Light in Gaza: Born of Fire Upcoming Book Tour Dates for Portland & Washington State

The Rachel Corrie Foundation is excited to share dates for the Pacific Northwest portion of the 2023 Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Firebook tour, sponsored by our colleagues at the American Friends Service Committee.

We welcome Yousef Aljamal, Palestinian writer and translator from Gaza, as he speaks about the ongoing struggle for Palestinian liberation, freedom of movement, and the impacts of the Israeli occupation. Joining the events will be Jennifer Bing, National Director of the Palestine Activism program at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).

We hope to see you as we take advantage of this unique opportunity to focus on Gaza!

“Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire (Haymarket Books, 2022) is a seminal, moving and wide-ranging anthology of Palestinian writers and artists. It constitutes a collective effort to organize and center Palestinian voices in the ongoing struggle.

As political discourse shifts toward futurism as a means of reimagining a better way of living, beyond the violence and limitations of colonialism, Light in Gaza is an urgent and powerful intervention into an important political moment.”

Schedule of Pacific Northwest Events

Saturday, September 30

Time: TBD

Location: SWANA Rose Culture and Community Center

2942 NE MLK Jr. Boulevard Portland, OR 97203

Light in Gaza Book Talk

Sunday, October 1, 2-3:30 p.m.

Portland State University, Smith Memorial Student Union Parkway North, Room 101

1825 SW Broadway, Portland, OR, 97201

Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights (SUPER)-Portland State presents

Gaza’s Role in the Palestine National Movement

Monday, October 2, 7:00-9:00 p.m.

New Traditions Fair Trade

300 5th Ave SW, Olympia, WA 98501

The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice & JVP-Tacoma present

Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire, with speakers Yousef Aljamal and Jennifer Bing

Tuesday, October 3, 12:00 p.m.

Tacoma Community College

6501 South 19th Street, Tacoma, WA 98466. Building 11, Room 119

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)-Tacoma & the Rachel Corrie Foundation present

Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire, with speakers Yousef Aljamal and Jennifer Bing

Wednesday, October 4, 12:00-1:00 p.m.

Seattle Pacific University

3307 3rd Ave W., Seattle, WA 98119, Eaton Hall 112

Middle East Studies Event: Panel on Health and Medicine in Gaza

Thursday, October 5, 5:30-7:00 p.m.

Location: University of Washington – Seattle Campus

1410 NE Campus Pkwy, Seattle, WA 98195, Room: TBD

Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights (SUPER)-UW presents

Light in Gaza: A conversation with Yousef Al-Jamal and Jennifer Bing, moderated by Dr. Alice Rothchild

Friday, October 6, 5:30-7:00 p.m.

St. James Presbyterian Church

910 14th St, Bellingham, WA 98225

Amnesty International & community colleagues present Access Denied: Human Rights and Health Care Refused in Gaza

Yousef M. Aljamal is a Palestinian refugee from Al-Nusierat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Yousef holds an MA degree from the Department of International and Strategic Studies at the University of Malaya and a PhD at the Middle East Institute at Sakarya University in Turkey. In addition to his research interests in diaspora, security, and indigenous studies, Yousef has contributed to a number of books that highlight the Palestinian narrative, including translations of two books on Palestinian prisoners, The Prisoners’ Diaries: Palestinian Voices from the Israeli Gulag (2013), and Dreaming of Freedom: Palestinian Child Prisoners Speak (2016). He has co-edited A Shared Struggle – Stories of Palestinian and Irish Hunger Strikers (2021) and published a number of journal articles on Palestinians in the diaspora, travel restrictions imposed on Palestinians, and struggles for liberation. Over the years, Yousef has spoken at various forums and platforms to highlight the plight of Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation and apartheid. He states, “To write is to re-own my story. To write is to keep memory fresh, lest we forget, lest details vanish as time passes.”

Jennifer Bing is the National Director of the Palestine Activism program at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). Jennifer has worked with AFSC since 1989, organizing dozens of speaking tours, conferences, educational workshops, protests, delegations, and public events. She has directed and produced two documentary films about Palestinians in the Chicago area and in 2022 co-edited the anthology Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire (Haymarket Books). Jennifer works with Defense for Children International Palestine on their joint advocacy campaign, “Israeli Military Detention: No Way to Treat a Child.” She also co-leads the educational project “Gaza Unlocked” with her AFSC colleagues in Gaza, and the movement building efforts through the “Apartheid-free Communities” initiative for AFSC.

Jennifer began her advocacy for Palestinian children after working as a teacher in a Quaker school in Ramallah during the first Palestinian uprising (1986-1989). During those years she also worked as a field worker and researcher for Save the Children, documenting the impact of the first popular uprising on Palestinian children under the age of 16.