Tag: Lebanon

New Haven Free Public Library Upcoming Events

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Sandy Flores, Administrative Library Aide, NHFPL

Author Talk with P. Paramita

Join us for a reading and conversation with P. Paramita about her new novel APPETITE! The book features a young Bangladeshi prep cook in New Haven. We’ll talk about author life, publishing, and the book’s big themes, including the city of New Haven, featured vividly in the novel. There will be Q&A, and the author will sell and sign books.

Saturday, Nov. 7, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Community Program Room, Ives Main Library, 133 Elm St.

Dabke Workshop

Join Little Bayt New Haven and Yale Dabke on the second floor for a dabke dance workshop. Dabke is a form of dance common to the Levantine region (Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan). The workshop is open to all ages, from littles to older kids and parents and will take place right after Arabic Language Story Time.

Saturday, Nov. 7, 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Community Conversation Room – 2nd Floor, Stetson Branch, 197 Dixwell Ave.

Mitchell Book Club – The Personal Librarian

Join the Mitchell Book Club as we discuss, The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. The book is about an extraordinary woman and the lengths she goes to in order to preserve her carefully-crafted white identity in the racist world she lives in. Copies of the book are available to borrow at the circulation desk.

Thursday, Nov. 12, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Program Room, Mitchell Branch, 37 Harrison St.

Muslim American Heritage Story Time

Listen to a bilingual story in Urdu and English. Then make a craft, get henna on your hands, and practice Arabic calligraphy! Presented in partnership with Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Baitul Aman “House of Peace” Mosque, Connecticut Chapter.

Saturday, Nov. 14, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Program Room, Fair Haven Library, 182 Grand Ave.

Humanist Association of Connecticut Book Discussion:

Join a monthly book club hosted by the Humanist Association of Connecticut and discuss great books. All are welcome! This month we are reading: JOB: A Comedy of Justice by Robert Heinlein

Saturday, Nov. 21, 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Family Place, Wilson Branch Library, 303 Washington Ave.

All of these libraries are wheelchair-accessible.

300 Activists for Palestinian Rights at All-Day Hartford Conference

by Stanley Heller, Middle East Crisis Committee

The pews were filled at the Hartford Unitarian Society for a major conference about U.S. activism during a time of immense killing of Palestinians and Lebanese. Thunderous chanting filled the hall. The best part was that 80 to 90% of those attending seemed to be under 30. Participants were members of a score of activist groups in Connecticut and Massachusetts. A workshop of nearly 40 people founded a Labor for Palestine chapter. Our group and members of Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven took part in a panel on Jews confronting Zionism. I gave a slide show based on my book Zionist Betrayal of Jews using photos to show how Zionist leaders consistently allied with far-right parties, even groups that were violent antisemites, in their single-minded quest to drive out Palestinians and create a Jewish state.

In speeches to the whole assembly, Hesen Jabr, a Palestinian-American nurse, described how she was fired right after being given a nursing award because of her remarks and social media posts about the attacks on Palestinians. Sultana Hossain, who is part of the Amazon Labor Union and Labor for Palestine spoke about efforts to organize for Palestinian rights in the one unionized (Long Island) Amazon plant.

The conference took place among new threats of repression. The radical right is pushing for a bill that would give the Secretary of the Treasury the power to designate any nonprofit as “terrorist supporting.” If it passed, the Secretary (who serves at the pleasure of the President) could on his/her own devastate a group. There would be no need to show any evidence or provide due process. A group so designated would lose its tax-exempt status. That might be the least of its problems. Once designated as supporting terrorists it would no doubt be demonized and attacked in social media or worse. It’s believed groups supporting Palestinian rights would be the first targets.