Evergreen Hosts "The Search for Peace: The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict" Lecture Series and Community Dialogue

Evergreen Hosts “The Search for Peace: The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict” Lecture Series and Community Dialogue
“Difficult Dialogues” on Jan. 8, 2004
7–9 p.m. lecture, 9–10 p.m. dialogue

First Church of Christ Scientist, corner of E. 8th and S.E. Washington, downtown Olympia
Free and open to the public

The Evergreen State College, in partnership with members of the Olympia-area community, hosts the first event in a six-part lecture series and community dialogue on “Searching for Peace: The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict” on Thursday, Jan. 8 at the First Church of Christ Scientist in downtown Olympia. “Difficult Dialogues” begins at 7 p.m. with a lecture by Dr. Mohammed Abu-Nimer from American University and Rabbi Seth Goldstein from Temple Beth Hatfiloh in Olympia. The lecture is followed at 9 p.m. by a community dialogue session in facilitated small groups. Members of the public are invited to attend this free event that launches the series, which takes place on selected Thursday evenings in January and February.

“We are pleased to work in partnership with a number of community members and organizations,” says Evergreen President Thomas L. “Les” Purce. “We hope to develop a better understanding of this conflict and our own perspectives to recognize the humanity, experiences, values and aspirations of all affected peoples.”

Abu-Nimer, a professor in the School of International Service at American University, specializes in peace and resolution conflict studies. He has conducted research on conflict resolution and dialogue for peace among Palestinians and Jews in Israel; Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and application and evaluation of conflict resolution models in non-Western contexts. As a practitioner, Abu-Nimer has intervened and conducted conflict resolution training workshops in Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Turkey, Switzerland, Sierra Leone and the United States. He has published articles in the Journal of Peace and Changes, the American Journal of Economics and Sociology, and in various books.

Goldstein is the rabbi of Congregation Beth Hatfiloh in Olympia. He received his rabbinical ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2003 and holds a Master of Judaic Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He has published articles in a number of magazines and journals on the topics of Jewish identity, American Judaism and biblical criticism.

Funding for “Searching for Peace” is made possible through an Atlantic Philanthropies grant and The Evergreen State College’s Diversity fund. For more information, contact Edie Harding at (360) 867-6453.

Future sessions are on Thursdays, with lectures from 7 to 9 p.m. and community dialogues from 9 to 10 p.m.:

“History of Conflict” Jan. 22
“Religious Dimensions” Feb. 12
“U.S. Policy” Feb. 19
“The Israeli Right, Hamas, and Obstacles to Peace”
Feb. 26
“Women’s Movements and Peace Movements in Israel/Palestine”
“Local Peace Initiatives”
March 4

Contact: Kate Lykins Brown, (360) 867-5213
Edie Harding, director of governmental relations, (360) 867-6453