ESSREA CHERIN is a co-founder
and current vice chair of the
Boulder-Nablus Sister City Project,
designed to inspire cross-cultural
friendships between Americans
and Palestinians. She has been a
dedicated peacemaker for most of
her adult life. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Pilgrims of Ibillin, and she has extensive experience in connecting people with the goals of peace and justice in the Middle East, building relationships with people of different backgrounds and perspectives.
Cherin has supported the peace-building efforts of the celebrated negotiation expert, Dr. William Ury, including the creation of Abraham’s Path, a hiking trail in the Middle East that follows in Patriarch Abraham’s footsteps. She also has the unique distinction of being one of a handful of women to have circumnavigated the globe, largely on foot. That experience instilled in her a profound appreciation for cross-cultural connections as key components to fostering peace. Cherin is a member of the Adjunct Faculty at Regis University, teaching such communications courses as intercultural communication and conflict management.
YOUSSEF ELZEIN is a Lebanese
American who led the successful campaign
to establish a Sister City relationship
between his city of Dayton, Ohio and the
Palestinian city of Salfit in the West Bank.
Elzein has worked as a Civil Engineer for
35 years and has served his community in
extraordinary and diverse ways: in the Dayton Department of Aviation, in the City of Dayton Police Reform Working Group and Implementation Team, in the Parents Leadership Council at the University of Dayton, on the board of the Dayton Arab American Forum, and in the Dayton Christian Connections Interfaith Trialogue.
He has also served as: a volunteer & current board member of Dayton’s American Red Cross Chapter, a mentor with the Montgomery County Ohio College Promise, a Catholic Social Services volunteer working on Refugee Resettlement, and a Habitat for Humanity volunteer working on three home builds. Not surprisingly, he is a recipient of the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award from the Dayton Presidents' Club.
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United Methodists are responding to Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth ,a statement of faith and urgent call to action from Christians in Palestine. UMKR seeks, through nonviolent means and in partnership with Palestinian Christians, freedom, justice and equality for all Palestinians and Israelis.
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Sister Cities with Palestine:
Activism that Challenges the Narrative
Wednesday, 10 December 2021
10am PT, 1pm ET (US, Canada) / 6pm UTC / 8pm Palestine
Compared to the kinds of justice action that we usually promote, starting a sister city connection with Palestine might seem rather low-key. Yet activists have found it can bring about a remarkable sea-change in a community’s awareness and understanding of the issues, often more quickly and on a wider scale than our usual approaches.
With art exchanges, entrepreneurial collaborations, pen pal connections, opportunities to “come and see” (as Palestinians have long urged us to do), and so much more, a sister city relationship can achieve a quantum leap in a community’s understanding of the people of Palestine, how they live, and what they endure.
Breaking through decades of Israeli propaganda and effectively persuading the public about current realities in Palestine - that is an essential priority in the movement for Palestinian rights.
Even before a sister city relationship is established - and whether or not the effort succeeds - the public discussion and debate it can stimulate is a magnificent means of “waking up” an entire community.
Imagine initiating those discussions in hundreds of cities around the world and the changes we would see in our societies!
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW.
Below that, see related information and links shared in the Chat during the webinar.
Scroll down the page to see the video.
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LINKS AND INFORMATION SHARED DURING THE WEBINAR:
Contact Essrea Cherin:essrea@bouldernablus.org
Contact Youssef Elzein: yaelzein61@hotmail.com
Guide for building Sister City relationships:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YIo4YdjQfxwsjjy1sBkqnwoqvV5QNdt_7ARzpMCWr5E/edit
Resources for Prospective Sister Cities with Palestine:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18JbXAO4ExeEmUUKPbzy79q8Wqm92k4FiWHPxSdOoQYA/edit
Presentation on Dayton-Salfit Sister City project:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/184muSGkq4vGklaqzdnCTI37S-7hn7_cK/
Wikipedia list of Palestine Sister Cities:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_twin_towns_and_sister_cities_in_the_State_of_Palestine
Learn more from these websites:
https://www.sistercities.org/
https://www.citiesforpalestine.org/sistercities
for our work to continue.