Sasha Ghosh-Siminoff – Executive Director, Syrian Emergency Task Force

Monday April 1, 2013
Spartan Room, Thwing Center 3rd Floor
11111 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University
5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
This program is co-sponsored by the Center for Policy Studies
and the department of political science
at Case Western Reserve University

The uprising or revolution in Syria has led to substantial uncertainty among both commentators and policy-makers in the United States and Europe. The Obama administration, in a somewhat typical pattern, has provided some rhetorical support but, at least in what is publicly visible, been much more cautious about deeper involvement. Some, like Tom Friedman of the New York Times, think this caution is justified by the risks of a dangerous outcome and the limits on U.S. power to shape the results.

Sasha Ghosh-Siminoff was studying Arabic in Aleppo, as part of his ongoing studies in Middle Eastern politics, when the uprising broke out in 2011. His experience and those of his Syrian friends committed him to working to support the revolution back in the United States. Join us to hear and discuss the case, as he and others see it, for a greater U.S. commitment to depose the Assad regime and influence what comes after.

About Our Guest

After completing his B.A. at CWRU in 2008, Sasha Ghosh-Siminoff did field work in Israel and the occupied territories and completed his Masters degree in Middle East Studies at the University of Exeter, UK. Mr. Ghosh-Siminoff then was attending an immersion Arabic program in Aleppo, Syria, when the Syrian revolution began in early 2011. He therefore had the opportunity to experience Syrian society right before, at the beginning and then immediately after the commencement of the revolution. His language program was interrupted, and he moved to Fes, Morocco, to complete it – but he had become committed to supporting the movement in which many of his Syrian friends were engaged.

Now he works with an extensive network of activists and political figures within and beyond Syria to advocate for the Syrian Revolution. With his colleagues on the Syrian Emergency Task Force and in allied organizations, he has worked to convince members of Congress and the administration to support more extensive action in support of the uprising and opposition to the Assad regime, as well as on humanitarian relief in Syria and further advocacy in the international arena.