation for
dialogue, "Nonviolent Women Leadership," sponsored by the U.S. State Department
and the British government.
Ms. Sagi is actively involved with Checkpoint Watch, a women’s human rights
monitoring group which reports on its observations at Israeli military and
police checkpoints in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. She writes, "I am
going out to the checkpoint to protest and to show both Palestinians and
Israelis that there is a different voice calling to keep human rights and remove
checkpoints."