The next Ta’anit Tzedek fast day is Thursday, June 17 and to mark the occasion we’re sponsoring a conference call with freelance journalist Ashley Bates.

Ashley has been living in and reporting from Gaza for the past several months and as I’ve written before, her pieces offer invaluable, in-depth perspectives of life under the blockade. Her articles have appeared in Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem Post Magazine, Global Post, Huffington Post, Columbia Journalism Review, and Ha’aretz and she posts regularly on her blog Dispatches from Gaza.

Of course Israel’s recent raid on the Freedom Flotilla has recently put the blockade back on the mainstream media radar screen. Misinformation about this crisis has been on the increase – and it is all the more critical to hear from those such as Ms. Bates: reputable sources of information about life on the ground in the Gaza Strip.

The conference call will take place Thursday, June 17 at 12 noon EST.

Call-in info:

Access Number: 1.800.920.7487
Participant Code: 92247763#

We are thrilled that Ashley will be able to join us for this important and critical conversion. Please join us.