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Date and Location
Sam Himmelman
Born and raised in East Jerusalem, architect and urban planner Tareq Nassar returned to Jerusalem after earning advanced degrees in Germany and Egypt to commit his professional life to envisioning a new model for urban sustainability in his home town. In 2019, he founded Sinsila Center, a cooperative that engages with Palestinian women to achieve economic independence through bee-keeping and honey production and sales, and, at the same time, serves as a model for revitalizing the abandoned rooftops of East Jerusalem – once an integral part of Palestinian culture there – and for healing the urban environment throughout neighborhoods with no master planning. Given the complex demographics that define Jerusalem east and west, initiatives like this take on great importance for inspiring and empowering local communities and for setting examples for embrace among all of city’s diverse populations. This event is part of the ongoing “James Snyder in Conversation” series hosted by the Middle East Initiative and focusing on Jerusalem’s - and the region’s - resonant cultural texture and on pathways for transcending conflict through cultural connection in the Middle East.