Many of you know that I had the wonderful chance to travel to Israel/Palestine this past January. One of the most impressive and articulate people we met while there is a 23 year old Palestinian Christian woman named Naiera Musallam. Naiera is in Madison for a couple of weeks before starting a masters in Psychology at Columbia in September.

You are invited to hear Naiera share her experience and answer questions on WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13TH AT 7:00 P.M. in the sanctuary at Orchard Ridge UCC church. This will be a wonderful opportunity to hear first hand the story of Palestinian people, her perspective on the situation in Israel and the occupied territories, and to ask questions and raise your own concerns about the potential for peace in the Middle East.

Anyone who has met Naiera (affectionately known as the "red haired activist" by our group) can attest to her deep passion for peace and justice for all people. Naiera is a graduate of the Mar Elias Educational Institute run by Fr. Elias Chacour and did her under graduate work at Tel Aviv University. Besides that, she is simply a lot of fun!

I invite you to come for this special evening, and I invite you to spread the word as widely as you can since this is often a hard to time to gather people.