Helena Cobban's talk

First Unitarian Church, November 20 @ 6pm

Americans are assaulted non-stop by binary formulations and simplistic explanations, as the last election demonstrates. One of these is: Israel = Good, Hamas = Bad. There are many ways to fight injustice, some benign, some brutal. The methods can either be praised or condemned, but it never calls into question the essential injustice being fought. Understanding liberation movements, then, is essential if you want to understand an issue more fully. Reality is always more nuanced than propaganda.

Helena Cobban is a seasoned journalist who has worked for ABC News, the BBC, the Sunday Times and the Christian Science Monitor. Among other postings, she was stationed in Beirut from 1974-1981. Cobban is a non-resident senior fellow at the Washington DC Center for International Policy and the author of thirteen books on the Middle East, including two on the Palestine Liberation Organization and one on Hamas. Cobban is also a Quaker and the founder of Just World Books.

We are fortunate to have Helena Cobban in New Bedford on Wednesday, November 20th @ 6pm, to discuss Hamas, which many people may be surprised to learn was supported generously by Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party in a cynical effort to undermine the PLO's influence.