Lecture explores roots of Israeli-Palestinian conflict

A nationally known scholar of Middle Eastern history will give a free talk on “The Roots of the Israeli-Palestinian Dispute” at St. Scholastica.

James L. Gelvin will speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, in the Mitchell Auditorium on the St. Scholastica campus. The event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.

Gelvin, an award-winning lecturer, will look at what fueled the ongoing struggle between Israelis and Palestinians that began in the mid-20th century. He has been a faculty member at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) since 1995 and has written extensively on the the modern Middle East, with particular emphasis on nationalism and on its social and cultural history.

“The Roots of the Israeli-Palestinian Dispute” is part of St. Scholastica’s Alworth Center for the Study of Peace and Justice series. The 2018-2019 theme, “Unraveling the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” focuses on the current state of the Middle East and America’s involvement in the region. Other events, all at the Mitchell Auditorium and all at 7:30 p.m., include:

• Oct. 23, “What is America Doing in the Mideast,” with Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington D.C.
• Feb. 12, 2019, “The Idea of Israel,” with Michael Brenner, professor of Jewish History and Culture at the University of Munich and Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies at American University.
• March 26, 2019, “Stand Up For Peace,” Jewish-American comedian Scott Blakeman and Muslim-American comedian Dean Obeidallah come together for a performance that reflects their philosophy, “if we can laugh together, we can live together.”