FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Morgan Turner
310.657.5511

 

[Los Angeles- November 1, 2010] On December 1st, 2010 the Levantine Cultural Center will host the East-West Awards gala to mark its 9th anniversary in Southern California. In celebration of the LCC's mission to bridge political and religious divides and champion a greater understanding of the Arab/Muslim world, the LCC will recognize the excellence of three individuals who have contributed to a positive dialogue between the Middle East and the US.

Event Details

Date/Time: 

Dec 1 2010 6:30pm - 9:30pm

Price: 

Individual dinner gala tickets $100 until Nov. 24th, $125 thereafter
Tables (seating up to 10), $800 till Nov. 24th, $1000 thereafter
Click here to buy tickets

Where: 

Beverly Hills Women's Club
1700 Chevy Chase Drive
Beverly Hills CA 90210
just north of Sunset Blvd., off Benedict Canyon Drive.

On December 1st, 2010, the Levantine Cultural Center will celebrate its 9th anniversary in Southern California with the East-West Awards gala, during which we will recognize excellence in contributing to the dialogue between the Middle East and the United States.

The East-West Awards honor three of our favorite activists from the Arab, Iranian and American communities—Jodie Evans, Bana Hilal, and Roxana Saberi (see below bios). In addition to a sumptuous feast, we will be entertained by DJ Alsultany, comedian Maz Jobrani and special guest musical artists including Momo Loudiyi (performing with KC Porter, Rosa Rojas, Fella Oudane, Dahveed Haribol Das, and Rowan Storm). The evening is hosted by actress and activist Nazanin Boniadi.

On December 27, 2008, Israel launched the Gaza War, codenamed Operation Cast Lead, in response it said to the rocket attacks of Hamas. 22 days later, over a 1,000 Gazans had been killed, 4,000 homes and schools were destroyed, and 400,000 were left without running water. The war only worsened the siege of Gaza, causing an outcry around the world. Concerned Jewish communities in Morocco, Montreal and London, among other places, called for Israel to stop its attack. In the wake of the destruction Gazans found themselves living a humanitarian crisis. Read more.

Gaza event: Levantine event for Gaza with (l-r) CODEPINK co-founder Jodie Evans, Nile El Wardani and Jordan Elgrably (Photo S. Twair)IN A FIRST-of-its-kind experiment, the Levantine Cultural Center engaged speakers for its March 4 Gaza benefit to participate in a live KPFK radio conversation with Don Bustany, host of "Middle East In Focus."

A café in Baghad: in the al-Mutannabi street districtHow much do Americans really know about Iraq and W.’s military adventures there? Of the few Hollywood films and documentaries subsequent to the invasion and occupation that began in March 2003, few delved below the surface (“In the Valley of Elah” dealt more with Iraq vets here at home than “over there”). Moreover, since  the Occupation, fewer than 250 Iraqi nationals have been allowed to emigrate to the United States with refugee status (while over half a million crowd into Amman, Jordan). And for years, American media was banned from broadcasting or publishing images of body bags or coffins. Somehow, war became remote, filtering through to us in a haze of figures and statistics.