Upcoming Events, Announcements & Obituaries

—Compiled by Matt Horton

Upcoming Events

“Ibn Khaldun: An Arab Medieval North African Thinker” will be on view through May 2008 at Yale University’s Sterling Memorial Library, 130 Wall St., New Haven, CT 06520-8240. For more information on the event, presented by the Near East Collection, call (203) 432-1810 or visit <www.library.yale.edu/neareast/IbnKhaldun.htm>.

“Palestina 1948,” an exhibition on Palestine and the Nakba, remains on view through January 2009 at the Tropenmuseum, Linnaeusstraat 2, 1092 CK, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. For more information call +31 (0) 20-568-8200 or visit <www.tropenmuseum.nl/smartsite.shtml?ch=FAB&id=18261>.

Expressions of Nakba, a juried art competition, will be on view in Washington, DC and Boston, MA during the week of May 15. For more information, visit <http://expressionsofnakba.org>.

The Palestine Center will host “Palestinians and the Jewish State: 60 Years of Exile and Dispossession,” featuring Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, Dr. Donald Wagner and Mr. Nimer Sultany, May 15 from 12 to 2 p.m. at 2425 Virginia Ave. NW, Washington, DC. For more information, or to RSVP, call (202) 338-1958 ext. 11 or visit <www.thejerusalemfund.org/contactus.php>.

The Jerusalem Fund and the Bead Museum will host an opening reception for “Silver Adornment from Bilad al-Sham,” May 16 at the Jerusalem Fund Gallery, 2425 Virginia Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The exhibition of silverwork from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria will be on view through July 11. For more information, call (202) 338-1958 or visit <www.thejerusalemfund.org/gallery>.

The Arab American Professionals Network Third Annual Banquet, entitled “Celebrating Success,” will be held May 22. For more information, or to register, visit <www.americanarab.com>.

The Palestine Center for National Strategic Studies (PCNSS), in Bethlehem’s Dheisha refugee camp, will host its First Annual Birthright Palestine Program, created by native Palestinians for Diaspora Palestinians, from May 24 to Aug. 24, with one, two- and three-month session options. For more information, or to register, call +972-59-907-6112 or visit <www.birthrightpalestine.com>.

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Pacific Southwest Region Gala 90th Anniversary Luncheon, on “Lighting the Way Forward: AFSC’s Next 90 Years,” will be held May 31 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, 431 W. 7th St, Los Angeles, CA. For more information, or to purchase tickets, call (213) 489-1900 ext. 122, or visit <www.afsc.org/gala90>.

The Manchester branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign will host “Palestine Lives 2008,” June 7 from 1 to 4 p.m. in Albert Square, Manchester, England. For more information, contact coordinator Linda Clair at <lindaclair@btinternet.com> or visit <www.palestinecampaign.org>.

The United States Organization for Medical and Educational Needs (US-OMEN) Southern California Chapter 2008 Dinner Gala, entitled “Empowerment through Education,” will be held on June 7 at the Hilton Anaheim, For more information, call (888) 663-6478.

The 13th Annual Dearborn Arab International Festival will be held June 13 to 15 in Dearborn, MI. For more information, contact Susan Bazzi at (313) 945-1700 or at <sbazzi@americanarab.com>.

The Hala Salam Maksoud Foundation for Arab American Leadership will hold a 5-day seminar June 25 to 29 in Washington, DC. For more information, or to register, call (202) 438-7297 or visit <www.halafoundation.org>.

Announcements

Application deadline is June 30 for the East Jerusalem YWCA and the YWCA of Palestine’s Joint Advocacy Initiative (JAI) Journey for Justice Youth Program, to be held July 23 to 31. For more information, or to apply, visit <www.jai-pal.org>.

University of Chicago Oriental Institute Professor of Egyptology Dr. Peter F. Dorman has been named the 15th president of the American University of Beirut (AUB). For more information, call Ada Porter, director of communications at AUB’s New York office, at (212) 583-7618 or e-mail <porter@aub.edu>.

Obituaries

Sonia D. (Daly) Belcher, 32, died Feb. 20 at her home in Westwood, MA. An active member of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Fellowship of St. John the Divine, at the age of 21 she co-founded the Orthodox Christian Theophany School in Needham, MA (see September 1998 and April 2007 Washington Report), serving on its board of directors until her death. She is survived by her parents, Alberto and Mona Daly of Walpole, MA; her husband, the Rev. Deacon Nicholas Belcher of St. George Church in Boston; four-month-old son, Andrew; three brothers, all of Westwood; a sister, of Walpole; and 12 nieces and nephews.

Dr. Yacoub Elias Yacoub MD, 72, died March 7 at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, KY. Born in Cairo, Egypt to parents of Palestinian origin, he graduated from Cairo University and began his professional career in Iraq. He later practiced in Birmingham, England and the New England Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1972, he moved to Louisville to join the staff at Jewish Hospital, where he eventually became chief of anesthesia. An active member of Louisville’s Arab community, Dr. Yacoub co-founded the American Palestine Public Affairs Forum, the Arab American Association of Louisville, and helped re-establish the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) Kentucky Chapter. In addition to serving as president of the latter two organizations, Dr. Yacoub wrote op-ed pieces and spoke on educational panels, public television and radio shows. He also served on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union and as a member of the Louisville International Council on Foreign Relations, and participated in the Louisville Islamic Cultural Center. He is survived by his wife, Dr. Oraib Yacoub; son, Mazen; daughter, Maha Mostofi, her husband James and his three grandsons, James, Alexander and Michael; and sister, Marie Barsoum.