Hisham Ahmed, a professor of politics at St. Mary’s College in Moraga and author of “From Religious Salvation to Political Transformation: The Rise of Hamas in Palestinian Society,” will join poets, activists, former government officials and other academics for a two-day conference in San Anselmo on the continuing crisis in Israel/Palestine.

Hisham Ahmed

The March 5-6 conference is sponsored by Friends of Sabeel, an international peace movement initiated by Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land. Co-sponsors include Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Oakland and the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael.

Speakers will include Kathleen and Bill Christison, former CIA analysts and authors of “Palestine in Pieces: Graphic Perspectives on the Israel Occupation”; Israeli peace activist Jeff Halper, and Mark Braverman, a Jewish-American clinical psychologist and author of “Fatal Embrace: Christians, Jews, and the Search for Peace in the Holy Land.”

The Rev. Naim Ateek, founder and leader of Sabeel and former canon pastor of the Episcopal Cathedral of Jerusalem, will lead a panel of Muslims, Christians and Jews in a discussion on religious extremism. Mohammad Alstar will present his film, “Jerusalem: The East Side Story,” and two local poets, one Jewish and the other Palestinian, will perform.

Seventeen workshops will address topics ranging from Christian Zionism and anti-Semitism to non-violent activism and Islamophobia.

The conference will take place at First Presbyterian Church of San Anselmo, beginning at noon on Friday, March 5 and continuing on March 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. A worship service will conclude the day. Cost for the full conference, including two meals, is $90. Reduced fees are available for one day of attendance.
To register or to view the complete schedule, visit www.fosna.org.

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