Wednesday, November 4th, 3:00-4:30pm, Eaton 112
For more information, contact: Professor of English Doug Thorpe, dthorpe@spu.edu
WE ARE PRO-ISRAELI, PRO-PALESTINIAN, PRO-PEACE, PRO-JUSTICE, AND PRO-JESUS
Guided by Christ’s abundant love, we are committed to peace and justice for all people, including Palestinians and Israelis. We espouse Christ’s heart for the poor and marginalized and take seriously their protection in times of conflict. Our message emphasizes compassion while upholding justice in pursuit of security, freedom, and dignity for all the people of the Holy Land.
WE SEEK TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES
More than sixty years of conflict have had an especially destructive effect in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. In the West Bank and Gaza, infrastructure and basic services such as water, education and healthcare are often in short supply in Palestinian communities. We encourage a community-based, sustainable framework in which individuals, families, and communities move toward healthy individual development, positive relationships, and a context that provides safety, social justice and participation in civil society.
OUR SPEAKERS
Sami Awad is the Executive Director of Holy Land Trust (HLT), a Palestinian nonprofit organization which he founded in 1998 in Bethlehem. HLT works with the Palestinian community at both the grassroots and leadership levels in developing nonviolent approaches that aim to end the Israeli occupation and build a future founded on the principles of nonviolence, equality, justice, and peaceful coexistence.
Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon is a pastor, writer, and academic who cares deeply about God’s heart for the poor and the oppressed. She is the author of Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (IVP, 2009), Just Spirituality: How Faith Practices Fuel Social Action (IVP, 2012) and co-author of Forgive Us: Confessions of a Compromised Faith (Zondervan, 2014). Mae earned her doctorate in American History with the minor in Middle Eastern studies from the University of California – Davis, focusing her dissertation on the history of the American Protestant church in Israel and Palestine. She has worked as both a consultant to the Middle East for Compassion International and as the Senior Director of Advocacy and Outreach for World Vision.
Sahar Vardi is an Israeli peace activist who works for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in Jerusalem. As a secular Jew, she works alongside Israelis, Palestinians, and Internationals to focus on equal rights and demilitarization. Sahar served three prison sentences for her refusal to be conscripted into Israel’s military service. She serves as Coordinator of AFSC’s Israel program in east Jerusalem. Since age 14, she has worked for a number of Israeli peace organizations that try to break down barriers between Israelis and Palestinians.
“In any armed conflict, it is always the most vulnerable, particularly children, who suffer most. Both Palestinian and Israeli children have the right to live in safety; free from violence, fear and want.” – Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon