Tonight, residents of the Greater Philadelphia region have a unique chance to hear from three women from the city of Jerusalem who have been traveling the U.S. to talk about how they are coping with the ongoing conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis.  The women, an Israeli Jew, a Palestinian Christian and a Palestinian Muslim.  As longtime residents of one of the most disputed pieces of land in human history, the three bring a unique perspective to this decades, actually centuries, old conflict.

Most Americans know only a little about the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, and what they do know comes from very limited coverage on the evening or cable news.  This coverage often overlooks the very personal stories of everyday Palestinians and Israelis who, like you and me, only want to live and work in peace.  These women provide a remarkable example of people of different faiths, from different sides of the conflict who share one thing in common - a desire for peace.  Their presentation provides a great chance to learn about the culture of this section of the Middle East and get insight into the everyday lives of ordinary Israelis and Palestinians.

The three women are:

Ms. Enas Muthaffar, a Palestinian Muslim film maker from Jerusalem, OPT
Dr. Julia Chaitin, an Israeli Jewish educator from Kibbutz A Urimin in the Negev, Israel
Ms. Lucy Talgieh, a Palestinian Christian conflict resolution specialist from Bethlehem OPT

(OPT, in case you aren’t aware, stands for Occupied Palestinian Territories.)

They have two appearances scheduled for our area tonight:

3-4:30 P.M. Tuesday Nov. 18 at Masjid Muhammad, 414 E. Penn St., Germantown (info at 215.849.9112 or 267.226.4670 or 215.620.3600)

7:30 at Yardley United Methodist Church, Rt. 332, Yardley PA (info at 215.493.3345)

Additional appearances in the Philadelphia area tomorrow and Thursday can be found at the Partners for Peace website.

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