MASSACHUSETTS

Join BU Students for Justice in Palestine for an event that will provide an insightful discussion regarding the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel. We will have three panelists that are knowledgeable in their three different faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The panelists include Dr. Othman Mohammad, Rabbi Joseph Berman, and Rev. Karlene Griffiths Sekou, Pastor. We hope to see you there!

The panel would touch on the topic of how the Palestinian struggle for human rights is one that is supported by people of faith. Particularly, the panelists would speak on how their respective religions provide religious contexts, grounded in human rights, for why the Palestinian cause for human rights is supported by practicing Muslims, Christians and Jews. The panelists will explore the sources of religious authenticity that provide for the respective religious logic on human rights.

Dr. Othman M. Mohammad is a Palestinian physician, who was born and raised as a refugee in Lebanon, where he finished his undergrad in human Biology at the American University of Beirut, and his Doctorate in Medicine at the University of Balamand. He trained in basic sciences and clinical research as a research fellow at the American University of Beirut then as a post-Doctoral fellow at the University of California at San Diego. He joined the Harvard Medical School Adult Psychiatry training programs in 2009, and has recently graduated from his specialty in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He is currently an outpatient Psychiatrist and a School Psychiatrist with the Lynn Community Health Center. He is active within the Muslim community in the Greater Boston area, in working closely with the youth and families, and in participating in community workshops pertaining to mental health, and its cross-currents with Islamic teachings and values.

Rabbi Joseph Berman has organized for justice and equality for Palestinians and Israelis for over a decade. Drawing upon years of training and experience in faith-based community organizing, Joseph was a leader with JVP Boston for the past five year, helping to build and grow a vibrant and powerful community of activists. Since graduating from the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in 2010, Joseph has served as the rabbi of a congregation outside Boston, completed three units of Clinical Pastoral Education, and worked for four years as a chaplain. Joseph is the co-founder of Ruach Guild, a skill development and support group of activists who provide spiritual support to social justice movements and organizations. He is incredibly grateful and excited to be joining JVP staff in April as the Federal Policy Organizer in Washington DC. More about him here: http://www.tbirevere.org/rabbi%27s_page.htm

Karlene Griffiths Sekou is a public theologian, pastor, international human rights and women’s advocate, public speaker, and global health strategist. She has traveled extensively building bridges to human rights, justice, and public health towards a more equitable world. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Karlene has also lived and worked in Argentina, Nicaragua, and Cuba working with diverse communities in transnational contexts, particularly focusing on the flourishing of women and girls. Her early years in public health focused extensively on HIV/AIDS prevention, and designing and developing contextually appropriate interventions for specific populations. Also, she has worked in the area of maternal and child health to reduce disparities in birth outcomes, and increase healthy equity for women of color. Ms. Griffiths Sekou has served as a delegate with Doctors Without Borders, and the Health and Human Rights Project to Israel/Palestine. And, in 2014, Karlene was appointed by the late Mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, as a delegate to the Global Parliament of Mayors in the Netherlands. There she addressed the Parliament about pressing human rights issues related to the Ferguson uprisings, police brutality, and creating just and inclusive communities in the multi-ethnic city of Boston. Karlene is currently building Dignidad International, a transnational organization that addresses interlocking systems of health, education, and economic justice for the creation of sustainable, flourishing communities, especially for poor and marginalized populations. Her academic and research interests intersect at the crossroads of religion, ethics, politics, international relations using de-colonial frameworks. She is a current graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, and is the recipient of the inaugural President Jimmy Carter Scholarship for advancing studies of human rights issues. More about her here: http://thefreedomchurch.blogspot.com/p/rev-karlene-griffiths-sekou-pastor_29.html

This event is a part of Israel Apartheid Month which is taking place from February 25th to March 24th. This event is co-sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace and Boston University’s Center for Gender, Sexuality and Activism. More co-sponsorships to come!

TRANSPORTATION: Green Line, “B” train, Blandford Street stop

*COM 101 Auditorium can be located on the first floor of the School of Communication, Room 101