Fanny Botto was raised in Santiago, Chile, in a Palestinian family with roots in Bethlehem. In Chile she studied at the Red Cross School of Nurses and in the Goethe Institute. An early Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group member, Fanny participates in the charitable activities of the Bethlehem Associaton. She is presently co-compiling for the Dialogue a new book of Palestinian and Jewish food -- "Recipes for Peace."
Steven Joseph Brown is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. His ancestors lived in Palestine in the 1800s. Steve graduated Summa Cum Laude from Brown University in 1994 and works in marketing and product management for the software industry. He is an accomplished musician and a bassist with "Flowers for Delia." In high school Steve was honored with the 1990 "Louis Armstrong Jazz Award." He volunteers with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Steve has traveled to the Middle East and is member of the Jewish community in San Francisco.
Eric Gattmann is Professor Emeritus in Social Sciences, College of San Mateo, where he continues to teach his popular course, Current World Affairs. Professor Gattman has been honored for his teaching and public service activities by Hadassah, Brandeis University, ORT, and others. He is a member of the Jewish Community Relations Council. Eric is often an invited speaker for Rotary International, ReCare, and Elderhostel groups, and he donates time to the work of Samaritan House. The Gattmannns are members of Peninsula Temple Beth El and of Temple Sholom.
Hildegard “Hilde” Gattmann is on the Social Action Committee of Peninsula Temple Beth El and is a member of the Jewish Community Relations Council. Hilde and Eric received a special 30th Anniversary Israel Bond Award in recognition of their devoted service. As a professional Social Worker, she worked for Mills Peninsula Senior Focus, the Burlingame Easter Seal Society, and ReCare, after creating the innovative Elder Abuse Prevention Program for Catholic Charities. Hilde has taught “Living and Thinking Positively” for the College of San Mateo Emeritus Institute.
Katharine "Kay" Hays is Managing Editor for Timeline, the bi-monthly international publication of the Foundation for Global Community (formerly Beyond War). In the 1980s she was Director of the Beyond War Award, which was "presented annually to honor the group or individual who has made an outstanding contemporary contribution toward building a world beyond war." Kay was an original participant in the Dialogue Group.
Walter Hays is a retired trial lawyer and professional mediator. His dedication as Facilitator of the Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group, of which he was a founding participant, has been a key reason for its success. Walt was elected to the San Jose City Council, 1969-1973. He is on the Board of the Peninsula Conservation Center. Walt was President of the Palo Alto Rotary Club, and was honored as the 2001 "Outstanding Citizen" by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce.
Adil Jadallah has a practice of Family Medicine in Belmont, Calif. He is on the Executive Committee of Sequoia Hospital, where he is Chairman of the Family Practice Department. Dr. Jadallah has been President of U.S.O.M.E.N. and of the Lions Club of Belmont. After the 1990 Gulf War, Dr. Jadallah helped gather and personally accompanied a large shipment of medical and food supplies for at-risk children in the Middle East.
Sandra Kahn was born and raised in Mexico City, the descendant of Russian Jewish immigrants. Fluent in Hebrew, she lived on a kibbutz in Israel as part of the Zionist youth movement, Hashomer Atzair. Dr. Kahn now practices Orthodontics in Pacifica and in Redwood City, Calif., and has taught at University of the Pacific School of Dentistry. She is an active member of Rotary International.
Maida Phyllis Kasle taught Kindergarten at Peninsula School for 24 years. An artist and art teacher, she studied at Toledo University, Ohio State University, and the Chicago Art Institute. Both of her grandfathers were Russian immigrant rabbis. Maida was a founder of the cooperative Bethesda- Chevy Chase Jewish Religious School, then in California helped with the building fund for the first Temple Beth Am in Los Altos.
Carol W. Kittermaster (deceased January 2006) was co-founder of the Jewish- Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group, and she was a founding member of the visionary, ongoing work of Sustainable San Mateo County. She studied at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, and is a career actress and model. Carol is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Carl Landman left Nazi Germany where he was Bar Mitzvah in 1933 in Mannheim. In America he carried on his father’s lithography profession, before beginning his ongoing Carl Landman Company in gourmet coffee beans. He was President of the Board of Trustees for P.A.R.C.A., and was on the Board of Trustees of Peninsula School. Carl is presently a Trustee for Gateway Center, a facility for developmentally disabled adults.
Doris Landman was educated at Ohio Wesleyan and Wellesley College, and was an accounting professional in the fields of advertising and design. She is formerly the elected President of the Boards of Trustees of the Ravenswood City School District, and was on the Board of Peninsula School and of the Parents Association of San Mateo County. The Landmans have been married over 55 years.
David Leventhal was born in North Carolina and spent his early childhood in Mexico City. Back in the U.S. he participated in B'nai B'rith youth activities. David graduated from the University of North Carolina in Communications and is now working full-time for Friends of Calakmul, a non-profit organization he and his wife, Sandra Kahn, founded to save the jaguar and its habitat.
Nazih Malak, a Muslim of Palestinian-Lebanese descent, finished high school in Tripoli, in 1990. He is a Logistic Planner for KLA-Tencor, in Silicon Valley. Nazih studied Political Science at San Jose State University, specializing in the Middle East. In June, 2004, upon receiving his B.A. in Management, St. Mary’s College honored him their distinguished Brother Mel Award for overall excellence in scholarship, citizenship, and contributions to his community. For professional excellence, his employer KLA-Tencor recently gave Nazih $1,000 for the charity of his choice. He gave it to his Arab-Jewish Dialogue of the South Bay, housed in a synagogue. Nazih lives in Fremont with his wife, Dina, and their 2-year-old daughter, Hened.
Arnon Moscona grew up in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, then in Tel Aviv, Israel. He served with the Israel Defense Force in Ramallah, West Bank. Arnon graduated from Tel Aviv University in Mathematics and Computer Science before moving to the U.S. in 1991. He is Director of Development for NexTag, a Silicon Valley Internet commerce company. In 1991 Arnon received the "Best Electronic Support" award of the software industry's Customer Support Association.
George Nazzal went to high school in Ramallah, where his family dates back at least two centuries. In San Francisco for 30 years, he owns and operates Parkview Market in San Francisco. A former Board Member of San Francisco’s Ramallah Club, George was elected their Man of the Year in 1989.
Grace Nazzal came to San Francisco from Ramallah four months after the 1967 War. She was specially honored by the Ramallah Club of San Francisco for her outstanding tenure as their Auxilliary Woman, with prime responsibility for planning and overseeing educational and cultural activities for the youth and adults of the Palestinian community.
Adham Y. Salem grew up in Ramallah where his family has lived since the 1500s. He is the co-owner and manager of Campus Cafe in San Mateo. Adham participates in the Arab Culture Center and in the charitable work of U.S.O.M.E.N., the United States Organization for Medical and Educational Needs, serving medical and social needs of people in the Middle East. Adham has been a faithful participant and strong supporter of the Dialogue since it's first year.
Nahida Salem was born in Ramallah, Palestine. She was the second woman President of the Ramallah Club of San Francisco, which awarded her Woman of the Year in 1991. Nahida is co-owner and proprietor of Campus Cafe, a San Mateo restaurant. She participates in the Arab Cultural Center and in the public service activities of U.S.O.M.E.N., the United States Organization for Medical and Educational Needs, providing needed humanitarian services to people in the Middle East. Nahida has become a public spokeswoman for the Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group and for the "public peace process" of reconciliation. In 2000, Nahida was part of the first joint Palestinian-Jewish "Compassionate Listening" journey to the Middle East.
Gerry Sarnat, MD, is the great-grandson of Chaim Gesundheit, Chief Rabbi of Lodz. Gerry graduated from Harvard College then Stanford Medical School. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford Medical School. Since 1976, Gerry has practiced Internal Medicine, taught at Stanford, and served as a health care consultant. He has been Chief Executive Officer or Chief Medical Officer for Camino Healthcare, TakeCare, HealthAmerica Rockridge, and other Bay Area healthcare organizations. Gerry is active in many community organizations. He serves on the board of the Urban Ministry of Palo Alto (UMPA) for the homeless, and volunteers medical care on a regular basis at UMPA and Centro San Jose Obrero. Dr. Sarnat and his wife, Lela Ziff Sarnat, Ph.D., have three children.
Mae Stephen was a Senior Behavioral Scientist at the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International). She also worked for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and for the National Institute of Mental Health. She is a member of the Association of Arab-American University Graduates, the National Association of Arab Americans, and the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Mae has been listed in Who’s Who of American Women and Who’s Who in the West.
Basem Totah was born in Ramallah and completed his education in San Francisco. He has since been in the retail food business, first with his father and now with his son. Basem is the owner of the City’s Norm’s Market and of the Deli-up Cafe, with its newest branch S.F. International Airport. Basem is a member of the Ramallah Federation of Palestine. He was on the Board of Directors and was Vice President of the Ramallah Club of San Francisco, which honored him as their Man of the Year. Basem is dedicated to Palestinian-Jewish Dialogue and has been seen on local and national television.
Maha Totah was educated at St. Joseph School in Ramallah and came to San Francisco in 1966, after the 1948 war and before the 1967 war. She was elected to the Board of Directors of the Ramallah Club, serving to strengthen appreciation of cultural heritage and social bonds among youth and families of San Francisco’s Palestinians with roots in Ramallah.
Libby Traubman is a retired clinical social worker. In 1982, in response to the threat of global nuclear war, Mrs. Traubman was a founding member of the Beyond War Movement, now Foundation for Global Community. In 1991, she helped organize the Beyond War conference for Israeli and Palestinian citizen-leaders which resulted in a historic signed document, FRAMEWORK FOR A PUBLIC PEACE PROCESS. Libby then co-founded the Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group of San Mateo, now 14 years old, preparing for its 174th meeting, having inspired dozens of other Dialogues to begin. She is a Trustee of the Foundation for Global Community, and in 1994 was inducted into the San Mateo County Women's Hall of Fame.
Lionel "Len" Traubman retired in 2000 from his practice of Dentistry for Children in San Francisco. He is a former Director of the San Francisco Dental Society, and was Editor of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and of the California Society of Dentistry for Children. Dr. Traubman was regional alumni President of Alpha Omega Jewish dental fraternity, and received the 1998 Distingushed Alumnus Award of the University of California School of Dentistry, for whom hegave the 2006 Commencement Address.. He wrote and published THE ORECKOVSKY FAMILY: FROM RUSSIA TO AMERICA, depicting his pioneer ancestors’ immigration following the first pogroms of the early 1880s. The book resides in 100 libraries in North America and Europe. For 25 years, Len has published on war and peace from personal experience with Russians and Americans, Armenians and Azerbaijanis, and Jews and Palestinians.
Henriette Zarour was born in Beit Jala, West Bank, and completed her education in Amman before coming to San Francisco in 1972. She is proprietor of the family’s San Francisco restaurant, Bur-Eat-os. Henriette has devoted herself to the Ramallah Club and to Arab educational and cultural activities all her life, and has discovered an increasing commitment to Palestinian-Jewish dialogue and collaboration.
Nadim Zarour (deceased September 2000, age 49) graduated from San Jose State University in Chemistry. He owned Ramco Insurance and Real Estate Services, specializing in Business Opportunities. San Francisco Mayors appointed Nadim to the Human Rights Commission in 1976 and to the Parking and Traffic Commission in 1996. He was a Director of the American Federation of Ramallah, Palestine, and was twice President of the S.F. Ramallah Club, which honored him with their Person of the Year Award. A member of the Palestine Arab Fund for 25 years, Nadim was President of the Palestine American Congress, San Francisco Bay Area. He was a devoted advocate and champion of Palestinian-Jewish dialogue for 25 years. We miss Nadim dearly and rededicate ourselves in his memory.
Dr. Miriam L. Zimmerman recently retired as Director of the Communication Program at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont. She is co-founder of Divorce Mediation Group on the San Francisco Peninsula, and has been a volunteer mediator for the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center. Miriam is a graduate of the International School for Holocaust Educators at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, and for six years served as volunteer chair of the North Peninsula Holocaust Remembrance Day. She was a Board member of the of the Jewish Community Relations Council and Board president of the Bay Area Holocaust Oral History Project. Miriam writes a column, "One Woman's Voice," for the National Jewish Post & Opinion, on themes of religion, women, the Holocaust, and most recently, about Jewish-Palestinian relationship building, to which she is devoted.