An Evening with Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta Activist & Author of

Refusing to Be Enemies: Palestinian and Israeli Nonviolent Resistance to the Israeli Occupation

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Refusing to Be Enemies gathers a comprehensive collection of voices from Palestinian and Israeli - Christian, Muslim, and Jewish - nonviolence activists. Through interviews, essays, and contributions from activists, journalists, and academics, Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta explores the strategies, challenges and future of the nonviolence movement and the activists at the heart of this noble cause. Remarkably intimate, insightful and highly readable, the book reveals the widespread nature of this movement and how it is uniting people with diverse beliefs, faiths, and cultures toward ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian people.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta lived in Jerusalem for seven years and has written widely on Palestinian and Israeli nonviolent activism and related topics.

AFSC work in the Middle East began in 1948. In the aftermath of World War II AFSC gained experience resettling refugees and displaced persons, and was asked by the United Nations to organize relief efforts for Palestinian Arab refugees in the Gaza Strip. This continued until the United Nations Relief Works Agency began operations on May 1, 1950. From its initial engagement with refugees in Gaza, AFSC has been committed to peace-building as well as relief efforts.

Most recently AFSC has responded to US military intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan. AFSC has also worked to promote the continuation of dialogue between the US and Iran.

AFSC's approach is twofold: it works to empower the people directly affected by the conflict. Secondly, AFSC works through its representatives in the Middle East region and in the USA to advocate for policy change based on the Quaker testimonies to peace and equality.