On Thursday, Oct. 2, Steve Sosebee, co-founder and executive director of HEAL Palestine, spoke at First United Methodist Church of Pittsburgh in East Liberty.
He intended to speak at Point Park University earlier the same day, but due to late notice from the university, Sosebee’s lecture that would have taken place in a public forum was cancelled. Sosebee and professor Dr. Bob Ross, who ended up hosting Sosebee in his Israel-Palestine course, arranged for an evening talk at First United Methodist Church of Pittsburgh in East Liberty, free and open to the public.
Sosebee said that not until recently has he been told he couldn’t speak somewhere.
“This is a reflection of the political climate in America today,” Sosebee said. “Historically, there was always free speech in our country. The sacred right, The First Amendment, that Americans hold dear in our hearts. Even if you don’t agree with someone you can have a discussion, as long as no one is advocating for violence, which I am not. I don’t use hate speech. I have love in my heart for everyone.”
Sosebee’s message is hardly a political one. HEAL Palestine’s goal is to provide health, education, aid and leadership skills to youth, ensuring a future for children affected by the genocide in Palestine.
Provost Shari Payne previously said the cancellation of Sosebee’s public talk at the university was due to the university’s right to control the use of its facilities. She also referenced a security concern related to recent occurrences of political violence on college campuses.
“I run an organization that provides medical care for injured children,” Sosebee said. “[HEAL Palestine] feeds the hungry. We provide medical aid and education for children. I can’t see how anybody wouldn’t take care of them, or view that as a call to violence. If that’s the case then I would like to understand why speaking about how we could positively impact people who are having their lives destroyed would result in people responding in a hostile and violent manner. It wouldn’t make sense to me.”
The crowd at First United Methodist Church was primarily older, except for some children sitting with their parents, trying to absorb what they could.
Sosebee detailed HEAL Palestine’s ongoing initiatives in Gaza, including distributing tents to families displaced by bombings, opening a new school this week and developing plans for a community bakery that will provide both jobs and food.
Sosebee’s talk to college-age students would have looked different however. Although Sosebee now has come a long way from his own time on a college campus, when he has the chance to speak with students, he uses it as a way to reconnect with his own formative experiences in college from his time at Kent State University.
“I remember when I was a junior at university and I had my first opportunity to travel to Palestine as a part of a student delegation of activists to see firsthand what was happening there,” Sosebee said. “I got to meet people from different cultures, living under extremely difficult circumstances, who were incredibly kind, hospitable and generous.”
That’s the talk Sosebee says he would have had at Point Park.
“A university, above all, should encourage the free exchange of ideas,” Sosebee said. “Also for young people to realize how impactful they can be. I started a very successful nonprofit just out of college and the tools to organize and build institutions today are much stronger than when I started.”
In 1991, Sosebee founded The Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), a non-profit that has provided free medical care to thousands of children who otherwise would not have received necessary care.
PCRF has sent over 2,000 affected children abroad. However, many nations now are not accepting Palestinian children for medical care, including the U.S. Because of this, Sosebee saw a new need for HEAL Palestine.
“[The younger generation] has the internet and communication tools, which didn’t exist when I was that age,” Sosebee said. “So hopefully, we can inspire young people to think that there are ways they can have a positive impact on something that seems so hopeless and distressing.”
While the subject matter of Sosebee’s talk was gruesome at times, his message throughout the entire speech was rooted in positivity and what can be done to help.
“It doesn’t have to be Palestine,” Sosebee said. “It can be the environment. It can be women’s reproductive rights. It can be any issue that people are concerned about.”
“How students can organize and empower themselves and make positive social change was the message I would have shared today. If that would result in people turning to violence, then our university system and our country is in very deep trouble.”
