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'Towards Justice and Peace in the Middle East'

Datum

Initiatives of Change hosted a two-session online webinar, ‘Towards Justice and Peace in the Middle East,’ on Saturday, 1 June 2024, where distinguished speakers critically examined the role of Britain and the West in the century-long conflict in Palestine / Israel and explored paths to lasting peace.


We are grateful to all who attended our sessions on Saturday. In case you missed the event, you can watch the recordings using the links below:

Session 1 - Panelists and Topics

1 June 13:00 - 15:00 UTC

Policy of Deceit – Britain’s role in fomenting a century of conflict in Palestine

Dr Peter Shambrook

The Times Literary Supplement describes Peter Shambrook’s book Policy of Deceit (Oneworld Academic, 2023) as a ‘forensic, fair-minded’ exposure of ‘how the British government broke its promises to the people of Palestine.’ Dr Shambrook is British, holds a PhD in modern Middle Eastern history from Cambridge University, and has held several research positions including at Durham University and at the Centre for Lebanese Studies in Oxford. He is the historical consultant to The Balfour Project, and the author of French Imperialism in Syria, 1927–1936 (Ithaca Press, 1998). He lives in Durham.

How can Britain and the West better contribute to peace and justice between Israel and Palestine?

Sir Vincent Fean

Sir Vincent Fean is a retired British diplomat and former Ambassador. He served as High Commissioner to Malta (2002–06), Ambassador to Libya (2006–10), and Consul General, Jerusalem (de facto ambassador to the Occupied Palestinian Territories) from 2010 to 2014. After retirement he chaired the Balfour Project, which works to advance equal rights for all in Palestine/Israel. In recent years he has spoken and written extensively in the British media on how Britain could help towards a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine.

A path towards a lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis

Dr Alon Liel

Dr Alon Liel is a former director general of the Foreign Ministry of Israel and was also Israel's ambassador to South Africa. In 2014 he was an instigator of a campaign by Israeli academics and former diplomats to encourage European governments to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state, and has since worked assiduously for this recognition as a step towards justice and peace between Israel and Palestine.


Session 2 - Panelists and Topics

1 June 15:30 - 17:30 UTC

Business as usual or needed historic change?

Prof Ilan Pappe

Ilan Pappe is an Israeli historian and socialist activist. He is a professor of history at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, director of the university's European Centre for Palestine Studies, and co-director of the Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies.

He is the author of the bestselling The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (Oneworld), A History of Modern Palestine (Cambridge), The Modern Middle East (Routledge), The Israel/Palestine Question (Routledge), The Forgotten Palestinians: A History of the Palestinians in Israel (Yale), The Idea of Israel: A History of Power and Knowledge (Verso) and with Noam Chomsky, Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel's War Against the Palestinians (Penguin). He writes for The Guardian and the London Review of Books among others.

What needs to change to achieve a real peace process?

Sabreen AbeedAllah
Sabreen AbeedAllah

Sabreen AbeedAllah is a social and health rights advocate with over 10 years of experience in women's and youth' health and community mobilization. She works with civil society organizations and holds two master's degrees: one in women's public health and the other in international cooperation and development. Sabreen is a member of the political bureau in the Palestinian Initiative Party and an activist with youth political engagement, and capacity building.

Finding the pathways to peace

Prof Jeffrey Sachs

Jeffrey Sachs is a world-renowned economics professor and public policy analyst, known for his work on the fight to end poverty, and on the peaceful resolution of global conflicts. He is the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

He is a Special Advisor to United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres, and an Advocate on the Sustainable Development Goals, a set of 17 global goals adopted at a UN summit meeting in September 2015. He writes frequently in publications throughout the world calling for an end to the war in Gaza and the recognition of Palestinian statehood.


Event Moderators

 

Dr Maria del Pilar Griffin

IofC International Council Member

Pilar is an international educational consultant and a specialist in conflict resolution. She has a Master's in international law with an emphasis on human rights.She has facilitated dialogues among community groups in the USA, Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia. 

Mounir Beltaifa
Mounir Beltaifa

Vice-president, IofC International

Born and raised in Tunisia, Mounir graduated in 1988 as Civil Engineer from Ecole des Ponts ParisTech and in 2008 as Executive MBA from Ecole des Ponts Business School. He founded Bridgers One, a company focusing on accelerated profitable and sustainable development strategies for small and medium enterprises in France, Middle East and North Africa. Mounir main motives are Ethical Leadership, Sustainable Development, Justice and Humanity.


Simultaneous translation will be available in French.

Only registered participants will be able to have interactive (Q&A) access to the event via Zoom or follow it via livestream.


 

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