Draft:Steve Sosebee

Steve Sosebee
Steve Sosebee
Born	1965; Kent, Ohio, U.S.
Alma mater	Kent State University
Spouses	; Huda Al-Masri (m. 1993; died 2009) ; Zeean Salman (m. 2016)
Children	3

Stephen Sosebee (born 1965) is an American and naturalized Palestinian humanitarian and former journalist. He co-founded the Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) in 1991, where he served as president for over 30 years. More recently, he launched HEAL Palestine.

Early life and education

Sosebee was born in Kent, Ohio and attended Theodore Roosevelt High School. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Kent State University.^[1]

Career

Sosebee first visited the West Bank and Gaza on a three-week delegation as part of his junior year university studies during the First Intifada and returned as a journalist for Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Sosebee described feeling "guilty about what was going on there because of the policies of my government".^[2] 10 year old

In the aftermath of news reports that Palestinians supported and cheered on 9/11, Sosebee, who was working in refugee camps at the time, vocally denied that this was the case and criticised the media's attempts to demonise Palestinians, stating that several had come up to him to express their condolences and disavow the attack.^[3] Sosebee also supported Yasser Arafat's decision to reject Camp David, calling it "merely a repackaging of military occupation" that "any other leader with an ounce of dignity and respect for his people would have turned down". He has voiced his support for Al-Awda and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

After the loss of his first wife, Sosebee founded the Huda Al-Masri Pediatric Cancer Department in Bethlehem to honour her.

In 2022, Sosebee stepped down from his position as president of the PCRF after 30 years. He subsequently launched a new organisation called HEAL Palestine.

Personal life

In 1993, Sosebee married Palestinian YMCA social worker Huda Al-Masri in Ramallah, with whom he has two daughters and who passed away in 2009 after a leukaemia battle.^[2] In 2016, Sosebee remarried a Sudanese-American pediatric oncologist Zeean Salman, with whom he has a third daughter.

Sosebee is a naturalized Palestinian citizen, having received his passport and ID card in 2018.^[4] He splits his time between the West Bank and Ohio.

References

^ "Facts about Steve Sosebee, Palestine Children's Relief Fund". Akron Beacon Journal. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
^ ^a ^b Al Tamimi, Jumana (18 March 2011). "On a mission to serve those in need". Gulf News. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
^ Boersen, Tyler (3 April 2002). "Sosebee: Depiction of Palestinians false". Michigan Daily. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
^ Balousha, Hazem (11 January 2023). "American helping injured, sick Palestinian children with organization he founded". Arab News. Retrieved 6 March 2024.

External links

Category:1965 births Category:20th-century American philanthropists Category:21st-century American philanthropists Category:American Muslim activists Category:Children's rights activists Category:Converts to Islam Category:Founders of charities Category:Kent State University alumni Category:Muslims from Ohio Category:People from Kent, Ohio Category:People from the West Bank Category:Philanthropists from Ohio Category:Theodore Roosevelt High School (Kent, Ohio) alumni

[1] "Facts about Steve Sosebee, Palestine Children's Relief Fund". Akron Beacon Journal. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2024.

[gn_11-2] Al Tamimi, Jumana (18 March 2011). "On a mission to serve those in need". Gulf News. Retrieved 6 March 2024.

[3] Boersen, Tyler (3 April 2002). "Sosebee: Depiction of Palestinians false". Michigan Daily. Retrieved 6 March 2024.

[4] Balousha, Hazem (11 January 2023). "American helping injured, sick Palestinian children with organization he founded". Arab News. Retrieved 6 March 2024.

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