Break The Siege: Medical Relief for Gaza

World Premiere Saturday June 26 Restream Sunday June 27, 2021 7pm CST  Via HotHouseGlobal online streaming platforms  An ad-hoc committee of artists and activists have convened for the purpose of raising money for medical relief for Gaza as well as to call for an end of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The organizers intend to highlight an international chorus of voices who express their solidarity with the global community outraged over the ethnic cleansing of the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighborhoods in Jerusalem, the ongoing psychological and physical trauma that has accompanied this occupation, and the lack of resources to adequately treat the people impacted by years of perpetual dehumanization. Moved by recent events that left 250 dead including 67 children, and also decimated housing and other important community centers, this organizing group has assembled an “A-list” of internationally renowned musicians and speakers for this two-hour online event. Artists confirmed to date are: Ronnie Malley, Clarissa Bitar, James Falzone, Michael Miles, George Crotty, Oisin Hannigan, Omar Offendum, Kayem, The Brooklyn Nomads, Amir El Saffar, +Aziz, The Candadian Arabic Orchestra, Marty McCormack, El Wadi Ensemble, Nedal Hamdan, Vijay Iyer and Maggie Brown. Other speakers and additional performers are anticipated to join. The event poster was adapted from an original piece of art entitled “ We Shall Return” and was included with permission of the artist: Imad Abu Shtayyah. The program will raise funds for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund ( PCRF ) and the Al-Awda Hospital in Gaza via Doctors Without Borders (Medicins Sin Frontieres).  Direct Donations may be sent to: The Chicago Chapter of Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF. Mailing Address is 65 E Scott Street, Unit 11A, Chicago, IL 60610 URL for Donations for Urgent needs in Gaza is: http://www.pcrf.net/Chicago4Gaza) The organizers of the concert and the assembled presenters have donated their labor to create this event. 100% of money raised will directly support the beneficiaries. The event is free to ensure access for everyone, however a minimum suggested donation of $25 is encouraged. Tickets are available via Eventbrite. The non-profit concert producers are also accepting donations to offset the production expenses via HotHouse. A broad array of community based NGO’s, solidarity organizations, religious congregations, peace activists and others, are supporting this event with endorsements and co sponsorships. Via this extended network of social media outreach the organizers expect a global audience to tune in to the weekend event. The program will be exclusively broadcast via the HOTHOUSE GLOBAL streaming channels on Twitch.tv, Facebook and YouTube. HotHouse is an award- winning non-profit arts and education institution in Chicago that has programmed international events for 35 years. Its foray into online streaming of arts and culture programming commenced with the pandemic and since April of 2020, HotHouse has created more than 40 important online events that have attracted more than 1 million viewers world wide. The ad-hoc committee organizing this event are: Ronnie Malley, Marguerite Horberg, Mona Khalidi, Camille Odeh, Leena Odeh and Tarek Kishawi. Register | Purchase Tickets | or Donate