The American Friends of the Palestinian House of Friendship (AFPHF) is a group of people in the United States who are actively involved in supporting PHF.  We are based in Cambridge, Vermont, western Massachusetts, in the Boston area, Brooklyn and in the New York City area. Our activities include planning and hosting an annual fundraising event in each of our areas, and searching for grants and other projects that will be helpful to PHF. In addition we are in monthly contact via Skype with Mohammed Sawalha, Founder/Director of PHF, in order to discuss his on-going plans for PHF and Smiling Faces Summer Camp in Nablus.

Some of our previous and current projects include:

  • Connecting PHF with Playgrounds for Palestine which constructed a playground in the village of Asira al Shamaliya in 2016, for use by campers during the summer and by children in the village year-round
  • Connecting PHF with The Advocacy Project, in order to have a Peace Fellow come to Nablus in the summer of 2015 to work with PHF on administration and management. The Advocacy Project is now PHF’s fiscal sponsor in the United States.
  • Organizing annual fundraisers in the U.S. to support PHF’s work
  • Educational outreach to raise awareness about the context in which PHF exists

PHF Founder and Executive Director 

Mohammed Sawalha, msawalha@advocacynet.org

AFPHF Co-Founders 

Peter Titelman, PhD, Chair, Northampton, MA petertitelman@gmail.com

Katharine Baker, PhD, Northampton, MA, bakerkg@comcast.net

Sherrill Hogen, MSW, Conway, MA, Sherrill.hogen@gmail.com

Advisory Board

Lois Jewel Barber, MA, Co-creator and Executive Director of Earth Action www.earthaction.org and 2020 Vision

Cynthia E. Cohen, PhD, Director of the Program in Peace Building and the Arts, Brandeis University www.brandeis.edu/ethics/about/bios/ccohen.html

Elliot Fratkin, PhD, Professor of Anthropology Emeritus, Gwendolen Carter Professor of African Studies, Smith College www.smith.edu/anthro/faculty_fratkin.php

Sut Jhally,PhD, Professor of Communications, University of Massachusetts, Founder and Director of the Media Education Foundation, Northampton, MA www.sutjhally.com

Joseph Levine, PhD 

Celia Miller, Teacher and musician, Northampton, MA

Michel Moushabeck, Founder and Owner, Interlink Publishing Company in Northampton, MA, and the Layaali Arabic Music Ensemble www.interlinkbooks.com

Elizabeth P. Salett, MSW

Thomas Weiner, MED, Teacher and Writer, Northampton, MA tweiner909@comcast.net

Regional Teams

BROOKLYN/NEW YORK CITY

Esther Farmer, Brooklyn, NY, estherfarmer1@gmail.com 

Fran Miller, NY, Francine.miller@gmail.com

Sarah Sills, Brooklyn, NY, sarah.sills@gmail.com

BOSTON/CAMBRIDGE

Martha Nencioli, Somerville, MA marthanencioli@gmail.com

Susan Nye, Watertown, MA, snye5@verizon.net

Clare Sheridan, Medford, MA cmsheridan22@gmail.com

MONTPELIER, VT

Pam Walker, Montpelier, VT, pamelawalkervt@gmail.com

NORTHAMPTON, MA

Katharine Baker, Northampton, MA, bakerkg@comcast.net

Sherrill Hogen, Conway, MA, Sherrill.hogen@gmail.com

Peter Titelman, Chair, Northampton, MA, petertitelman@gmail.com

MEMBER-AT-LARGE

Gay Harter, North Branford, CT, asharter@verizon.net