Ten community organizations will gather Feb. 4 at the Morgan Hill Community & Cultural Center for an educational program featuring internationally recognized speaker Mother Agapia Stephanopoulos, who will share her lived experiences as a Russian Orthodox Christian in Palestine.
The free event, “Christians in Palestine, an In-Person Dialogue with Mother Agapia,” takes place near the one-year anniversary of a March 7, 2024, hate crime at the same location, where victims were targeted with anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic slurs following a prayer service.
“The anniversary and location of the March 7 hate crime gives this program profound significance,” said Dr. Patrick Marshall, 2nd Vice President of the NAACP San Jose/Silicon Valley Branch and Morgan Hill resident. “Holding this event in that context transforms remembrance into action. It is a collective statement that hate will not define our community—solidarity will.”
The program begins at 6pm, with doors opening at 5:30pm. It will include a screening of the film “Forbidden Pilgrimage,” refreshments and an in-person discussion with Mother Agapia. RSVPs are required.
This marks the second collaborative event organized by the coalition, following a September program that drew more than 100 attendees from diverse backgrounds.
Noshaba Afzal, coordinator for Gilroy Stands United Against Hate, said the September program’s success created demand for an ongoing series of educational programs.
“It was overwhelmingly positive,” Afzal said. “The community came together (and) felt validated, and we had many individuals even during that event say, ‘When’s your next event? We need more of these.’”
The Feb. 4 program aims to address widespread misconceptions about Palestinian identity and religious diversity.
“A lot of people automatically assume because I’m Palestinian that I’m Muslim,” said Dina Saba, a Palestinian American Christian who serves on the board of the Arab American Cultural Center of Silicon Valley, the event’s primary sponsor. “It’s important for people to understand that Palestinians are not a monolith. We are a religiously diverse community.”
Saba, whose parents immigrated to America when she was young, said the modern Christian presence in the Holy Land is often overlooked.
“The Holy Land is the Holy Land and the (location of the) birth of Jesus Christ. And Palestinian Christians are an integral component of that fabric,” she said. “Palestinian Christians go back many, many generations.”
Saba noted that much of her family remains in the West Bank, Israel and Gaza, where they have suffered multiple tragedies during the ongoing war, and for those who have been unable to flee, survival remains in the balance.
Diane Mughanam Straetker, AACC president and a first-generation Palestinian American Christian, said education is essential to countering prejudice.
“When people ask me and I tell them we’re Palestinian, the looks on their faces of a preconceived idea says a lot without knowing anything about me, my history, my culture, our people,” Straetker said. “This education is paramount in helping people understand when someone says, ‘I am a Palestinian,’ to look behind the media representation and look at us as humans.”
Afzal emphasized that ignorance fueled the March 7 attack.
“The assailant most likely had very little knowledge, true knowledge, of who Palestinians are,” she said. “The best way to counter that hate is education.”
Marshall noted that South County faced multiple occurrences of hate speech in 2025, referencing both the March 7 hate crime and an incident that same month in which a swastika was displayed from the Burnett Avenue overpass in Morgan Hill.
“People have to be willing to learn and become more educated and strive to be better and work as one and work as a community and unite in order to fight this hate,” he said.
Sponsors of the event include the Arab American Cultural Center of Silicon Valley, Healthcare Works for Palestine—Bay Area, If Americans Knew, Jewish Voice for Peace South Bay, NAACP San Jose/Silicon Valley Branch, Showing Up for Racial Justice Santa Clara County, Friends of Sabeel North America, Soul of My Soul, CARAS and Gilroy Stand United Against Hate.
“These collaborations are the only way that we can target groups and support and represent our community,” Straetker said.
Organizers hope participants leave with deeper understanding and connections.
“People need to be able to ask questions and get answers in a safe environment,” Straetker said. “If you can eliminate that misunderstanding, misrepresentation, then you’re a long way to eliminating hate.”
Marshall said he hopes attendees “walk away inspired and engaged” to build “a more inclusive and compassionate community.”
“If we unite, we come together and we have an understanding, we’re living that Dr. King dream,” he said.
The Morgan Hill Community & Cultural Center is located at 17000 Monterey Road, Morgan Hill. To RSVP for the free event, visit tinyurl.com/5yc8re9b.
Calvin Nuttall is a Morgan Hill-based freelance writer.
