This workshop will look at what life is like for Palestinians in Gaza after ten years living under a crippling military blockade. It will explore the impacts of the blockade policy on people and institutions in Gaza and why current policy must change. It will also look at how U.S. and international policies and actions contribute to the continuation of the status quo in Gaza and what can be done to encourage change.
Speakers:
Laila El-Haddad – co-editor of Gaza Unsilenced (2015), the author of Gaza Mom: Palestine, Politics, Parenting, and Everything In Between (2010), and co-author of The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey (2013)., which was named Arab Cuisine Book of the Year 2012 by Gourmand magazine. She is an accomplished and engaging public speaker, a talented writer, political analyst, a social activist, parent of three, and a policy advisor for Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network.
Mati Gomis-Perez is AFSC Country Representative for Israel and Palestine based in East Jerusalem. As part of this role she travels weekly to Gaza. Before she joined the AFSC in November 2013, she worked for a number of non-governmental organizations in Spain and the occupied Palestinian territory, for UN Women in New York and Jordan, and the Spanish Agency for Development Cooperation in Jerusalem during the Second Intifada.