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Human Rights Day program at Unitarian Universalist Church ends with call to action

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The audience listens to speakers during a Human Rights Day event at the Unitarian Universalist Church.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The audience listens to speakers during a Human Rights Day event at the Unitarian Universalist Church. Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The audience listens to speakers during a Human Rights Day event at the Unitarian Universalist Church.

By Kailee Shores 5 min read

Seated in the second-to-last row of the sanctuary at Unitarian Universalist Church of Chattanooga was a man sniffling, wiping away tears with the hem of his shirt.

His emotional response was prompted by Dr. Mark Perlmutter’s testimony from his recent medical mission to Gaza, where he treated injured civilians. Perlmutter was part of a panel that concluded a daylong event at the church aimed at raising awareness of the treatment of civilians in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

The panel, with speakers from Chattanooga and beyond, was organized by Be Magazine, the Gandhi Global Center for Peace and the Arab Organization for Human Rights in the UK in partnership with the Social Justice Committee at Unitarian Universalist Church of Chattanooga.

“It’s all think globally, act locally. And so these issues touch our hearts. Hopefully, they’re touching more and more hearts,” said Missy Crutchfield, cofounder of Be Magazine. “Palestine, Gaza, has become a metaphor for violence everywhere.”

Human Rights Day program at Unitarian Universalist Church ends with call to action

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Missy Crutchfield, cofounder of Be Magazine and director of the Gandhi Global Center for Peace, right, speaks as moderator Melissa Turner listens during a Human Rights Day event at the Unitarian Universalist Church.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Missy Crutchfield, cofounder of Be Magazine and director of the Gandhi Global Center for Peace, right, speaks as moderator Melissa Turner listens during a Human Rights Day event at the Unitarian Universalist Church.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Bassam Issa, local human rights advocate, left, speaks as fellow panelist Amna Shah listens during a Human Rights Day event at the Unitarian Universalist Church.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Bassam Issa, local human rights advocate, left, speaks as fellow panelist Amna Shah listens during a Human Rights Day event at the Unitarian Universalist Church.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Anthony Aguilar, former Army officer and contractor with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, holds up a photo of an 8-year old boy named Amir, who Aguilar said was killed by the Israeli Defense Force. Aguilar spoke at a Human Rights Day event at the Unitarian Universalist Church.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Anthony Aguilar, former Army officer and contractor with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, holds up a photo of an 8-year old boy named Amir, who Aguilar said was killed by the Israeli Defense Force. Aguilar spoke at a Human Rights Day event at the Unitarian Universalist Church.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The audience listens to speakers during a Human Rights Day event at the Unitarian Universalist Church.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The audience listens to speakers during a Human Rights Day event at the Unitarian Universalist Church.

Several local activists took part in the panel that marked Human Rights Day on Wednesday, including Judith Pedersen-Benn, cofounder of Standing Out Mondays, who uses creative performance as a venue for activism; Amna Shah, founder of AHS Consulting and vice president of the Annoor Academy school board; and Bassam Issa, cofounder of the Islamic Center and Annoor Academy.