Can we talk about it? Reframing the discourse on Israel/Palestine
Friday, April 5, 2019
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism (ASC), G26
Amid political turmoil and human rights concerns in the Middle East and rising charges of anti-Semitism at home, the time is right for a respectful discussion between scholars, journalists and activists across a wide range of perspectives. Panel topics will include:
- assessing the acceptable boundaries of the national conversation on Israel/Palestine, and how they are changing; exploring the changing media coverage in the U.S.;
- examining the generational split on Israel/ Palestine among American Jews;
- reframing the future: expanding the possible outcomes in for Israelis and Palestinians.
The event will be livestreamed on the USC Annenberg YouTube channel starting at 9:00 a.m.
SCHEDULE
9:00 Welcome/intro setting the stage and the tone for respectful discourse.
Robeson Taj Frazier, associate professor, USC Annenberg, and director, Institute for Diversity and Empowerment and Annenberg (IDEA)
9:15 - 10:35
Panel one: Re-framing the conversation
What are the acceptable boundaries of the national conversation on Israel/Palestine, and how are they changing?
- Saree Makdisi, professor of comparative literature at UCLA and author of Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation, and of Palestine and The Psychogeography of Denial (forthcoming)
- Zoha Khalili, staff attorney, Palestine Legal
- Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller, Director Emeritus of the Hillel Center for Jewish Life at UCLA, Senior Fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute, North America
- David Myers, Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History, UCLA, and president of the board, New Israel Fund
- Moderator: Laurie Brand, Robert Grandford Wright Professor of International Relations and Middle East Studies, USC
10:35 - 10:45 BREAK
10:45 - 12:00
Panel two: Media coverage
Is U.S. coverage on Israel/Palestine changing, and if so, how? Moderated by Diane Winston.
- Peter Beinart, contributing editor, The Atlantic; associate professor of journalism and political science, City University of New York
- Akbar Shahid Ahmed, foreign affairs reporter, HuffPost
- Sandy Tolan, professor, USC Annenberg and author of The Lemon Tree
- Moderator: Diane Winston, Associate Professor and Knight Center Chair in Religion and Media, USC Annenberg
12:00 - 12:45 Lunch
12:50 - 2:00
Panel 3A
The generational split on Israel/Palestine among American Jews.
- Jeremy Ben-Ami, President, J Street
- Michal David, IfNotNow Los Angeles
- David Suissa, President and editor-in-chief, Jewish Journal
- Rabbi Sharon Brous, Senior and Founding Rabbi, IKAR-LA
- Moderator: Steve Ross, Director of the Casden Institute for the Study of Jewish Role in American Life and Professor of History, USC
12:50 - 2:00
Panel 3B
- Everyday life in Gaza: A conversation with Al Jazeera filmmaker Mariam Shahin
- Moderator: Jennifer Jajeh, Palestinian-American playwright, actor, essayist, comedian
2:00 - 2:10 BREAK
2:10 - 3:30
Panel four: Re-framing the future
Expanding the possible outcomes in Israel/Palestine
- George Zeidan, Co-founder, Right to Movement Palestine; Fulbright Scholar, USC Price School of Policy; USC board member of Students for Justice in Palestine
- Estee Chandler, Jewish Voice for Peace
- Cecilia Sibony, J Street
- Sandy Tolan, Professor, USC Annenberg and author of The Lemon Tree
- Moderator: Joel Beinin, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of Middle East History, Emeritus, Stanford University
3:30 - 3:40 BREAK
3:45 - 4:45 Open discussion on the day's events
- Fayez Hammad, lecturer in political science and international relations, USC Dornsife
- Steve Ross, Director of the Casden Institute for the Study of Jewish Role in American Life and Professor of History, USC
- Other participants as the day unfolds
- Moderator Diane Winston, Associate Professor and Knight Center Chair in Religion & Media, USC Annenberg
4:45 Close and thanks
This event is currently at capacity. To add your name to the waitlist, click here.