Since October 7, Israel has dropped the equivalent of two nuclear bombs on Gaza, killing and wounding tens of thousands, displacing 1.5 million, and creating conditions on the ground that inevitably lead to more death, injury and disease. Yet this humanitarian catastrophe is not the first Gazans have endured. The majority of the population are refugees displaced from their homes in the 1948 Nakba. Forty percent of today’s Gazans are under age 15. In their lifetime they have seen five Israeli bombing campaigns on their homes, not to mention the deadly force Israel used against Gazans participating in the primarily nonviolent border protests of 2018-2019.
How does this affect the physical and mental health of the people of Gaza, particularly the children? How many generations will this damage remain? Panelists will explore Gaza’s cycles of trauma, recovery, and retraumatization, centering on three short films: Gaza: A Gaping Wound; So They Know We Existed; and Heroes of Gaza: The Extraordinary Doctors, Living & Working in a Warzone.
Watch the films for free at your convenience; Join the Q&A Discussion
3 pm ET • 12 noon PT • 10 pm Jerusalem
Samah Jabr – Head of the Mental Health Unit within the Palestinian Ministry of Health, founding member Palestine-Global Mental Health Network
Ahmed Alnaouq – Palestinian journalist, cofounder of We Are Not Numbers,
Steve Sosebee – Founder and President, Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund
Alice Rothchild – Author, filmmaker, and Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School (Retd.); founder, Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council
You must register to get the free film link and to participate in the Q&A discussion.
Register at: Tinyurl.com/VFHL-December2023
Watch the Trailers: Tinyurl.com/VFHL-GazaHumanityTrailer
The December 2023 Online Film Salon is Co-Sponsored by:
USA Palestine Mental Health Network
Fellowship of Reconciliation USA
SUPPORTER Organizations: Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ♦ Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace ♦ Quaker Palestine Israel Network ♦ Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East ♦ Indiana Center for Middle East Peace ♦ Disciples of Christ Palestine-Israel Network ♦ Virginia Coalition for Human Rights ♦ Mennonite Palestine Israel Network ♦ Friends of Sabeel North America ♦ Center for Jewish Nonviolence ♦ Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Israel Network ♦ Northern New Jersey Jewish Voice for Peace ♦ United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network ♦ Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service ♦ Churches for Middle East Peace ♦ Kairos Puget Sound Coalition ♦ Pax Christi USA ♦ Jewish Voice for Peace – San Diego ♦