"Scholars Rescue" w/ Weldermariam, Abbasgholizadeh & Eisikovits @Ford Hall Forum, 10/24/13

BOSTON - Oct. 4, 2013 - PRLog -- Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University presents Scholars Rescue with Alemayehu Weldemariam and Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh; discussion moderated by Nir Eisikovits. Thursday, October 24, 6:30-8:00 pm. Admission is free and open to all. C. Walsh Theatre at Suffolk University, 55 Temple St., Boston, MA 02114. Wheelchair accessible and conveniently located near the Park St. MBTA Station. For more information, call Ford Hall Forum at 617-557-2007 or visit www.fordhallforum.org.

Ethiopian scholar of law and politics Alemayehu Weldemariam and Iranian women’s rights scholar Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh discuss pursuing academic endeavors while facing persecution in their home countries.

Learn what Weldemariam said about Ethiopian politics in an interview that resulted in his dismissal and permanent prohibition from Ethiopian collegiate employment. Later, hear how Abbasgholizadeh has been jailed again and again for her peaceful activism.

Both are Visiting Scholars at American universities this fall, and both are fellows of the Scholar Rescue Fund, a program of the Institute of International Education which recognizes freedom of scholarship as a fundamental right.

Moderator Nir Eisikovits, who directs Suffolk University’s graduate program in ethics and public policy, reveals how the IIE Scholar Rescue Fund brings these two and many others to safe locations around the world to continue their work unharmed and provide hope to all academics.

[Please note: These scholars’ opinions are their own and they do not necessarily represent the positions of the Institute of International Education (IIE), the IIE Scholar Rescue Fund, or their host universities.]

Further background information on the participants:

Alemayehu Weldemariam graduated summa cum laude with a master of arts in Peace and Conflict Studies from the European University Center for Peace Studies. He received his Ll.B. from Addis Ababa University School of Law and has been a guest scholar at various American universities. He has served as project officer with the Organization for Social Justice in Ethiopia, legal advisor to the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce, and regional director of the Ethiopian Global Initiative, where he now sits on the board. Having researched and published extensively on Ethiopian law, politics, national security and foreign policy, Weldemariam is now a Visiting Scholar at Suffolk University this year and a Scholar Rescue Fund fellow.

Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh is an Iranian women’s rights activist within the Muslim context. She holds an MS in communications sciences from Allameh Tabatabaee University and a BA in theology from Tehran University. In 2010, Abbasgholizadeh received the Johann Philipp Palm Prize for freedom of expression. In addition, she is an active member of the Stop Stoning Forever campaign and the Iranian Women’s Charter movement. Despite being jailed several times by the Iranian government for her peaceful activism, she continues to serve as Director of ZananTV, an alternative media space online for women, and has produced several documentary films about women’s rights in Iran. Abbasgholizadeh taught at the University of Connecticut last year and is a Scholar Rescue Fund fellow and Visiting Scholar a Rutgers University this year.

Nir Eisikovits is an associate professor of philosophy at Suffolk University, where he also co-founded and directs the graduate program in ethics and public policy. He received a Ph.D. from Boston University and an LLB from the College of Management School of Law in Israel. Eisikovits is also a Senior Fellow at the International Center for Conciliation which uses divergent understandings of history as a tool in conflict resolution. He has written essays and op-eds about the Middle East conflict for publications including The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, and The International Herald Tribune. Eisikovits’s first book is a philosophical account of political reconciliation entitled Sympathizing with the Enemy; his sophomore effort, supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, will be on truces and ceasefires.

Coming up next in Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University’s Fall Series:

Taking the Stand
with Alan Dershowitz (Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Harvard Law School); discussion moderated by Nancy Gertner (former US federal judge, state of Massachusetts)
Co-presented with The Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service at Suffolk University Law School
Thursday, November 7, 6:30 - 8:00 pm
C. Walsh Theatre, Suffolk University

Alan Dershowitz is a legal expert, a scholar on constitutional law and criminal law, and was the youngest full professor of law in the history of Harvard Law School. His client list includes Mike Tyson, Patty Hearst, Leona Helmsley, Jim Bakker, O.J. Simpson, and currently Wikileaks’s Julian Assange. Now, in his legal biography, Dershowitz breaks down the critical and complex issues of First Amendment rights, civil rights, abortion, and murder. He also explains the emerging role of science within a trial’s defense beyond what we might have seen on CSI. Sharing his views with moderator Nancy Gertner, a former United States federal judge for Massachusetts, Dershowitz opens up about his famed legal career and personal opinions like never before.

About Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University:

Ford Hall Forum is the nation's oldest free public lecture series. The Forum provides an open venue for sharing opinions and discussing controversial points of view. It advances the First Amendment through freedom of expression, encouraging attendees to engage directly with speakers. Ford Hall Forum discussions illuminate the key issues facing our society by bringing to its podium knowledgeable and thought-provoking orators from a broad range of perspectives. These experts participate for free, and in settings that promote a culture of involvement in a non-partisan environment.

The Forum began in 1908 as a series of Sunday evening public meetings held at the Ford Hall, which once stood on Beacon Hill in Boston. While the original building no longer exists, the public conversations have continued throughout the Boston area with the generous support from state agencies, foundations, corporations, academic institutions, and individuals. In its 104th year of programming, the Forum continues to build upon its partnership with Suffolk University. Suffolk is now housing the Forum's administrative offices just a block away from where the original Ford Hall once stood.

For more information on Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University, visit www.fordhallforum.org. Information about Suffolk University’s partnership with the Ford Hall Forum can be obtained by contacting Mariellen Norris, (617) 573-8450, mnorris@suffolk.edu.