Grassroots Jerusalem

Social Work Beyond Borders Committee (SWBBC)
Brown Bag Speakers’ Series
International Social Work

Micha Kurz was born and raised in Jerusalem. He was active in the Israeli National Youth Movement for over ten years. Micha worked extensively on leadership programs with new immigrant communities in Israel, mainly with youth from Ethiopia and the Caucasus. He was one of the first to implement a leadership training curriculum with Bedouin youth.

At nineteen, he joined the Israeli Military as a combat soldier and attained rank of Master Sergeant. As a result of his army service, Micha co-founded “Breaking the Silence,” an organization of former Israeli soldiers which has collected hundreds of testimonies from Israeli soldiers describing the realities of controlling a civilian population under military rule. Today he directs Grassroots Jerusalem, a mapping and networking project connecting urgent issues from human rights and justice to environment and sustainability from East (Palestinian) to West (Israeli) Jerusalem.

The vague lingo regarding political struggles in the Middle East keep us disconnected from what is happening “on the ground”. Terms such as “One state” / “two states”, “separation barrier”, “terrorism”, “peace process”, “Abbas is meeting”, “Netanyahu”, and other terms used by mainstream media are not enough to describe the oppression in the region. Mainstream media rarely covers civil society and grassroots level organizations resisting Oppression, while creating innovative solutions to urgent issues.
Session 2 of 2

November 10, 2010
McMaster University, Burke Science Building Room BSB 120 Time: 5:30 – 7:00 PM

Disclaimer: this is not an official opirg mcmaster sponsored event, and is posted for information purposes only. Please contact the event organizers with any questions or concerns.