June 1994, Page 113

Bulletin Board

Exhibits and Lectures

"Building Bridges: Israeli and Palestinian Artists Speak," an exhibition of works by 12 artists who have been working and exhibiting together for more than a decade in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the West Bank, will be on view through July 17 in the Cafritz Galleries, Meridian International Center, 1630 Crescent Pl. NW, Washington, DC 20009, (202) 667-6800.

Father Elias Chacour, author of Blood Brothers and We Belong to the Land, will deliver the Bijlefeld International Visiting Lecture on "Christian, Muslim and Jewish Dialogue in Palestine/Israel," June 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hartford Seminary, 77 Sherman St., Hartford, CT 06105, (203) 232-4451.

Convenings

The Palestine Aid Society's 6th annual walkathon, a 10K fundraising and solidarity walk to end the occupation and raise funds to benefit Palestinians in the occupied territories and Lebanon, will take place Saturday, June 4th, in over a dozen U.S. and Canadian cities. For complete information contact PAS, 2025 Eye St. NW, Suite 1020, Washington, DC 20006, (202) 728-9425.

ARABNET is a new computer bulletin board system created to allow Arab Americans and others with an interest in the Middle East and the Arab, world to exchange ideas and information. Operated under agreement with the Delphi Computer System, it offers full access to Internet and its services. For complete information contact Ray Hanania, Urban Strategies Group, 33 N. Dearborn, Suite 1400,

Chicago, IL 60602, phone (312) 629-9099, fax (312) 629-9091, e-mail internetrayhanania@ delphi.com

Appointments

President Bill Clinton has nominated career diplomats as ambassadors to four Mideast countries. Edward Walker, who served as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 1989-92, was nominated as ambassador to Egypt. Prior to his nomination, he served under U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Madeleine Albright; he has also served in Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and, under former President Jimmy Carter, was a member of the U.S. delegation to Mideast peace talks from 1979-81.

Replacing Walker at the U.N. will be Edward (Skip) Gnehm, who was U.S. ambassador to Kuwait from 1990 to 1994. Ambassador Gnehm first was accredited to the Kuwaiti government in its headquarters in-exile in Taif, Saudi Arabia, and arrived by U.S. military helicopter to reopen the U.S. Embassy after Kuwait's liberation.

David M. Ransom, former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in the United Arab Emirates, has been nominated as ambassador to Bahrain. Prior to his nomination, he served as the State Department's country director for southern Europe.

Ryan Crocker, most recently U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, has been named ambassador to Kuwait.

Ronald E. Neumann, currently head of the State Department's office of Northern Gulf affairs (Iran and Iraq), has been nominated ambassador to Algeria.

Deaths

Queen Zein al-Sharaf, mother of Jordan's King Hussein, died April 26 of heart failure at the age of 80 in a hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland. The queen married the late King Talal in 1934 and, in addition to King Hussein, was the mother of Prince Mohammed, Prince Hassan and Princess Basma. In 1944 she became the first chairwoman of the Jordanian Women's Federation, which she headed until 1953.

Riad Tawfik Al-Ghussein, a noted Palestinian businessman who lived as a refugee for nearly 40 years in the United Arab Emirates, died April 9 in London at the age of 53. His brother, Jaweed Al-Ghussein, is head of the Palestine National Fund and a member of the PLO executive committee.

Merle Thorpe Jr., founder and president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, died Feb. 13 of cancer at the age of 76 at his home in Chevy Chase, MD. A 1941 graduate of Yale Law School, he was a partner in the Washington, DC law firm Hogan & Hartson from 1956 to 1982, and was Of Counsel to the firm until his death. He became interested in the Palestinian-Israeli dispute as a result of a trip he took to the Middle East with former Sen. William Fulbright in 1975, and advocated mutual recognition and a two-state solution to the conflict. The Foundation for Middle East Peace published his book Prescription for Conflict, a critical examination of Israeli policies in the occupied territories, and sponsored U.S. appearances by Israeli and Palestinian peace advocates. Most recently Mr. Thorpe and his foundation honored 10 leading Israeli, Palestinian and American peace activists with awards of $5,000 each. He is survived by his wife, Sally Sweetser Thorpe, four stepchildren and eight grandchildren.

Raymond A. Hare, a career ambassador who was envoy to Egypt during the 1956 Suez crisis, died of pneumonia Feb. 9 at his home in Washington, at the age of 92. He was a member of the delegation that established diplomatic relations with Afghanistan in 1934, participated in the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in the mid-1940s and was a delegate to the first U.N. General Assembly and the London and Paris peace conferences. Prior to being named U.S. ambassador to Egypt, he served in Paris, Cairo, Beirut, Tehran, Jeddah and London, and was ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Turkey. He received the State Department Distinguished Honor Award and the Foreign Service Cup, and retired in 1966 as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs. He then was president of the Middle East Institute until 1969. His wife, Julia Cygan Hare, died in September 1993; he is survived by two children, a sister, and six grandchildren.

Bahjat Talhouni, who served as Jordan's prime minister eight times between 1958 and 1970, died Jan. 30 in Amman at the age of 82. Considered to be one of the founders of modern Jordan, he also had served as chief of the Royal Court and, at the time of his death, was a member of the upper house of parliament appointed by King Hussein.