- 02 Sep 2011
BREAKING NEWS DIALOGUE ISRAEL AND PALESTINE: NEW TENSIONS
The dispute over historic Palestine is the world’s longest-running major international conflict. It has inflamed and destabilized the entire Middle East for over a century. Five major wars were fought between 1948 and 1982 and there have been several serious clashes since then. Today, once again, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is heating up. The Palestinian leadership is planning to go to the United Nations next September to seek international recognition of a Palestinian state. Israel and the United States are resisting this move. And just recently armed Palestinian incursions into southern Israel have caused Israeli casualties and led to a vigorous Israeli response, which has dragged Egypt back into the fray. And since the fall of Mubarak, Egypt is taking a tougher stance toward Israeli behavior toward the Palestinians. To examine this tense situation, MEI invited two respected analysts–one Israeli, one Palestinian–both speaking from Jerusalem by videoconference, to speak to a Singaporean audience.
About the Speakers
Prof Sela is currently the A. Ephraim and Shirley Diamond Chair in International Relations at the Department of International Relations and Director of the Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations, both at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Prof. Sela specializes in Middle East politics with special emphasis on inter-Arab and Arab-Israeli relations in regional and historical perspectives, and on Palestinian politics and society. His current research project focuses on foreign fighters in intra-state conflicts in comparative perspective. His most recent books include The Decline of the Arab IsraeliConflict: Middle East Politics and the Quest for Regional Order (Albany: SUNY Press, 1998); The Palestinian Hamas: Vision, Violence and Adjustment (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000; 2nd Edition, 2006) (co-authored with Shaul Mishal); and The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East (New York: Continuum, 2002), 944 p.(ed.).
Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi is the head and founder (1987) of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA), Jerusalem. PASSIA is an independent, non-profit Palestinian institution and is not affiliated with any government, political party or organization. He is also the co-founder and editor of Al-Fajr daily newspaper (1972-74); co-founder and General Secretary of the Council for Higher Education in the West Bank (1977-80); founder and elected president of the Arab Thought Forum in Jerusalem (1977-81); special advisor to the Ministry of Occupied Land Affairs, Amman, Jordan (1985-86) and member of the Arab Thought Forum headed by HRH Prince Hassan bin Talal in Amman, Jordan (2002).
Dr. Hudson is Professor Emeritus of International Relations and Arab Studies at Georgetown University where he served as Director for many years. Dr. Hudson has edited and contributed to numerous books, including Middle East Dilemma: The Politics and Economics of Arab Integration (Columbia University Press/CCAS, 1999), The Palestinians: New Directions (CCAS, 1990), and Alternative Approaches to the Arab-Israeli Conflict (CCAS, 1984).
Dr. Sa’di is a Senior lecturer in political sociology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. His research is focused on Palestinian memory and identity, ethnicity, ideology and social research, social protest, labor market processes, and surveillance and population management. He has published some 40 articles in referee journals and collective volumes. Jointly with Lila Abu-Lughod, he has edited Nakba: Palestine, 1948 and the Claims of Memory. New York: Columbia UP 2007.
