"Understanding the Current Palestinian Revolt: Its Context and Consequences for Palestinian Society"

18 Feb 2016

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Since the fall of 2015 the world has witnessed a deadly spate of attacks on Palestinians by Israeli soldiers, police, and settlers, with over 160 Palestinians killed. The violence began with tensions at Al Aqsa mosque and spread quickly beyond East Jerusalem to the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel as soldiers employed shoot-to-kill tactics, claiming that their assailants, many of them youth at checkpoints, were threatening them with knife attacks. With the eruption of this violence coinciding with the 15-year anniversary of the second intifada, journalists, analysts, and scholars debated whether the Palestinian revolt could be called a "third intifada."

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, cautioned recently, "History proves that people will always resist occupation." Indeed, a neglected generation of Palestinians has grown up post-Oslo with no prospects for an end to Israel's military occupation, feeling deep anger and despair. Panelists will analyze these events as well as the growing shift to the right by Israel's government and society. They will also consider U.S. and global responses. Join us for panel presentations with policy analyst Phyllis Bennis and journalist Rania Khalek as they examine this volatile situation in the context of Palestinian society on the ground and the larger frame of U.S. and international policies.

Phyllis Bennis directs the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies. She is also a fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. She has been a writer, analyst, and activist on Middle East and UN issues for many years. In 2001 she helped found and remains on the advisory board of the U.S. Campaign to End Israeli Occupation. She writes and speaks widely across the U.S. and around the world as part of the global peace movement. She continues to serve as an informal adviser to several top UN officials on Middle East and UN democratization issues. Phyllis Bennis is the author of many books including her most recent work, Understanding ISIS & the New Global War on Terror: A Primer, a 6th updated edition of her popular Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict (2009), as well as Before & After: US Foreign Policy and the War on Terror (2003), and Challenging Empire: How People, Governments and the UN Defy U.S. Power (2006).

Rania Khalek is an associate editor at The Electronic Intifada and co-host of the weekly podcast Unauthorized Disclosure. Her analytical pieces have also appeared at Truthout, FAIR, Vice, Al Jazeera America, The Nation, Salon.com, AlterNet, and more. You can follow her work at her website raniakhalek.com and on twitter at @RaniaKhalek.

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Event Date: 
Thursday, February 18, 2016 - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Institution(s): 
Sponsored By: 
The Palestine Center, The Jerusalem Fund
Location: 
The Palestine Center