I traveled to Palestine last October with a group tour arranged by the Siraj Center for Holy Land Studies, a Palestinian tour agency. We visited the town of Aseira to meet the people there and to take part in an olive harvest. While there our group met with Mohammed Sawalha.
Mohammed is a professor of linguistics at Al-Najah University, and is the founder and director of the Palestinian House of Friendship (PHF) in Nablus. He gave a fascinating and authoritative talk on current conditions in Palestine and the work of the Palestinian House of Friendship.
The PHF engages in human rights and democracy education, and leads local election monitoring efforts. A primary goal of PHF is to develop critical thinking skills required for democracy, through investing in the personal development of each individual.
Smiling Faces summer camps and cultural heritage festivals engage children from Nablus in dance and visual arts rooted in Palestinian traditions. Children are provided access to computers, are offered tutoring and attend English classes. Participants, staff, and volunteers reflect the diversity of economic conditions and political affiliations of the region. The PHF also sponsors a marathon for hundreds of boys and girls in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth.
Opportunities for expression and creative collaboration provide youth with a sense of hope in their own futures, and alternatives that make them less vulnerable to potentially destructive and extremist influences in their societies. Creative projects facilitate platforms for conversation among people of different political persuasions, urban and rural dwellers, and people living in the city and those in refugee camps.
Mohammed will be visiting Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, and New York, from May 23rd to June 10th raising funds for these vital programs for the children of Nablus. The American Friends of PHF is presenting a benefit event in Brooklyn on June 6, co-sponsored by the Brooklyn Ethical Society’s Action Committee and Brooklyn for Peace.
How I wish I could hear him speak! He must be one of those angels among us.
Hopefully, one of his talks will be captured and available on the internet. I’ll donate, though.
Thank you for this.