Following the 8:00pm performance of Wrestling Jerusalem at Mosaic Theater, join us for a panel discussion with John Feffer (facilitator), Zeina Azzam (executive director of the Jerusalem Fund) and Lara Friedman (director of policy and government relations at Americans for Peace Now).

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John Feffer

John Feffer is the director of Epicenter at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC. He is also the director of the Institute’s Foreign Policy In Focus project. He is the author of several books, including Splinterlands (Haymarket, forthcoming), the writer and performer of several one-man shows, and a journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, The Nation, and other publications.

Zeina Azzam

Zeina Azzam is Executive Director of The Jerusalem Fund and its educational program, The Palestine Center. Azzam has worked in the fields of education and Middle East affairs for over 30 years.

Prior to joining The Jerusalem Fund, she served as Director of Educational Outreach at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University and Senior Program Manager of the Arabic Language and Culture program at Qatar Foundation International. She has also worked in the publishing field as editor of academic articles and monographs on Arab affairs. Azzam has presented at workshops and academic conferences on the Arab world, the Arab-Americans, the Palestinians, Islam and Arabic language, literature, and music. She is a published poet and freelance writer, with works that have appeared in Al Jazeera English, Electronic Intifada, The Huffington Post, Mizna, Calliope and Social Education.

Her academic background includes an M.A. in Arabic Literature from Georgetown University, an M.A. in Sociology from George Mason University, a B.A. in Psychology from Vassar College and a Publication Specialist Program certificate from the George Washington University.

Lara Friedman

Lara Friedman is Director of Policy and Government Relations for Americans for Peace Now. As a leading authority on US foreign policy in the Middle East, Israeli settlements policy, and Jerusalem, Ms. Friedman frequently meets and briefs Members of Congress, US Administration officials, foreign diplomats, and other members of the foreign policy community. She is a frequent resource for journalists and policymakers, and regularly publishes opinion and analysis pieces in the US and Israeli press. A former Foreign Service Officer, she served in Jerusalem, Washington, Tunis and Beirut, and is fluent in French, Spanish, and Arabic. Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Ms. Friedman is a life-long Wildcats basketball fan and is generally happier when the sun is shining.