NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Tickets have sold out to the Rutgers Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund’s annual Spring Gala on Thursday, March 12 at 7pm in the Rutgers Student Center.

The event, which features dinner, live music, and renowned guest speakers, is being hosted to raise money for Palestinean children in need of medical care and humanitarian relief.

Among the speakers are Cornel West, one of America’s most renowned intellectuals, philosophers, authors and activists.  West is a self-described “champion for racial justice through the traditions of the black Church, progressive politics, and jazz.”

A graduate of Harvard University, West earned a PhD and an MA from Princeton University, where he is now a faculty member.

Other speakers who will address the sold-out crowd include Dr. Khaled AbuGhazaleh, Noura Erakat, Brian Avery, and Naima Shalhoub.

Music will be provided by Abdelfattah Shabana.

Dr. Khaled AbuGhazaleh is a Chicago surgeon, head of the Medical Advisory Committee, and PCRF member who led a team to treat dozens of children with facial deformities in Gaza’s Shifa Hospital.

Noura Erakat is a Palestinian American legal scholar and human rights attorney. She is an activist and writer, as well as a specialist in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, refugee law, humanitarian law, national security law and social justice.

Brian Avery is an American who was shot in the face by the Israel Defense Forces on April 5, 2003, while he was volunteering for the International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank town of Jenin. The shooting, according to Human Rights Watch, was “unprovoked and did not occur in the context of any apparent hostilities.”

The last speaker will be Naima Shalhoub, a Lebanese-American songstress, performing artist, educator

Shalhoub is an activist with an master’s degree in postcolonial anthropology, and currently facilitates music sessions with incarcerated women in San Francisco.

The doors will open at 7pm for a short cocktail hour, and at the program is scheduled to begin at 7:40pm.  Seating is first-come, first-serve.

Tickets went for just $10 each to Rutgers students and $25 each to the general public.

The event is sponsored by RUSA and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, along with Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), Ahlul-Bayt Student Association, Black Student Union, Arabic Language Club, People To People International, SJP: Students for Justice in Palestine, Thaakat Rutgers, United Muslim Relief, Arab Cultural Club, Phi Delta Epsilon, Seton Hall SJP, Rutgers Unicef, Rutgers ONE, Oxfam Rutgers, Iota Phi Theta, Beta Chi Theta, Children’s AIDS Network at Rutgers, The Muslim Student Association of Rutgers University (RU-MSA), Alpha Phi Alpha, and Amor Rutgers.