Olmert fallout: speaker provides alternate angle
Katie Manko
Issue date: 3/4/10 Section: News
On Monday renowned English-Israeli political scientist Daniel Levy delivered a speech "Israel and Palestinians: Peace or Oblivion" in the Nott Memorial about his views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Levy, who lived in Israel for 20 years, is currently a senior fellow and director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative at The Century Foundation and Middle East Initiative at the New America Foundation. His speech was part of the "Pizza and Politics" series and was sponsored by Campus Action, Ethics Across the Curriculum, Hillel, Minerva Programs, Religious Studies, and several different academic departments.
Political Science Professor Thomas Lobe invited Levy to speak at Union. Levy has spoken to Union students who have participated in the Washington DC term abroad for the past two years and Lobe wanted him to come to campus to share his expertise on this important conflict in the Middle East. Levy did not speak in response to Ehud Olmert's speech earlier this winter but instead gave background about the conflict and voiced his views on the matter. Campus Action sponsored a reception in Sorum House before the talk.
"How did we get here?" said Levy at the beginning of his speech to the well-attended audience. Levy then followed up this statement with historical background of the conflict leading up to the present. He gave an overview of both the Israeli and Palestinian perspectives.
"Both sides are entrenched in a narrative. The Israelites have a narrative about rejection, violence, and hostility and the Palestinians have been expelled from their land. It's now 2010 and Israel has not come up with an answer to this issue," he said.
Levy spoke about the possibility of a two-state solution, which would allow Israel to overcome this internal dispute. However, he felt that the chances of this solution ever occurring were slim.
"Why does it matter?" he said. "No issue defines how the United States is perceived by the world more than that of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. We must maintain Israel but guarentee the end of the Palestinian's suffering. Before being elected president, Obama referred to this issue as being a constant sore and appointed George Mitchell, the American special envoy to the Middle East. Mitchell has so far been ineffective. Doing something about it also means having the political space to do something about it. America can do its part to help solve this conflict but so far that has not happened," said Levy.
After the speech Levy opened up the event for a question and answer period. Audience members asked a wide range of questions from whether Ariel Sharon's 2005 pull out of Gaza was a political move or a change of heart to Levy's opinion of Olmert.
"I think Daniel gave a great overview and answer to a number of questions but I think he expressed a lot of real sadness that Israel has ended up this way. He and I agree that there does not appear to be a solution-Israel cannot back off of its expansive dreams and Palestine is hopelessly corrupt and divided. America is the one to make the difference but will not," said Lobe.
Levy, who lived in Israel for 20 years, is currently a senior fellow and director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative at The Century Foundation and Middle East Initiative at the New America Foundation. His speech was part of the "Pizza and Politics" series and was sponsored by Campus Action, Ethics Across the Curriculum, Hillel, Minerva Programs, Religious Studies, and several different academic departments.
Political Science Professor Thomas Lobe invited Levy to speak at Union. Levy has spoken to Union students who have participated in the Washington DC term abroad for the past two years and Lobe wanted him to come to campus to share his expertise on this important conflict in the Middle East. Levy did not speak in response to Ehud Olmert's speech earlier this winter but instead gave background about the conflict and voiced his views on the matter. Campus Action sponsored a reception in Sorum House before the talk.
"How did we get here?" said Levy at the beginning of his speech to the well-attended audience. Levy then followed up this statement with historical background of the conflict leading up to the present. He gave an overview of both the Israeli and Palestinian perspectives.
"Both sides are entrenched in a narrative. The Israelites have a narrative about rejection, violence, and hostility and the Palestinians have been expelled from their land. It's now 2010 and Israel has not come up with an answer to this issue," he said.
Levy spoke about the possibility of a two-state solution, which would allow Israel to overcome this internal dispute. However, he felt that the chances of this solution ever occurring were slim.
"Why does it matter?" he said. "No issue defines how the United States is perceived by the world more than that of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. We must maintain Israel but guarentee the end of the Palestinian's suffering. Before being elected president, Obama referred to this issue as being a constant sore and appointed George Mitchell, the American special envoy to the Middle East. Mitchell has so far been ineffective. Doing something about it also means having the political space to do something about it. America can do its part to help solve this conflict but so far that has not happened," said Levy.
After the speech Levy opened up the event for a question and answer period. Audience members asked a wide range of questions from whether Ariel Sharon's 2005 pull out of Gaza was a political move or a change of heart to Levy's opinion of Olmert.
"I think Daniel gave a great overview and answer to a number of questions but I think he expressed a lot of real sadness that Israel has ended up this way. He and I agree that there does not appear to be a solution-Israel cannot back off of its expansive dreams and Palestine is hopelessly corrupt and divided. America is the one to make the difference but will not," said Lobe.
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