Category: Events

Music and Art to Honor Gandhi Peace Award Honorees Nov. 21

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by Stanley Heller, Administrator, Promoting Enduring Peace

Promoting Enduring Peace will have notable Syrian and American artists and musicians on the program on Saturday, Nov. 21 as it honors Dr. Zaher Sahloul and Mayson Almisr with the Gandhi Peace Award. The event will take place online at 1 p.m.

Examples of the work of artists Akram Swedaan, Molly Crabapple, Marc Nelson, Adeebah Alnemar and New Haven’s own Mohamed Hafez will be shown with narration. Songs will be sung in English and Arabic by Marc Nelson and Wafsi Massarani.

You can see Marc Nelson’s twenty variations on the work of Goya on the PEP website, PEPeace.org. Like Goya, he entitled them Disasters of War.

Famed Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour will introduce Dr. Sahloul. She’s known for her work with the Women’s March and for immigrant rights.

PEP chose its 2020 honorees to recognize the amazing work done by Syrian medical workers and rescue workers. Unfortunately, after nine years their work is still vital. A bomb in Al-Bab in October killed a score of people and injured several hundred.

The award comes with a $5,000 prize (shared by both honorees) and a medal made of “peace bronze.” The peace bronze is made from metal melted down from decommissioned nuclear facilities.

To get admission to the event go to PEPeace.org and register through Zoom. Zoom will then send you the link for the event. We’re hoping those who are able can make a donation to help us stage the event. $10 is recommended, but it’s completely optional.

Hartford Commemoration of 75th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs

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Multimedia Zoom event. Registration necessary

For more information visit them on Facebook

2020 Hiroshima / Nagasaki Remembrance

ZOOM Event – REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Click here => Registration

 

 

75th Anniversary of the start of the nuclear age

August 6, 2020
6:30 to 7:30 pm EST.

Due to personal safety concerns from the Covid-19 pandemic the 2020 Remembrance will be a multimedia Zoom event. 

ZOOM Event – REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Click here => Registration

“Zoom-in” and join the annual Hartford area Hiroshima/Nagasaki Remembrance A Shared Call for Nuclear Weapon Abolition

Thousands of nuclear weapons kept on hair trigger alert are targeting civilian populations. Rather than moving to eliminate this threat, a new nuclear arms race has begun and the number of nuclear armed nations threatens to rise.

Seventy-five years later – do you feel more secure?

The horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki cannot be allowed to happen again. Together let’s call for a nuclear-free world.

Sponsored by:
CT Peace and Solidarity Coalition
Hope Out Loud
No Nukes/No W.
United Nations Association of Connecticut 
Veterans for Peace CT Chapter 42

For more information, click => here

For a flyer for Hartford, click => here  

Visit us on => Facebook

Progressive Action Roundtable statement on the latest happenings of 2020

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Dear PAR Subscribers:

The world has changed quite a bit since our June newsletter. The brutal murder of George Floyd exposed the ugliness of power in the hands of the police and the entrenched racism against people of color. As Black Lives Matter rallies against police brutality were joined with demands for removal of racist and oppressive historic symbols, the Columbus statue in Wooster Square was removed, and the City formed a committee to rename Columbus Academy. Black Lives Matter marches of over a thousand people blocked highways and rallied at police stations. A thousand people marched in West Haven to demand justice for Mubarak Soulemane, who was killed by a state trooper. Many hundreds demanded Yale pay millions of dollars more to New Haven to make up for so much property being tax-exempt because of Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital. Two “elder rallies” in support of Black Lives Matter were held on the Green for people wanting to make their voices heard while wearing masks and maintaining appropriate distance from others because of coronavirus. Mayor Elicker reiterated that New Haven is a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. City and town councils of New Haven, Hamden, Hartford, Windsor, West Hartford and Bloomfield declared racism a public health crisis. In addition, our work for peace and justice around the world has not stopped. Plus we are still in the midst of the pandemic! Quite a busy time!

The Progressive Action Roundtable welcomes articles from organizations around these and other issues of concern to our readers, who not only want to know what’s going on, but read about “report backs” and analyses of their various actions.

Please send in articles and calendar events for our next newsletter before Wednesday, Aug. 19 to parnewhaven@hotmail.com.

The struggle continues!

May 1 Connecticut – Día de Trabajadores

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by Unidad Latina en Acción and CT Workers Crisis Response

Friday, May 1, 2020, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Hartford.

From every corner of Connecticut, we will take to the streets of Hartford in a car rally on May Day, International Workers’ Day. At the same time, an online rally will amplify the demands of CT workers. In this crisis, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer; and black people, Latinx people, and working people are the majority of the ones dying. The rich and powerful are demonstrating that they value their profits more than our lives. Workers and unemployed people are fed up. We are compelled to build a more just society that values our lives over their profits. Call us for rally details.

If you want to endorse… If you want to get involved… please sign up here: https://ulanewhaven.org/may-day-2020 Telephone: (203) 606-3484.

The Library Is Dedicated to the New Haven Community

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by Sharon Lovett-Graff, New Haven Free Public Library

Although the New Haven Free Public Library is closed during the pandemic, here are some ways we are serving the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The library has long served as a “second responder,” stepping up for the community during times of need. It has operated as a warming center when freezing weather struck and as a cooling center during heat waves. From weather events to school closings, the library has provided shelter, computer access, and social services as well as arts entertainment and cultural activities for adults and children in these times of need.

Librarians as “Maker Movement” leaders have quickly responded to the COVID-19 crisis. Our Tinker Lab staff have been putting the library’s 3-D printers and sewing machines to use manufacturing masks for the Yale New Haven Health Centers and the Public Works Departments of the City of New Haven, as well as for staff and volunteers serving meals to the homeless at the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen and St Thomas Moore Chapel. Although closed to staff and public, the library had some of our 3-D printers and sewing machines moved temporarily to the homes of staff in order to print shields and masks. The library is donating its labor and the materials to this effort, including making sure makers and what they are making comply with specifications for the production of shields and masks.

Although library branches are currently closed, library staff are working hard to be a resource and continue to support the needs of the community. Staff have regular contact with patrons via phone and email, making sure that everyone is stocked up with things to read, watch, listen to, learn, and do. Below is a quick “top ten list” of all the services the library is providing at this time, just to give you a sample.

Top 10 Ways to Use NHFPL from Home

• Social distancing? Your electronic library card is your key to a world of online learning and entertainment for free! Questions? Need an e-library card? Call us and leave a message at (203) 946-8130 or email refdesk@nhfpl.org. For Young Minds and Family Learning call (203) 946-8129 or email youngminds@nhfpl.org.

• Get absorbed in a great story. We’re all in need of some escapist fiction these days! Ebooks, audio books, and graphic novels for adults, children and teens are all available on OverDrive, RBdigital, Freading, Hoopla, TumbleBooks, and TeenBookCloud.

• Enjoy a family-friendly movie night. Tons of films are available for free download with your library card using Kanopy and Hoopla. All you need is the popcorn!

• Start a daily art practice with Creativebug. Learn to sketch, draft a pattern for a new dress, embroider, knit, scrapbook, and so much more.

• Seek help with job hunting. JobNow provides many valuable resources including job coaching, resume preparation and live interview practice.

• New Haven time travel by perusing historic images of our city in the Local History digital collections.

• Research an alternate career path or gain new skills. Take a free course on Lynda.com and learn to be an Excel expert, digital marketer, bookkeeper, graphic designer, screenwriter or comic illustrator. The offerings are endless!

• Exercise! Hoopla contains workout videos, including yoga and aerobics, and dance lessons. Learn to fox trot, salsa or rumba!

• Meet (virtually) with a local entrepreneur! Our Entrepreneur-in-Residence Sammi Williams and Collab partners are offering one-on-one virtual appointments to support your small business or non-profit start-up.

• Need more family fun activities? Plenty of virtual engagement to explore with Young Minds and Family Learning! View Story Times with stories, songs and fingerplays, take a tour of the San Diego Zoo or Boston Children’s Museum, and get reading recommendations and homework help for all ages!

Resources and Information from SURJ

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Stand Up for Racial Justice put together the following. If you want to receive the SURJ newsletters on a regular basis, please e-mail surjnewhaven@gmail.com.

This is a special issue with links to community response and mutual aid resources, webpages and groups.

Hope you’re doing well – stay safe!

We want to share regional resources for mutual aid, support for those who are the most affected on the basis of health but also by the economic impacts of the spreading disease.

Donate to a food bank! Don’t stockpile groceries! When everyone only takes what they need, there’s enough for everyone!

Think of supporting your local businesses by buying a gift-card or a voucher that you can use in the future. Put a dollar in a jar if you’re having a drink at home and send the money to your favorite bartenders or donate to an emergency fund!

Regional Groups and Support Networks:
Mutual Aid/Support Waterbury, Bridgeport, New Haven and Surrounding Areas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/501197987165893/?fref=nf
document for sharing resources:
http://bit.ly/2Wg2pvc

New Haven Area Mutual Aid
https://www.facebook.com/groups/639466263512268

CoronaVirus CT Community Support / Apoyo Comunitario – link

Handbooks:
Internet Book of Critical Care (IBCC)
https://emcrit.org/ibcc/covid19/

Corornavirus Tech Handbook
https://coronavirustechhandbook.com/

Coronavirus Community Care Resource Guide
https://www.ctznwell.org/coronavirus-care-guide

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief – When Every Community is Ground Zero: Pulling Each Other Through a Pandemic

Things To Do (at home for free!)
Collection of free resources – link
Time magazine and National Geographic for kids
Museums offering virtual tours
Free films from Indigenous film makers
Storytime for children

Fundraisers and Solidarity Campaigns:

Solidarity with Incarcerated People:

SURVIVING INSIDE: commissary payments for incarcerated people

http://www.ctbailfund.org/surviving-inside
https://www.facebook.com/donate/1003206333413384/639728416819386/

Urgent Action Needed to Protect Individuals in Connecticut’s Prisons and Jails from Coronavirus-19 Pandemic

The Coronavirus Could Spark a Humanitarian Disaster in Jails and Prisons

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Response & Resources from The Justice Collaborative

Homelessness:
‘Stay home?’ 500,000 homeless Americans can’t follow coronavirus advice

Perspective from disabled folks

National Fund for bartenders
https://usbgfoundation.networkforgood.com/projects/95524-covid-19-relief-campaign

Fund for musicians impacted by Covid-19 shutdowns:
https://www.sweetrelief.org/covid-19-fund.html

Online Meetings:

ACTIVIST SONGBOOK audition process is now entirely online. (March 14th & 28th library auditions are canceled) You can submit video or audio of you performing a song or rap here
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNspw3HnYruXaOi7fFcIlvlsYedwHoV4U69WyhZw9_5g-ceg/viewform

Sat Mar 28th 1pm The Annual Meeting of Promoting Enduring Peace (PEP)
More Details coming at www.PEPeace.org
Including Exclusive Video of Naomi Klein’s Lecture at Harvard AND we will announce the winner or winners of the 2020 Gandhi Peace Award

Opportunities to Get More Involved

To hear about more opportunities, join the SURJ New Haven General Body Google Group. We use this group to let members know about last-minute events and actions, as well as to coordinate SURJ’s presence at actions. Go to groups.google.com, search for our google group, and click “join.”

Another way that SURJ members can get more involved is by volunteering with our committees and working groups to organize and facilitate events. These groups often meet outside of general body meetings. If you see a project you might be interested in, email surjnewhaven@gmail.com to get connected with the co-chairs.

Recommended Media of the Week:
Tiny Pricks Project
the material record of Trump’s presidency
LINK
by Diana Weymar

SURJ is a national network of groups and individuals organizing White people for racial justice. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves White people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability. We work to connect people across the country while supporting and collaborating with local and national racial justice organizing efforts. SURJ provides a space to build relationships, skills and political analysis to act for change. Join us!

Register for Promoting Enduring Peace annual meeting Sat. March 28, 2020 via Zoom

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This Sat. March 28 phone and zoom – Register for Promoting Enduring Peace open meeting

Starting 1 p.m. on Sat. until 2:30

10-minute video selection from Naomi Klein’s talk at Harvard

Drawing for a signed copy of Naomi Klein’s new book “On Fire”

(When you register you get one free “ticket” for the drawing)

Hear announcement of this year’s Gandhi Peace Award winner

Learn about Promoting Enduring Peace projects and key peace/environmental issues

Q&A and comments

To attend email  office@pepeace.org   Subject: Annual meeting

You’ll get an email back on Friday with the link/phone number

Full agenda at www.PEPeace.org

The Youth Transitions Program of the Children’s Community Programs of Connecticut

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The Youth Transitions Program of the Children’s Community Programs of Connecticut is offering training for young adults, 17 – 24 years of age. There are ongoing opportunities for training as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) or a security guard. CCP-CT will pay the program costs once a client is enrolled as a student. Students may be eligible for childcare assistance and transportation assistance (bus passes). Please contact Thretha Green (information below) for other requirements. Also note that driver’s education is available, and there is assistance in paying for the learner’s permit and driver’s license. These training programs are offered year-round. For questions about classes, eligibility, etc. contact: Thretha Green, Program Coordinator. Phone: 203-786-6403, Ext. 160, or email tgreen@ccp-ct.org.

Yale Rebellious Lawyers Conference 2020 announcement and link to more info

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Keynotes Fri at 5:30 and Sat at 10.

Workshops with Robyn Porter, CT rep for 93rd district and Barbara Fair, former member of PIA and ACLU, now working to stop solitary confinement in CT.

https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/reblaw_program.pdf

Pirzada Ahmad (he/him/his) tries to approach the practice of law from a critical race perspective and has a deep appreciation for the movement lawyering framework. When Pirzada is not busy with his clinics, he is probably playing with his cat, Mo.

Rhea Christmas (she/her) is a second-year law student from New Jersey. She believes in the power of community organizing to effectuate change. A list of Rhea’s favorite things in no particular order include: smoothies, bad Netflix shows, CrossFit, trivia and hanging out with two of the most adorable bunnies in New Haven.

Brooke Dekolf (she/her) is a second-year law student from New Jersey. She believes the law should be responsive to the needs of the communities it impacts; and she is passionate about climate politics and reproductive justice. In between responding to emails, Brooke spends her time baking bread and hanging out with her two bunnies.

Eli Feasley (they/he) loves collective liberation and mutual aid and hates prisons and policing. Eli has a long and storied past as an anti-fascist, a builder of adorable educational software, a subject of brutal arrests and a felony charge, and being a sweet transsexual. Eli is in too many clinics and teaches high school students Constitutional Law.

Olympia Karageorgiou (she/her) is a second-year law student from Dallas, Texas. Olympia is now part of the Reentry Clinic, where she works on school discipline and special education cases in the K-12 space. Olympia is a proud member of the Black Law Students Association, Women of Color Collective, Clinical Student Board, and a first-generation college student.

46th Annual People’s World African American History Month Event Sunday, February 23

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by Joelle Fishman, CT People’s World

Voting Rights Are Worth the Fight! Join us Sunday, Feb. 23, for a Dump Trump Unity March & Motorcade at 2:30 p.m., starting at the New Haven Peoples Center, 37 Howe St. and ending at 4 p.m. at the Troup Middle School, Edgewood Ave. Starting at 4:30 p.m. the event “Voting Rights Are Worth the Fight!” includes a panel discussion, performances and a presentation of prizes in the Arts and Writing Competition Grades 8 to 12, “Harriet Tubman and the Right to Vote.” A tribute to Lula White, Freedom Rider and a past judge of the competition will be included.

The 2020 elections are crucial for the future of the African American freedom struggle and the freedom struggle of all peoples, our country and our planet. This 46th annual march and event will serve as a call to action to organize against heightened racism, militarism and exploitation toward a future of solidarity, justice, peace and sustainability where all persons can reach their full potential.

Throughout the decades of struggle for civil rights, peace and economic justice, People’s World has reported and stood on the side of freedom fighters.

For information about the arts and writing competition, deadline Feb. 13, e-mail ct-pww@pobox.com or leave a message at (203) 624-8664.

24th Annual Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Legacy of Environmental and Social Justice

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Sunday, January 19, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Monday, January 20, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Free admission. Note new locations.

The Yale Peabody Museum will sponsor this festival for the 24th year in honor of Dr. King and his efforts to ensure environmental and social justice among all people. The weekend’s activities will include world-class performances, a community open mic and poetry slam, and educational activities for visitors of all ages. Special Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. programming also includes the 11th Annual Youth Gathering, Professional Poetry Slam and Storytelling at the New Haven Museum.

On Sunday, Jan. 19 and Monday, Jan. 20, performances on the World Stage will be held at the Marsh Lecture Hall located in the Yale Science Building conveniently located next door to the Peabody Museum (170 Whitney Ave).

All teens are invited to the 11th Annual Teen Summit located in Kroon Hall, 195 Prospect St., on the 3rd floor, on Sunday, Jan. 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Zannette Lewis Environmental and Social Justice Professional Poetry Slam and Community Open Mic also has a new location. Both of these popular events will take place at Kroon Hall, 195 Prospect St., on the 3rd floor, on Monday, Jan. 20. The Community Open Mic will take place from 11 a.m. to noon. The Professional Poetry Slam will start at 12:30 p.m.

Storytelling will take place at The New Haven Museum, 114 Whitney Avenue. Join local storytellers for family-friendly stories and other hands-on activities for children and families!

Check the website for the complete schedule. peabody.yale.edu/events/dr-martin-luther-king-jrs-legacy-environmental-and-social-justice.

Celebrating 50th Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Love March

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On Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 10:45 a.m., the 50th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Love March will begin at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, 100 Lawrence St. There will be a program at the church following the march. The theme of the march this year is “Stepping Out of the Past, Into the Future.”
From the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church press notice:

We will march on this day rain or shine to commemorate the dreams and aspirations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Love March, which was started by Shiloh’s late Founder and Pastor, Rev George W. Hampton Sr., has been a positive force in the community of New Haven for 50 years. The Love March was created to preserve the notion of nonviolence. This is a historical celebration of 50 years. It is the longest-running event in the city of New Haven and all are invited to join us on this commemorable day. Scheduled to attend will be some of our political leaders from New Haven and the State of CT.

For further information, please contact the Shiloh Missionary Baptist by phone at (203) 776-8262, by email at mlklove100@gmail.com, or by web at www.smbcnh.org.

Fundraiser for Venezuela Embassy Protectors Jan. 28, New Haven

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by Henry Lowendorf, GNH Peace Council

On (new date, place and time) Monday Jan. 27, 2020, the people of Connecticut will welcome the “Embassy Protectors.” We will be able to hear their story and will be raising funds for their defense.

UPDATE: Friends, Embassy Protectors Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers have to appear in court in DC on Wednesday morning the 29th. They would have had to face an overnight 7 hour trip back to DC if they spoke on the 28th.

Thus, we had to move the date for their fundraiser. Sorry for the abrupt change.

The fundraiser will be held and Zeese and Flowers will speak at the Performing Arts space in the New Haven Free Public Library on Monday, Jan. 27, 5:30 to 7:30 (the library closes at 8).

The forum is free and open to the public, although we will be fundraising. The host, the US Peace Council, is building a list of co-sponsors. For more information, please contact Henry Lowendorf, uspeacecouncil@gmail.com, (203) 389-9547.

On May 16, 2019, four US citizens were arrested in the Washington, D.C., Embassy of Venezuela after having occupied that Embassy with as many as 100 other activists over the course of 37 days.

Those final four “Embassy Protectors,” Kevin Zeese, Margaret Flowers, David Paul and Adrienne Pine, and the scores of others had been asked by the legitimate government of Venezuela to protect its embassy against being stolen by President Donald Trump in an intensification of the US political and economic war on Venezuela, started decades earlier.

“The Four are now facing misdemeanor charges of ‘Interfering with certain protective functions’ of the Federal government that carries a maximum of one-year imprisonment and $100,000 fine for each of them. The United States Government is intent on making examples of these citizens and is using its unlimited resources to make sure that they are penalized and incarcerated.”

Trump, in full regime-change mode, last winter decided who should govern Venezuela. He picked a rightwing parliamentarian, Juan Guaidó, relatively unknown to Venezuelans, to be president trying to force out the elected president Nicolás Maduro. Disagreeing with Trump, the people of Venezuela and their military stood behind the man they elected. In decimating the human rights of Venezuelans, Trump took the whole population hostage by illegally imposing deadly sanctions, threatening a military invasion and backing right-wing violence in the streets. By denying Venezuelans the ability to buy food and medicines the sanctions are intended to coerce that country’s citizenry to submit to the demands of the US.

In parallel to the oppressive measures taken by Washington toward Venezuela, Trump blockaded food, water, medicine and electricity from being delivered to the Venezuelan Embassy Protection Collective, to force them out.

 

Let It Grow! Let It Grow! Let It Grow! Winter Garden Workshop

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by Tebben Lopez, NHS

The snow doesn’t have to keep you down. You’d be surprised with how soon in the year you can get started in your garden!

By January, most gardeners start to get an itch to throw their gardening gloves back on. But what they may not know is they can start much sooner than they think!

Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven organizes an opportunity for everyone – gardener and hopeful alike – to get a jump-start on the growing season. NHS helps to increase access to fresh, healthy food by offering the classes for a low-cost and free rate to community gardeners.

Advanced Certified Master Gardener Rachel Ziesk teaches six classes that are as accessible as they are informative. A seasoned teacher, who has worked with the UConn master gardening program & Yale University among others, Rachel specializes in organic vegetable gardening.

More information and tickets are available at NHSWinterWorkshops2020.EventBrite.com. NHS wants everyone to have access to these classes and encourages those with means to consider taking them at a help-a-neighbor rate.

The first workshop on soil and composting will be held Saturday, Jan. 25, 10 a.m.-noon at NHS, Building 3, 333 Sherman Ave. (203) 562-0598, Ext. 226.

Mazin Qumsiyeh to Give Shafer Lecture Jan. 18

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by Stanley Heller, Promoting Enduring Peace

On Saturday, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m., Mazin Qumsiyeh will speak at the Palestine Museum US, 1764 Litchfield Turnpike, Woodbridge. The Shafer Lecture is a continuing project of Promoting Enduring Peace (which gave its Gandhi Peace Award to Omar Barghouti in 2017). Qumsiyeh is the Director of the Palestine Museum of Natural History at Bethlehem U. See this National Geographic page about him: www.nationalgeographic.org/find-explorers/mazin-b-qumsiyeh. He was the Director of Cytogenetics at the Yale Medical School for a number of years and has written “Sharing the Land of Canaan” among other works. He lives in Palestine near Bethlehem.

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