Event Highlights Israeli/Palestinian Grassroots Movement Supported by U.N. Peace Ambassador Muhammad Ali, U.S. Ambassador Dennis Ross, Actor Brad Pitt, Others

EVENT: Dalia Labadi and Sagi Rasmovich, young Palestinian and Israeli activists, respectively, will share their experiences in the Middle East as well as support for the OneVoice Movement - a non-partisan, grassroots Israeli-Palestinian organization that claims a quarter million members and is committed to resolving the Mideast conflict through a two-state solution. Raised in Jenin in the West Bank, Dalia Labadi earned her bachelor's degree at the Arab American University (Jenin) and completed her master's degree at Al-Quds University in Abu Dis. Her uncle is OneVoice founding board member and former Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Mahmoud Labadi. Sagi Rasmovich was born and raised in a small village north of Tel Aviv. After serving in the Israeli Defense Forces as an instructor at the officer's training academy, he traveled internationally a year before beginning his studies. Rasmovich is a third-year student of communications at Netanya Academic College. WHEN: 3:30-5 p.m. Thursday, March 8 (public reception to follow) WHERE: Social Science Plaza A, Room 1100; UC Irvine campus. Map: www.uci.edu/campusmap INFO: Free and open to the public. Press may reserve seating up to one day in advance through the media contact. BACKGROUND: OneVoice is a Mideast grassroots movement that claims a quarter million Israeli and Palestinian members. According to the organization, the movement "aims to amplify the voice of the overwhelming but heretofore silent majority of moderates who wish for peace and prosperity, empowering them to demand accountability from elected representatives and work toward a two-state solution." An organization with broad international support, its honorary board includes diplomatic, business, religious and community leaders such as Muhammad Ali (former world heavyweight boxing champion, United Nations peace ambassador), Ambassador Dennis Ross (counsel, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy), Stuart Eizenstat (former U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury), Stanley Litow (president, IBM International Foundation), Rabbi David Rosen (international director of interreligious affairs, American Jewish Committee), and James Zogby (founder and president, Arab American Institute). It also is supported by corporate sponsors such as IBM and Boeing, and entertainment celebrities, including Brad Pitt, Natalie Portman, Edward Norton, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Paul Reiser and Jason Alexander. (www.onevoicemovement.org) SPONSORS: This event is sponsored by UC Irvine's International Studies Program, Difficult Dialogues Project, Center for Citizen Peacebuilding and Cross-Cultural Center. Student club sponsors are Anteaters for Israel, Society of Arab Students and High Resolution.