Join us at the Palestine Center for a talk with Dr. Alice Rothchild, moderated by Said Arikat
Tuesday, July 30
6:30 – 8:00 pm EST
Location: The Jerusalem Fund
2425 Virginia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20037
Dr. Alice Rothchild
Physician, Author, and Filmmaker
Moderated by
Said Arikat
Washington Bureau Chief at Al Quds Daily Newspaper
Much of US children’s literature either ignores, erases, or distorts Palestinian lived reality in the US and in Palestine/Israel, creating a significant absence of understanding and literacy about these topics for K-12 students and their parents. When teachers and librarians do teach about the narratives and history of Palestine, they often face severe pushback, censure, harassment and job loss, creating further pressure to avoid the topic altogether. If we are committed to an anti-racist, anti-colonial education and to growing empathy and knowledge in our young people about Palestinians in particular and Arabs in general, it is critical, particularly during these times of intense stereotyping and dis-information, to develop strategies to move forward. I will elaborate on these realities, review a toolkit for teachers and librarians falsely accused of antisemitism, and discuss my Palestine-focused middle grade and young adult novels. (www.alicerothchildbooks.com)
Alice Rothchild is a physician, author, and filmmaker who practiced ob-gyn for almost 40 years. Until her retirement, she served as Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Harvard Medical School. She has published two Palestine-focused novels for young people, her young adult novel, Finding Melody Sullivan and middle grade novel, Old Enough to Know. She writes and lectures widely, is the author of books including Broken Promises, Broken Dreams: Stories of Jewish and Palestinian Trauma and Resilience and Condition Critical: Life and Death in Israel/Palestine. She has contributed to a number of anthologies, the most recent being Reclaiming Judaism from Zionism: Stories of Personal Transformation and What Jerusalem Means to Us: Jewish Reflections and Perspectives. Her memoir, Inspired and Outraged: The Making of a Feminist Physician, will be published in November. She directed a documentary film, Voices Across the Divide, exploring the history of Israel/Palestine through the voices and experiences of Palestinians. She received Boston Magazine’s Best of Boston’s Women Doctors Award, was named in Feminists Who Changed America 1963-1975, had her portrait painted for Robert Shetterly’s Americans Who Tell the Truth, and was named a Peace Pioneer by the American Jewish Peace Archive. Dr. Rothchild is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council, the mentor liaison for We Are Not Numbers, and on the board of the Gaza Mental Health Foundation.
Moderated by
Palestinian journalist, Washington Bureau Chief at Al Quds Daily Newspaper, and a long-time attendee of press briefings at the U.S. State Department
