Led by Rabbi Maurice Harris
of Reconstructing Judaism
Many who remember the excitement that immediately followed the announcement of the 1993 Oslo Agreement have come to despair that they will live to see a just, sustainable, and peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And while there may be new possibilities for the resumption of direct peace negotiations in light of the recent emergence of new administrations in both Israel and the USA, the combination of conditions that are needed to get the “Two-State-Solution” back on track remain very elusive.
In this 2 hour session, Rabbi Maurice Harris will give a brief presentation of how Israelis and Palestinians got to the place they’re now in, followed by an overview of some of the different proposals for resolving the conflict that are gaining increased attention among Israeli and Palestinian officials and activists.
Given the brevity of this session, the presentation on the history of the conflict will be very incomplete. Rabbi Maurice uses a dual-narrative approach to teaching about the history of the conflict, so his goal during the history part of the presentation will be to understand the different ways both peoples’ remember the past and give meaning to their current struggles. The forward-looking part of the presentation will rely in part on how the two narratives play a part in determining what kinds of resolutions to the conflict might be possible in the coming years. Question and answer will follow.