BANISTER BOOK GROUP
Tuesday, April 28, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle
East by
Sandy Tolan. In conjunction with the
book discussion Life in Palestine, a
talk and slideshow, will be presented by Octavia Taylor. Ms. Taylor
and her husband Stephen spent the fall 2014 semester in Palestine volunteering:
Stephen taught a computer programming course at Birzeit University and Octavia
worked with Jeff Halper, Director of the Israeli Committee Against House
Demolitions. She will report on the
complexities of Israeli-Palestinian conflict and look at how daily life for
Palestinians has been affected by the Israeli Occupation. All are invited to
attend. Reading of the book is not
required.
The Taylors’ passports
bulge with entrance and exit visas from four continents. In addition to living in Palestine this past
fall, they have lived five semesters in the Middle East, including a time in
Syria for the 2009 – 2010 academic year.
Stateside Octavia has worked as a community organizer and manager of grants primarily for
environmental and social justice projects at Clark University. She is affiliated with a number of
international peace and justice organizations, such as the American Friends
Service Committee, the Jewish Voice for Peace and the Iraqi Student Project. Stephen teaches Computer Science at Fitchburg
State University; his research
in applying computers to the Arabic Language has brought him to the Middle East
for many conferences. They live on a
farm in New Braintree.
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