Exhibits, Launchings, Convenings, Lectures & Deaths

—Compiled by Nizar Wattad

EXHIBITS

"Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from the British Museum" remains on view at Baltimore's Walters Art Museum, the last U.S. venue for the traveling exhibition, until Jan. 18, 2004. The exhibition includes almost 150 works ranging from massive sculptures to ancient papyrus, and has been viewed by around one million visitors in the U.S. Advance reservations are encouraged. For more information visit <www.thewalters.org> or call (410) 547-9000.

LAUNCHINGS

Danielle Smith and Thom Saffold have founded Hurriyah Films, a studio dedicated to producing films that demonstrate the chilling reality of Israel's military occupation of Palestine. Hurriyah Films will compile, produce and air the hours of video shot by activists while in Palestine, with the goal of informing and motivating people to get involved in the struggle for peace with justice in Palestine. In addition to giving activists video toolkits to use for public education, the producers are exploring ways of using video depicting Israeli human rights violations as evidence before courts and the United Nations.

While Hurriyah Films is fully operational, they request help in attaining some significant needs critical to its sustainability: $200 for telephone and Internet service outreach; $300 to bar-code 12 videos to be sold on Amazon.com; $500 for materials (blank videos, labeling, printing, design); and $6,000 to finish Hurriyah's feature film and "The Activist Toolkit" video.

For information on how to donate, contact Danielle Smith via e-mail at: <daniellecs@excite.com>.

CONVENINGS

New Jersey Solidarity (NJS) is organizing and hosting the Third Annual Student Conference on Divestment from Israel, to be held Oct. 10-12 at Rutgers University, New Jersey. NJS has issued a call to "all Palestinian, Arab, solidarity, and peace & justice organizations to render all material, organizational, and political support possible" to ensure the conference's success.

Since the International Call to Divest from Israel was issued Nov. 29, 2000, groups from at least 19 U.S. universities have circulated petitions calling on their administrations to divest from Israel. The planned NJS conference come under attack by New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey and Zionist groups, but will proceed as scheduled, after a Rutgers University panel ruled in favor of NJS. To join in support, visit <www.njsolidarity.org>.

LECTURES

The Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection in Washington, DC's Georgetown neighborhood offers a series of free lectures that are open to the public. On Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 5:30 PM in the Dumbarton Oaks Music Room, Julian Raby of the Freer Gallery of Art will give an illustrated talk on "The Last Day: The Building of the Dome of the Rock." Dumbarton Oaks is located at 1703 32nd St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20007. For additional information call (202) 339-6401 or e-mail <DumbartonOaks@doaks.org>.

DEATHS

Moshe Carmel, 92, the general who commanded Israel's capture of Haifa, Acre and the northern Galilee during the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli war, died Aug. 14 in Tel Aviv. Born in Minsk, formerly in Poland, Carmel moved to Palestine when he was 13, in 1924. In his youth, in the mid-1930s, Carmel was active in Jewish terror attacks against Palestinian Arabs, and was imprisoned by the British authorities from 1939-1941 for his participation in the militant Hagana, predecessor of the Israeli army. Retiring from the army with the rank of general in 1958, Carmel served as a member of Israel's parliament, the Knesset, until the 1970s. He also served twice as Israel's transport minister.

Louise Franklin-Ramirez, 97, died of congestive heart failure Aug. 6 in Manassas, VA. A native Washingtonian who taught for years in DC public schools, Franklin-Ramirez was also a long time activist who included Palestinian advocacy among her many interests. She also worked against the sanctions on Iraq, and, most recently, against the war on Iraq. Attending lectures and protests in her wheelchair, Franklin-Ramirez was an inspiration to generations of activists. She is survived by her husband John Steinbach, who will carry on their work. A memorial service will be held Sept. 21 at 3:00 p.m. at the University of the District of Columbia auditorium.

John D. Gerhart, 59, retired official of the Ford Foundation African agriculture and land development authority and former president of the American University in Cairo (AUC), died of cancer July 15 in his New York home. Dr. Gerhart joined the Ford Foundation in 1969, spending the next 29 years in Africa and the Middle East and eventually becoming deputy vice president for developing countries, as well as director for the Middle East and Africa. Among his notable achievements was his instituting in 1993 of a program to work with the post-apartheid South African government. From 1998 until his retirement for health reasons in March 2002, Dr. Gerhart served as president of the 84-year-old AUC, where he oversaw the groundbreaking of the school's new campus just outside Cairo.

Pierre Helou, 75, former Lebanese cabinet minister and legislator known for his moderate and non-sectarian positions, died Aug. 2 in Beirut, following a stroke. A Maronite Christian, Helou received a degree in mathematics from a French university and owned factories in Lebanon. He was first elected to parliament in 1972, and was asked in 1988 by outgoing President Amin Gemayel to form a transitional cabinet after parliament failed to meet and elect a new president. Helou declined, citing his opposition to control by either Christian militants or the Lebanese army.

Helou was one of the legislators who traveled to Taif, Saudi Arabia in 1989 to sign the Arab-brokered peace agreement that brought an end to the 1975-1990 civil war in Lebanon. He lost and regained his parliamentary seat several times, his most recent re-election being in 2000. He is survived by his wife and three sons.

Yousra Al-Kidwa, 77, sister of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, died Aug. 13 in Cairo's Palestinian Hospital after a long struggle with an unidentified disease. She lived in Egypt until 1994, when she returned to the Palestinian territories with her husband, PLO adviser Jerir al-Kidwa. Although Al-Kidwa herself was not politically active, her son, Nassir, is the Palestinian representative to the United Nations. Arafat reportedly was unable to attend his sister's funeral in Khan Younis, Gaza, where their father is also buried, due to an Israeli stipulation that he request permission before leaving Ramallah.

Abdel-Halim Moussa, 73, Egypt's interior minister from 1990-1993, died of cancer July 19 in a Cairo hospital. His cabinet tenure was tumultuous, as Islamic militants sought through violent means to overthrow Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, replacing his regime with an Islamic system of law. Advocated a conciliatory approach, Moussa opened a dialogue with the insurgents. He also was in charge of dealing with militant operations plotted from other Arab and Islamic countries, and was himself the target of an assassination attempt in 1990.