by Robin Cappuccino
GREENSBORO – There will be a community forum on the background of the current crisis in Gaza and path ahead on Thursday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m., at the Greensboro United Church of Christ.
Speaking will be Hamed Bakir, a Palestinian-American living in Fairfax, and the uncle of Elizabeth Rossano of Hardwick. Bakir was born in a refugee camp near Ramallah in Palestine.
Through narrating his family’s account, Bakir likes to tell stories of Palestinians resilience and their love of life in the face of adversity. Bakir retired from a 35-year international career in public health and the environment with the WHO, UNICEF, UNHCR and other international development agencies. He specialized in climate change and health; children’s health and the environment; water sanitation and health.
Also presenting will be Jason Hirsch, of the group Jewish Voice for Peace, He is an Ashkenazi Jew and an organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace of Vermont and New Hampshire.
Jewish Voice for Peace is a national, Jewish-led organization working for the liberation of all peoples in Israel and Palestine. He teaches cultural anthropology at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, focusing on ecological anthropology, climate justice, and political imagination. He also serves as the president of the board at the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism in Plainfield, and is completing a book about Western herbal medicine and its role in ecological transition.
The evening’s presentation will be moderated by Susan Rhodewalt of Glover, who is a Quaker, and a retired history teacher from a variety of Friends high schools and international schools. She also spent three months as part of a sabbatical in Ramallah in the West Bank of Palestine. Rhodewalt will facilitate questions and discussion following the presentations from Bakir and Hirsch. Hardwick Community Television will film the proceedings for later broadcast.
The evening is sponsored by the Hardwick Peace Vigil Committee. Everyone is welcome and invited to stay for tea after the discussion.
Over 24,000 Palestinians in Gaza and over 1,200 Israelis have been killed since early October in this war and over two million people, 85 percent of the population, are currently homeless, at least half of them children. Food and water are critically scarce. These well informed panelists and ensuing discussion should help further a deeper understanding of the roots of the conflict and possible pathways to peace.
