Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, May 2026, pp. 96-97
Obituaries
Henrietta “Yetta” Goelet, 95, a brilliant and caring woman who without fanfare made a profound difference in the world, died peacefully in her sleep, on Feb. 21, 2026. Born to a Danish mother and English father, she was raised in Cairo, Egypt, where she met her husband, John Goelet (1931-2023). Together they traveled the globe, raised a family and made forever friends wherever they went. (See John Goelet’s In Memoriam in the March/April 2023 Washington Report.)
Mrs. Goelet’s fearless support and good counsel guided and empowered individuals and advocacy organizations like the American Educational Trust, on whose board she served. The Goelets never sought glory; they kept their good works private. Mrs. Goelet didn’t just call for an end to the killing of children, for a just peace in the region, for a fair resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict—she provided ideas and funds to help make it happen.
Activists around the world used her “Remember These Children” booklet <isu.pub/ic49W2Q> “to help save the children whom the world appears to have forsaken.” That book, her brainchild nurtured from start to finish, listed the names and descriptions of both Israeli and Palestinian children killed since September 2000. Even a casual reader noticed the names of Israeli children didn’t begin for six pages, until January 2001, and they were very few. Mrs. Goelet’s booklets were mailed around the world and updated three times, until there were so many names we could only continue to publish them online <www.rememberthesechildren.org>. Even that ended with 13 Palestinian kids killed on July 21, 2014.
So many children were slaughtered before and after Oct. 7, 2023, that once again activists took up Mrs. Goelet’s vision and read the endless names of children aged 0-17 during powerful vigils. The waste of human life—of hope and future promise—is almost too great to contemplate, and it profoundly saddened her that it still continues today.
The Goelets would have been devastated to know that their country would soon bomb Iran, a nation whose artwork, culture and people they treasured.
The Goelets hosted what became cherished retreats where guests relaxed, recharged and built meaningful connections. Mrs. Goelet patiently taught us how to put together each detail of the magical dinner parties on the eve of every Israel Lobby conference we cohosted with the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy. She knew where powerful speakers should (and shouldn’t) sit, what they’d like to eat and, most especially, what fine Clos du Val wines would get the party humming.
Many of her ideas resulted in Washington Report articles, connections and interviews she gracefully arranged. Without the support of the Goelet family, we are certain this magazine and Middle East Books and More could not have survived the death of our founders. We are forever grateful to have known and loved this rare and amazing woman.
Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler, 71, life-long social justice warrior and prophetic pastor for three decades of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, in Northeast DC, died on Feb. 17, after a six-year battle with laryngeal cancer. His celebration of life was held on March 1, on what would have been his birthday. Hagler stood on the “right side of justice” for causes including Black Lives Matter, Palestine, Cuba and the Iraq War, said Busboys and Poet founder Andy Shallal, who honored him for his work in November 2025. He brought people together to “fight on bread-and-butter issues while connecting them to broader struggles like Palestine,” community organizer Dante O’Hara said.
Hagler was a passionate agitator for justice at demonstrations, interfaith coalitions and picket lines addressing poverty, housing inequity, racial justice and peace advocacy. He served as co-chair of the D.C. Poor People’s Campaign and worked with national and international partners on human rights and anti-war efforts. He advocated for affordable housing and against predatory landlords in the 1980s and was deeply involved in the international movement against apartheid in South Africa.
Colleagues and congregants described Hagler as a pastor who believed faith demanded action and urged his community to connect spiritual conviction with civic responsibility. He worked to change the Black church’s support for Israel and brought to Palestine a delegation of Black artists in 2014 and Black clergy in 2016. He would have led more missions if he hadn’t been banned by Israel.
Rev. Hagler talked about the connections between the struggles of Black Americans and Palestinians for justice and liberation from Ferguson to Palestine. He did not back down when Zionists threatened to kill him and pressured the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School to disinvite him from speaking. He just spoke at another venue.
The Washington Report covered his talks in the wake of 9/11 amid a surge of patriotism and calls for a “war on terror.” He said, “The God I serve blesses people all over the world. God doesn’t just bless America.” He often said the subject of U.S. aid to Israel must no longer be taboo and Americans should boycott products produced in illegal settlements.
He wrote two important articles for the Washington Report: “Gaza Genocide Calls for Revolutionary Disruption in U.S.” in the October 2024 issue and “We Need a Harry Belafonte Now!” in the October 2025 issue. He recalled the “We Are the World” musical production that raised millions to fight famine and war in Africa in 1985 and called for famous musicians and stars to gather today to raise voices and funds to feed children in Gaza and free Palestine. When cancer took his own commanding voice, he continued to show up at protests and revealed the power of a whisper.
He is survived by his partner Parisa Norouzi, their precious daughter Aziza and the community he championed and loved.
Professor Walid Khalidi, 100, a diplomatic gentleman-scholar who became known as the historian of Palestine, died in Cambridge, MA on March 8, 2026. The Oxford-educated aristocratic Jerusalemite witnessed the buildup to the Nakba, its aftermath and the Palestinian national movement since 1948. Dr. Khalidi resigned his teaching position at Oxford to protest the Anglo-French-Israeli aggression against Egypt in 1956 and moved to Lebanon to teach at the American University of Beirut. He cofounded the Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) in December 1963 as an independent research and publishing center in Beirut and led it for more than 40 years.
He uncovered many long-concealed features that explained how the Zionist movement successfully occupied Palestine in 1948. In the early 1960s he revealed the movement’s master plan for the occupation of Palestine and the expulsion of its people, known as “Plan Dalet.” His books All That Remains and Before Their Diaspora laid the foundation for understanding the Palestinian people and their Nakba. Khalidi authored more than 40 books and hundreds of studies, articles and research papers. After Israel’s 1982 invasion destroyed his home and library, at the age of 60 he moved to the United States to write, teach at Harvard and focus on the Khalidi Library in Jerusalem, which houses priceless Islamic manuscripts collected by his forefathers. The Journal of Palestine Studies published a special supplement in the summer of 2025 titled, “Walid Khalidi: A Hundred Years of Giving.”
In announcing his passing, the Arab Center Washington DC noted: “Dr. Walid Khalidi’s name for decades was synonymous with his beloved homeland, Palestine...His books and scholarship have contributed significantly to shaping, disseminating and solidifying the Palestinian narrative worldwide. His scholarly legacy will remain an essential reference for any serious researcher studying the Palestinian question.”
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