Middle East experts to discuss current Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza

Middle East experts to discuss current Israeli-Palestinian conflict in GazaJanuary 14, 2009Jill Leonhardtjlleonha@maxwell.syr.edu

Why is Israel attacking and invading the Gaza Strip? Why is Hamas launching rockets into Israel? How is this related to the broader struggle between Israel and Palestine? How might peace and justice be achieved?

Four scholars with expertise on Israel and Palestine will attempt to answer these questions and explain the current situation, its relationship with the broader historical geography of the region, and possible ways forward. The event will be held on Friday, Jan. 16, beginning at noon in Kittredge Auditorium, located in H.B. Crouse Hall.

The discussion provides opportunity to learn not only about the crisis in Gaza but also the broader Israeli-Palestinian struggle of which it is a part.

The panelists:

• Maxwell School political science professor Miriam Elman has written on international and national security, the Israeli-Arab conflict and international relations theory. Her current research projects focus on the relationship between war, peace and democratic political development; the role of religious political parties in promoting and moderating violence; and the city of Jerusalem viewed from an interdisciplinary perspective.

• Louis Kriesberg is professor emeritus of sociology, Maxwell Professor Emeritus of Social Conflict Studies and founding director of the Program on the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts, all at Syracuse University. Kriesberg has published extensively on conflict resolution and peace.

• Shaw J. Dallal, professor of Middle East studies and Islamic jurisprudence at Colgate University, teaches international law, comparative Middle East politics, the Arab Israeli conflict and the Middle East and the global political economy. Previously, he taught Islamic culture and civilization in SU’s Renee Crown University Honors Program. An international lawyer and scholar, he has served as the chief legal advisor for the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries in Kuwait. He has authored numerous law publications, as well as articles in the field of political science pertaining to the Middle East.

• Daniel Bertrand Monk, the George R. and Myra T. Chair in Peace and Conflict Studies at Colgate University, is a professor of geography and director of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program. He has written on the Israel-Palestine conflict and won awards for his research on the history of Arab and Israeli strategic interaction.

The event, sponsored by the Maxwell School’s Department of Geography and the People’s Geography Project, is free and open to the public. Paid parking is available in Irving Garage, and lunch will be provided.