Father’s Day Concert for the Children of Gaza

Father’s Day Concert for the Children of Gaza
June 14th 2pm-6pm
Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence 220 Main Street Northampton, MA

Demilitarize Western Mass and Jewish Voice for Peace Western Mass will hold a free public Father’s Day concert on June 14th 2pm-6pm at the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence 220 Main Street Northampton, MA 01060 next to City Hall. Featuring Brian O’Connell, Carolyn Zaikowski, The Raging Grannies, Indë, Myrtle Street Klezmer Band & More. Fundraiser for Friends of Sumud School.

The Sumud School was founded by Enaam Sakallah, an English teacher who was displaced from Gaza City in October of 2023 during the Israel-Hamas war. After more than a year of suffering and struggle and teaching her own and other children in a tent, Sakallah found a damaged building in north Gaza, cleaned it, and moved the school into it. Sumud School (‘sumud’ means steadfastness in Arabic) now has a student body of 350 and 15 teachers.

Demilitarize and JVP are working with Northampton resident Ruth Moushabeck to raise funds for the school. Moushabeck has created Friends of Sumud School and a GoFundMe to aid in the effort. “The school is incredible,” says Moushabeck. “It’s run in a normal way, they do science, they do art. The children attend in shifts, because the space is small. They have exams and standards, in fact, the school was certified by a school inspector with the Palestine Education Authority. What with the struggle for food and water and the frequent bombardment, there’s no normalcy except for this school for the children and their families. The children know that the Father’s Day Concert is being organized on their behalf and they are very excited about it.”

The concert is endorsed by Interlink Publishing, a Northampton company and the only Palestinian-owned publisher in the United States, and First Churches of Northampton.