Tuesday, July 30, 6:30 – 8:00 pm EST - Livestream only - in person @ the Palestine Center DC is AT CAPACITY
The Absence of Palestine in Children’s Literature and Why this Matters, with Dr. Alice Rothchild, Physician, Author, and Filmmaker
Moderated by Said Arikat, Washington Bureau Chief at Al Quds Daily Newspaper
Livestream - The Jerusalem Fund (youtube.com)
Much of US children’s literature either ignores, erases, or distorts Palestinian lived reality in the US and in Palestine/Israel, creating a significant absence of understanding and literacy about these topics for K-12 students and their parents. When teachers and librarians do teach about the narratives and history of Palestine, they often face severe pushback, censure, harassment, and job loss, creating further pressure to avoid the topic altogether. If we are committed to an anti-racist, anti colonial education and to growing empathy and knowledge in our young people about Palestinians in particular and Arabs in general, it is critical, particularly during these times of intense stereotyping and disinformation, to develop strategies to move forward. Dr. Alice will elaborate on these realities, review a toolkit for teachers and librarians falsely accused of antisemitism, and discuss her Palestine-focused middle grade and young adult novels. (www.alicerothchildbooks.com)
Livestream - The Jerusalem Fund (youtube.com)
Alice Rothchild is a physician, author, and filmmaker who practiced ob-gyn for almost 40 years. Until her retirement, she served as Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Harvard Medical School. She has published two Palestine-focused novels for young people, her young adult novel, Finding Melody Sullivan and middle grade novel, Old Enough to Know. She writes and lectures widely, is the author of books including Broken Promises, Broken Dreams: Stories of Jewish and Palestinian Trauma and Resilience and Condition Critical: Life and Death in Israel/Palestine. She has contributed to a number of anthologies, the most recent being Reclaiming Judaism from Zionism: Stories of Personal Transformationand What Jerusalem Means to Us: Jewish Reflections and Perspectives. Her memoir, Inspired and Outraged: The Making of a Feminist Physician, will be published in November. She directed a documentary film, Voices Across the Divide, exploring the history of Israel/Palestine through the voices and experiences of Palestinians. She received Boston Magazine’s Best of Boston’s Women Doctors Award, was named in Feminists Who Changed America 1963-1975, had her portrait painted for Robert Shetterly’s Americans Who Tell the Truth, and was named a Peace Pioneer by the American Jewish Peace Archive. Dr. Rothchild is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council, the mentor liaison for We Are Not Numbers, and on the board of the Gaza Mental Health Foundation. She was last in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza in August 2023. For more info, including study guides and resources: www.alicerothchildbooks.com and http://www.alicerothchild.com.
Said Arikat, a member of the Palestine Center Committee, is a Palestinian journalist, Washington Bureau Chief at Al Quds Daily Newspaper, and a long-time attendee of press briefings at the U.S. State Department. He previously served as spokesman and director of public information for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, and currently teaches as an adjunct professor at American University in Washington, DC.
Livestream - The Jerusalem Fund (youtube.com)