Israel-Palestine

Separation Wall

Palestinian children stand near the Separation Wall built by Israel.

Samar Sarhan and Fayiz Ahmed Abusharkh

Today, 63 years after the Nakba – the “catastrophe” – wherein 750,000 Palestinians were forced to leave their homes to make way for the newly proclaimed state of Israel, new hope emerges. The United Nations is planning to vote on Palestinian statehood in September 2011.

Samar Sarhan and Fayiz Ahmed Abusharkh will share personal stories of the Nakba – what it meant to them and their families, and what it would mean today to have Palestine declared a state.

Mark Braverman

Mark Braverman is author of Fatal Embrace: Christians, Jews, and the Search for Peace in the Holy Land. His visit with church leaders in Des Moines is one example of AFSC Iowa's peacebuilding efforts throughout the year.

Mark Braverman is the keynote speaker for the Iowa Methodist Federation for Social Action's Annual Awards Banquet.  Dr. Braverman is a charter member of American Jews for a Just Peace, and author of Fatal Embrace: Christians, Jews and the Search for Peace in the Holy Land.   MFSA's Social Action Award will also be given at the Banquet.

Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, a Palestinian professor, author and activist currently living in Palestine (the occupied West Bank) will be spea about conditions in the Occupied Territories and about his new book, Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment.  There will be Q and A following his talk, as well as books available for purchase and signing.