The Prophet, by celebrated Lebanese author Kahlil Gibran, is among the most popular volumes of poetry ever written, selling over 100 million copies in forty languages since its publication in 1923. Gibran’s timeless verses have been given enchanting new form in this painterly cinematic adventure about freedom and the power of human expression.
This breathtaking animated feature, produced and spearheaded by Salma Hayek, was an official selection at Cannes and made its North American premiere at Toronto International Film Festival. Written and directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King), the film intersperses Gibran’s elegant poetry within stunning animated sequences by filmmakers Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea), Nina Paley (Sita Sings the Blues), Bill Plympton (Guide Dog), and a host of award-winning animators from around the world.
Set in a Mediterranean sea-side village, Kamila (Salma Hayek) cleans house for exiled artist and poet Mustafa (Liam Neeson), but the more difficult job is keeping her free-spirited young daughter, Almitra, (Quvenzhané Wallis) out of trouble. The three embark on a journey meant to end with Mustafa’s return home – but first they must evade the authorities who fear that the truth in his words will incite rebellion.
Featuring music from Damien Rice, Glen Hansard and Yo-Yo Ma.
Curated and organized by musicians Gabriela Martina (CH), Sophie Maricq (ESP/UK/BE) and Jussi Reijonen (FIN) in collaboration with Berklee College of Music’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion, SONIC RELIEF is a humanitarian fundraising concert to gather donations and raise awareness to aid refugees of the war in Syria. Now in its fifth year, the war has cost the lives of more than 250,000 people, and displaced over 11 million people, creating a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale.
This concert brings together musicians from around the world who will perform classical repertoire of their respective traditions to promote social awareness of the Syrian humanitarian crisis. Performing onstage will be world-renowned Arabic oud (11-string fretless lute) and violin virtuoso Simon Shaheen, as well as the Lee Swensen Katz Trio with Cleveland Quartet founding member and Grammy-award winning cellist Paul Katz. All artists are forgoing their performance fees to support the cause.
All proceeds will be donated towards humanitarian aid in refugee camps and conflict-affected areas in Syria and Jordan via Questscope, an international 501(c)(3) organization based in Jordan. All gifts to Questscope qualify as charitable contributions and are 100% tax-deductible.
Also appearing as a guest speaker and sharing his experience as a Syrian displaced by the conflict will be Mr. Razek Siriani from Aleppo, as well as Ms.Nadia Rhodes Schroeder from Questscope giving a presentation on the organization’s work in the conflict-affected areas.
If by any means you can’t make it but still would like to contribute, you can donate through the following direct link: http://www.classy.org/sonicrelief
The CAC and Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT Present:
TUNISIA, YEAR ZERO
“The story of the first democracy in the Arab world.”
A Film by Feriel Ben Mahmoud
We will be joined by Guest Speaker Professor Rachid Aadnani
for a discussion after the film.
Date: December 11, 2o15
Time: 6:30 pm
Location: Center for Arabic Culture
191 Highland Av. Suit 6B. Somerville, MA 02143
About the Film:
On January 14th, 2011, the people of Tunisia took to the streets in mass protest and toppled the government of Ben Ali. The event has a tremendous impact in the region which triggers the Arab Spring. Following the revolution, Tunisians make the radical choice to draft a new state constitution. Called to the urns for the first free elections of their history, the citizens of Tunisia will have to choose which model of society they wish to live in. Islam, secularism and women’s status become the major themes of a campaign under high pressure.
Following the events day by day, TUNISIA, YEAR ZERO tells the story of a difficult birth: that of the first democracy in the Arab world. In 6 months, no less than 110 political parties were created. In this political turmoil, a few of them emerge: the Islamist party Ennhada seduces those disappointed with the revolution. Some other modernist parties, such as Ettakatol and the PDP, are divided on the content of their policies as well as on which strategy to adopt. Leading the polls, Ennahdha will confirm its success in the elections with more than 90 seats out of 217.
How could these results be predicted? TUNISIA, YEAR ZERO gives the reasons for the outcome of the elections.
“We are very proud and happy to be part of the CAC family, where we made many new friends and rekindle old friendships, while our children learn our language and culture in a wonderful family environment.”
Dr. Assef Zobian and Family
The Center for Arabic Culture (CAC) is a nonprofit organization that promotes Arabic language, culture and the Arab American experience at its best, through its Arabic school at Mt. Ida College in Newton and its Center at the Armory in Somerville.
CAC’s main goal is to build bridges and open exchanges between the Arab-American community and the New England Community at large. CAC is reaching its 10-year mark and its existence is only possible because of generous donors like you, the vision of its founders and current Board, the hardworking staff member, its teachers and the many volunteers.
Why support CAC?
At the CAC Arabic School we pride ourselves in offering a secular education embracing everyone and for all age groups starting from 3 year olds to adults, holding small class sizes.
Our organization succeeded in establishing the first Arab American Children Choir in New England. With 25 members, the choir introduced Arabic music through various concerts in the Greater Boston Area. It sang with the NY Arabic Orchestra at the 2015 annual CAC spring Celebration.
We are becoming a valuableresource to numerous organizations in Massachusetts. The Boston Public Library, the American Cancer Society, the Somerville Office of Commissions and the Aga Khan Documentation center at MIT, to name a few, have all relied on CAC for advice, inquiries, events, and educational resources.
In 2015, CAC featured Arab-American artists, Arabic films, exhibitions, and held cooking classes, Arabic colloquial classes and a fashion show at the Armory in Somerville. It organized and sponsored comedy shows and concerts, as well as talented musicians from Boston together with musicians from New York under the direction of our ardent supporter and musician Bassam Saba.
CAC was able to train and supervise more than 20 interns during 2014 and 2015, the vast majority of whom are of non-Arab descent and interested in learning about the Arabic Culture.
“I started learning Arabic six years ago for work reasons, but I’ve continued my studies (and started my children learning here) because of the warm welcome, support, encouragement, and professionalism of the CAC staff, teachers, and families. We couldn’t ask for a better environment in which to learn about Arabic culture and language!” Mark Naylor, founder of Partner Capital, a company focused on US real estate investing by Middle East clients
We pride ourselves in having created all this programming with onlyone paid staff member and a large team of volunteers. With your support we can continue to bring more content.
Please continue to be generous as our services are unique and are not offered elsewhere in Massachusetts. We aim to offer an intensive summer course for children this summer and we hope to grow our extra-curricular activities for them. Your funding makes our programming for you possible. The school tuition barely pays for the rent and the teachers.
All our contributing donors above $100 will automatically become CAC members and enjoy our membership benefits according to their level of contribution. CAC is a registered 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. Donations are tax-exempt.
Come hear about this bilingual storybook made by children of Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, The West Bank!
Book Reading Event with Professor Amahl Bishara
Saturday, December 5, 4:30-6:00
191 Highland Av. Suite 6B. Somerville, MA 02143
Middle Eastern Reception & Light refreshments will be served. Free to the Public
Children of Aida Refugee Camp at Lajee Center made this bilingual storybook. It is for people of all ages (5-105) to learn about everyday life in a Palestinian refugee camp. You will pick up some Arabic, too!
Copies are $20, bulk rates available. Also available is The Boy and the Wall (2005, $15), a bilingual children’s book about how a young boy dreams of resisting the wall that oppresses his community every day, and how his mother supports his dreams for freedom and his imagination. Both books feature collage art made collectively by children at Lajee Center.
A New Day? Organizing to Change US Policy on Israel and Palestine
November 14 @ 12:30 pm – 4:30 pm
A half-day conference
Speakers
Rami Khouri: a Palestinian-Jordanian and U.S. citizen whose family resides in Beirut, Amman, and Nazareth. He is director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut and he is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Middle East Initiative . His journalistic work includes writing books and an internationally syndicated column, and he also serves as editor at large of the Beirut-based Daily Star newspaper.
MJ Rosenberg: A thirty-five-year career on Capitol Hill, at the State Department and, significantly, four years at AIPAC led Rosenberg to become a champion of Israeli-Palestinian peace and a vocal opponent of the right-wing “pro-Israel” lobby. Rosenberg writes for The Nation, Washington Spectator, and has a weekly column for the Huffington Post. He blogs at http://mjrosenberg.net/
Nadia Ben-Youssef: a lawyer and human rights advocate serving as the first USA Representative for Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. After four years in the Naqab (Negev) in southern Israel leading Adalah’s international advocacy efforts on behalf of the Palestinian Bedouin community, she is now developing Adalah’s US advocacy strategy to shape American discourse and influence American policy and practice towards a human rights-based approach in Israel/Palestine. Nadia holds a BA in Sociology from Princeton University, and J.D. from Boston College Law School.
Waves of violence and reprisals, demolitions and detentions, religious incitement and “extrajudicial executions” are once again the norm in occupied Palestine, even as Israel’s Prime Minister comes to the White House in November to collect billions more in US military aid. For a time, this horrible pattern was seemingly about to change. Is change still possible?
Our conference will bring together activists from a variety of local organizations and movements to ask:
• What is the current state of the US politics and policy regarding Israel-Palestine?
• What are the new opportunities arising from the growing partisan divide on the issue?
• What are the lessons from the struggle against South African apartheid?
• How can we organize more consistently and effectively to pressure our elected representatives?
The conference as a whole will assess the two Massachusetts senators, and also break up into workshops based on Congressional districts, with workshop leaders able to outline the experience so far and the members voting record. It is expected that the conference will establish the organizational basis and mechanisms for improved ongoing work in this arena.
We invite area groups, activists and all those interested in Palestine/Israel/Peace issues to help better organize our efforts to challenge US government policy more effectively. In addition to other ongoing important campaigns such as direct solidarity, BDS and public education, we see the need for a simultaneous campaign to contest the reigning US government policies which enable Israeli occupation, oppression and military aggression.
Harvard University, William James Hall, room B1, 33 Kirkland St at Divinity Ave, Cambridge
Sponsored by the Massachusetts Peace Action Palestine/Israel Working Group.
Cosponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace – Boston, United for Justice with Peace, Arlington UJP, Greater Boston Code Pink, Friends of Sabeel North America – New England Chapter, Dorchester People for Peace, Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment, North Shore Coalition for Peace & Justice, Tree of Life Educational Fund, Jewish Women for Justice in Israel/Palestine, Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East – Massachusetts chapter, Palestine Israel Task Team of First Church in Cambridge, Congregational, UCC, Cambridge Bethlehem People to People Project, Grassroots International (list in formation).
