CAPA’s 46th Annual Fall Benefit
When Politics Fail: Conscience As Resistance
Thursday, October 23rd, 2025 – 6:00pm-9:00pm
Irish American Heritage Center
4626 N. Knox Ave, Chicago, IL 60630
Cruel assaults upon our communities are being deliberately and strategically rolled out. Join us as we examine the vital power of acting on conscience in times of political turmoil. CAPA will host a panel featuring Dennis Kosuth and Rabbi Brant Rosen, whose principled activism reflects adherence to enduring universal values. When our systems capitulate to authoritarianism, we need contemporary examples of individual conscience leading to collective resistance.
We will also honor Sawsan Abubaker and Andrew Ginsberg with the 2025 Robert Cleland “Pursuit of Peace” Award, for their courage and conviction amidst local attempts to suppress their voices for justice and peace. (See bios of our panelists, moderator, and honorees below.)
In addition to our distinguished panel and honorees, we will enjoy a delicious dinner catered by Curt’s Cafe and celebrate the important work of CAPA’s Climate and Foreign Policy Working Groups. We invite attendees to share their passions and insights among fellow peacebuilders.
Come to be inspired. Leave with renewed resolve.
.“Never do anything against conscience, even if the state demands it.” –Albert Einstein
Benefit Sponsors (in formation)
*If you can’t attend this year, but would still like to make a donation, please donate here.*
Panelists
Panelists and Moderator
Dennis Kosuth is a longtime activist for social justice, is active in his unions, and works as a registered nurse in public schools and at a hospital. He’s been involved in organizing efforts to end the genocide in Palestine through multiple organizations..
Rabbi Brant Rosen serves Tzedek Chicago, a synagogue he helped found in 2015. A longtime Palestinian solidarity activist and organizer, Brant is the co-founder of the Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council and the Jewish Fast for Gaza. He blogs regularly at the Jewish social justice blog, Shalom Rav, and is the author of the book Wrestling in the Daylight: A Rabbi’s Path to Palestinian Solidarity. Brant is also a prolific poet and liturgist whose prayers and poems can be found on his blog Yedid Nefesh and his chapbook, “Songs After the Revolution: New Jewish Liturgy.”.
Geraldine Gorman is the Kathleen M. Irwin Endowed Chair in Outstanding Clinical Practice at UIC College of Nursing. She is a CAPA Board member and practices with Unity Hospice in Chicago.
2025 Cleland Pursuit of Peace Honorees
Sawsan Abubaker is a co-founder of Advocates for Justice, a grassroots collective that empowers communities to confront injustice through education and awareness—dismantling stereotypes, animosity, and racism designed to keep humanity divided..
Andrew Ginsberg is a high school history teacher at Evanston Township High School, where he has been teaching for 10 years. Before that he taught in Chicago Public Schools and spent 15 years as a community and union organizer with ACORN and SEIU.
CAPA Working Groups
The CAPA Climate Group works at the local, state and national level to mobilize the political will to transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. We challenge our leaders and institutions to abandon the systems that have created the global ecological crisis.
CAPA’s Foreign Policy Working Group monitors critical foreign policy issues to inform and engage the public and promote peaceful alternatives to war. Through awareness-raising events, public demonstrations, meetings with legislators, and other avenues, we prioritize diplomacy, human rights and international cooperation over military intervention and weapons spending.
CONTACT US
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