Sa'ad Khaldi
My Great, Great Grandfather Abdelkader: The Only Elected Emir in Recent History, My Hero
Summary
Sa’ad will share the remarkable life story of his sharif ancestor from Mascara in Algeria. The emir fought a guerilla war against France and was subsequently awarded the French Legion of Honour and even proposed as a candidate for French presidency. He also saved thousands of Lebanese Maronite Christians from a massacre, helping to pave the way for the creation of Lebanon. He even had a town in the US state of Illinois named after him.
Sa'ad Khaldi
Sa’ad Khaldi is a UK educator with an Arab and Jewish heritage. In 2007 he became the first Palestinian Holocaust Educational Fellow after studying with the Imperial War Museum and Yad Vashem in Lithuania, Poland, and Israel. The following year Sa’ad was invited to present his education research project for teachers called “Crossroads to Palestine” at Yad Vashem’s Summer Conference. Since then he has deepened his knowledge of pre- and post- WW2 Palestine and Israel-related events. His knowledge base is possibly unique, as his father was a key leader in the West Bank Palestinian community and after 1967 opened the door to direct dialogue with prominent Israeli politicians—by agreeing that Israel was a “State of Necessity.”