The Laughing from Crying Comedy Benefit for Middle East Children’s Alliance is a two-hour entertainment event organized by the Baltimore Chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace that will feature standup comedy, spoken word, and poetry acts, using the power of creative expression to give voice to those wishing to do something about the tremendous devastation happening right now in Gaza, where more than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed, and a blockade against humanitarian aid that has led to the mass starvation of millions more.
The event will be grounded by an interview with Stacy Gilbert, who was the Senior Civil-Military Advisor for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) at the State Department. In her 20+ year career at the State Department she focused on educating U.S. and foreign militaries about humanitarian principles and best practices, as well as aid worker security and emergency response. She often deployed to large-scale refugee crises including Kosovo, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. She resigned in May 2024 under the Biden Administration to protest a State Department report that said that Israel was not blocking aid to Gaza. In her resignation letter she said that as death, disease, and displacement escalated in Gaza that report would haunt us.
Poetry from:
Dr. Kim Jensen
Kenneth Something
Spoken word from:
Noor
Interview with:
Stacy Gilbert
Standup Comedy by:
Esther Jarvis-Pillai
Zach Zwagil
Tabling by:
Stop Starving Gaza Coalition
Also featuring: raffle prizes, baked good and adult refreshments (upon donation), crafts, and volunteer/activism opportunities.
