7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church
321 W. South Street, Kalamazoo

Keynote Address:

A Stalled Peace: US Foreign Policy and the Palestine Question

Shadia Kanaan

Shadia Kanaan is an American Palestinian Arab who was born in Nablus, Palestine, in 1947. She is a Muslim and was schooled in the Quaker tradition at the Friends Girls School in Ramallah and in the Catholic Rosary College in Amman, Jordan. She graduated in 1969 from the University of Jordan with a BA in Economics and Public Administration. She is married to Dr. Azzam Kanaan, a neurologist, and they have lived in Kalamazoo since 1975. They have four sons. Shadia earned a Masters degree in Political Science from Western Michigan University in 1997.

Shadia is active in the peace movement in Kalamazoo. She is a member of the Kalamazoo Nonviolent Opponents to War (KNOW) and the Kalamazoo Interfaith Coalition for Peace and Justice. She is a part of the BRIDGES organization, which centers on enhancing understanding between the Arab Muslim community and law enforcement agencies in Michigan. She is one of the founders of the Kalamazoo Women in Black and advocates for peace and justice in many areas. She works tirelessly to increase understanding to support a political resolution to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

Co-sponsors of the service: Kalamazoo Non-Violent Opponents to War, the Muslim Community of Kalamazoo, WMU Peace Center, Kalamazoo Peace House, Campaign for a U.S. Department of Peace, Wesley Foundation of Kalamazoo, Women in Black, Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo, and First Congregational Church. Donations will be accepted for the Michigan Peace Team trip to Israel and Palestine (checks may be made out to Michigan Peace Team)