Jewish-American Adam Shapiro and Palestinian-American Huwaida Arraf have gained international renown for their work in the International Solidarity Movement, an organization they helped found that coordinates Palestinian and international peace activists with the goal of ending the occupation of Palestine through nonviolent direct action.
Their peaceful protests have sparked controversy both at home and in the Middle East. They have faced violent response from, and arrests by, Israeli forces, and in April 2002, Shapiro made headlines when he was caught in an Israeli siege of Yasser Arafat's Ramallah headquarters, as he tried to secure ambulance access to the compound. In the United States, they have received editorial praise as well as condemnation and numerous death threats, which have forced some members of their families to temporarily relocate.
Arraf graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Judaic and Arabic studies and went on to study Hebrew at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Shapiro is a PhD candidate in international relations at American University in Washington, DC. He holds an MA in Arab studies from Georgetown University and an MA in politics from New York University.
This is the fourth year for the Social Activism Speaker Series, which focuses attention on current social and political issues by inviting prominent activists to speak to the Caltech community and to the public, and to share their experiences and perspectives. This series is coordinated with the help of the Caltech Y, and is made possible by contributions from the President's Office, the James Irvine Foundation, Student Affairs, Campus Auxiliary and Business Services, Dean of Graduate Studies, Women's Center, Residence Life, the Alumni Association, the Diversity Initiative Fund, the Mellon Foundation, the Graduate Student Council, Jack and Edith Roberts, and the Associated Students of Caltech.
The final presentation in the Social Activism Speaker Series will be given by MIT professor and critic of national missile defense, Theodore Postol, on Wednesday, April 2, at 8 p.m.
Baxter Lecture Hall is located in the center of the Caltech campus. Parking is available in the lots south of Del Mar Boulevard between Wilson and Chester Avenues, and in the Wilson Avenue parking structures between San Pasqual Street and Del Mar Boulevard.
For more information, visit http://sass.caltech.edu or contact Greg Fletcher, Caltech Y, (626) 395-6163.
Media Contact: Deborah Williams-Hedges (626) 395-3227 debwms@caltech.edu
Visit the Caltech Media Relations Web site at: http://pr.caltech.edu/media ###
Written by Deborah Williams-Hedges