Lobbying for Peace: People Power to Help Extinguish the Middle East Fire
Lobbying for Peace: People Power to Help Extinguish the Middle East Fire”
Kate Gould, Legislative Representative for Middle East Policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation,
May 25, Noon-1:20pm, Fairhaven College Auditorium
Despite multi-million dollar campaigns to escalate U.S. militarism in the Middle East, pro-peace citizen lobbyists are on the ascendancy. Yet the Syrian war rages on, the Iran nuclear accord is under attack, and Gaza will run out of drinkable water this year.
If you’ve wondered whether calls, emails and visits to Congress can make a difference in any of these crises, this is your chance to hear how it already has, and what further actions are needed. Join this inspiring presentation to hear about the movement to transform U.S. engagement with the Middle East, and the world.
Date
Quarter
Speaker Bio
Kate Gould is the Legislative Representative for Middle East Policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker lobby in the public interest in Washington, DC. Gould is one of only a handful of registered lobbyists in the country advocating for diplomatic solutions in U.S. policy toward Iran, Iraq, Syria and Israel-Palestine. She was profiled in 2014 as the "Quaker Lobbyist Behind the Iran Deal Fight," by Congressional Quarterly, an outlet with readership that includes 95% of members of Congress. Gould's analysis on Middle East policy has been published in New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, The Guardian, CNN, Reuters and other national outlets. Gould has appeared as an on-air analyst for various TV and radio programs, including the O'Reilly Factor on Fox News, The Thom Hartmann Show and The Real News Network.
Before coming to FCNL, Gould worked in the West Bank, volunteered in Gaza, and helped coordinate a radio show for Israeli and Palestinian civil society leaders at a think tank in Jerusalem. She is a Political Partner at the Truman National Security Project and also serves on the board of Churches for Middle East Peace. Gould graduated from Fairhaven College and Western Washington University with a B.A. in International Development and a minor in political science. You can follow her on twitter @k8gould.