Given the recent attacks in Jerusalem on the freedom to worship - Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim, have found themselves being forced out of the Old City and robbed of their ability to live there. Join us as we discuss this, along with issues of family reunification, land confiscation, the taxing of churches, and the current state of equality, and human rights in the Holy Land.
Speakers:
Julie Schumacher Cohen has long been engaged in Israel-Palestine peacebuilding and advocacy. She is a member of the Catholic Advisory Council of Churches for Middle East Peace and the Board of Directors of Foundation for Middle East Peace. Previously, Cohen was Deputy Director of CMEP and a Senior Fellow of the Telos Group. She lives and works in Scranton, PA where she is Assistant Vice President for Community Engagement and Government Affairs at The University of Scranton, leading community-based learning, political dialogue, refugee accompaniment, and other community and civic engagement and narrative change initiatives. Cohen holds a BA from Gordon College, an MPA from Villanova University, and is a current doctoral student in political science at Temple University.
Adv. Raffoul Rofa holds a Master’s degree in Law (LL.M., 1996) from the University of London, United Kingdom. He was admitted to the Israeli Bar in 2003 and as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 2007. Adv. Rofa has been a board member of the World Vision Jerusalem, West Bank Gaza office since 2008 and its chair since 2009. He joined the world vision Board of Directors because he was interested in contributing to the work of an organization which works for the benefit of children and seeks to improve their lives. He has been the director of the Society of St. Yves since 2008.
The Society of St. Yves is a Catholic human and legal rights organization working under the patronage of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem. It was founded in 1991 by the former Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, Michel Sabbah, to help "the poor and the oppressed" according to the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, and for the protection of marginalized communities in East Jerusalem through legal aid, planning, and advocacy. St. Yves also co-chairs the Legal Task Force (LTF); a sub-group of the United Nations Protection Cluster Working Group. The LTF meets to discuss updates on legal issues and trends in the Occupied Territories.
Sponsored by: Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
Contact: info@cmep.org