Can we talk about it? Reframing the discourse on Israel/Palestine

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.