Horror stories of injustice, hate and death compose a common perception of life in the Middle East. Tonight, students and staff will have an opportunity to hear the tale from a more intimate and direct perspective, as three women from Jerusalem will relate their experiences.
The event is part of the Jerusalem Women Speak tour, now in its seventh year, run by the Washington, D.C.-based organization Partners for Peace.
In an effort to educate Americans on the truth of the situation -- both positive and negative aspects -- the women will discuss their lives in the midst of fear and hatred.
"They are here to demonstrate that peace is possible between Palestinians and Israelis despite the ongoing violence," said Partners for Peace Executive Director Michael Brown in a press release.
This year's speakers are Nahla Assali, a Muslim Palestinian and Co-founder and Chair of Project Loving Care, Dr. Nuha Khoury, a Christian Palestinian and Deputy Director of Dar al-Kalima Academy and Michal Sagi, a Jewish Israeli and Member of Checkpoint Watch.
Program director Susanne Waldorf was responsible for finding women for the tour. She said she located the women through contacts of the founder of Partners for Peace, contacts of the executive director and suggestions from peace organizations.
"When I recruit the women, I ask them, do they believe in a just peace -- if the land between the Mediterranean and Jordan River can be shared by the two peoples," Waldorf said. "We offer them an open forum to tell American audiences what they think they should know about what's going on. Things we don't hear about in the mainstream media, a lot of peace activities that we don't hear about."
Waldorf said the most important thing is for "women's voices to be heard. Voices for peace, rather than the extremes."
Spencer Bakich, an Arts and Sciences Graduate student and events coordinator for the Middle East Studies program, discussed his views on the goal of the presentation.
"Get together three different women who have different religious and ethnic perspectives on conflict itself in an attempt to create a common dialogue," Bakich said. "Get across the point that everybody here is suffering, it's not just one side or the other. The conflict has pretty much torn everyone's lives apart."
Waldorf discussed whether she believes this tour can change perceptions and stimulate peace.
"Peace is a gradual process," Waldorf said. "We've educated some of the American public to understand what it is that's going on and where our tax dollars are going. People might think there's not a lot happening, but there is. People need to be aware first, so that is a first step."
A number of organizations are co-sponsoring the event, including the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice, the Middle East Studies program, the Center for Religion and Democracy, the Muslim Student Association, the Arab Student Organization and Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine.
Because of this large number of participants, Bakich agreed that the presentation may cause a ripple that affects many people, and potentially stimulate action towards peace.
"Hopefully the people that are cosponsoring and people going to attend will go out and educate others on what they saw and learned," he said.
The event will take place at 7 p.m. in New Cabell Hall room 138.
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