Subject Index: Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has reverberated on campus through protests, graffiti, and columns in student newspapers, often creating a hostile environment for Jewish students. Consequently this issue has been a focus of many of our educational and dialogue programs. Our goal: to provide models for respectful discussion of this very charged issue.

One Million Voices for Peace in the Middle East
Young Israeli and Palestinian peace activists from the OneVoice Movement spoke about their experience mobilizing hundreds of thousands of moderate Israelis and Palestinians who want to achieve peace non-violently through a two-state solution. This extraordinary event was presented by the Office of Jewish Affairs and cosponsored by the Muslim Students Association, Student Alliance for Israel, Arab Students Club, and the UMass Muslim Political Action Coalition (3/5/09)

Inter-Religious Approaches to Bridging the Arab-Israel Conflict
Lecture by Dr. Ben Mollov, Research Fellow at the Project for the Study of Religion, Culture and Peace at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. Response by Prof. Iza Hussin, Legal Studies, UMass Amherst (2/19/09)

Film: "Mechina: A Preparation"
In Israel, military service is mandatory after high school graduation. Living with her cousin Amitai and his five friends as they prepare for army service, director Maital Guttman uncovers the complexity of being young and idealistic in a time of war. Q&A with director (4/14/08)

Yom Ha'Atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day)
A celebration of Israel's 60th birthday with live music, dancing, and Israeli food (5/8/08)

Israeli Film Series:
Understanding the Palestinian and Israeli 'Other'
Hot House
Israeli filmmaker Shimon Dotan's interviews with Palestinian "security prisoners" (whom most Israelis regard as criminals, but most Palestinians regard as freedom fighters) provide insight into the mentality behind terrorism and the ways Israeli prisons have served as virtual universities for future Palestinian political leaders (4/3/08)
Storm of Emotions
An emotional documentary about Israel's evacuation of Jewish settlements in Gaza in 2005, as seen through the eyes of the secular and religious Israeli soldiers and police who carried out the evacuation, and the settlers who were forced to leave their homes (4/7/08)

Performance: "It's Better in Amharic"
Black History Month celebration. A hilarious and poignant one-man play by Ethiopian-Israeli Yossi Vassa, who acts out his travels from Ethiopia to his new home in Israel, exploring what it means to be a Jew in Ethiopia and an African in Israel. (2/5/08)

The Environment as Catalyst for Peace
in the Middle East
Jordanian, Palestinian, and Israeli alumni of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies will discuss their experience living and studying together, in an effort to cooperatively solve the region's environmental challenges (9/24/07).

Israel Film Festival (March 10-11, 2007)
Three films exploring Israeli society and politics, in conjunction with the Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival.
Walk on Water is a thriller about a Mossad agent assigned to track down an aging Nazi war criminal, challenging our beliefs about sexuality, vengeance,
and the morality of killing (3/10/07).
Encounter Point is a compelling documentary about Palestinians and Israelis who risk everything to promote a nonviolent end to the conflict (3/11/07).
West Bank Story, winner of the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film—a hilarious parody of West Side Story which makes a serious statement about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict (3/11/07).

The Memory of the Holocaust and the
Israeli-Arab conflict
Lecture by Idith Zertal, one of Israel's "New Historians"; author of From Catastrophe to Power and Israel's Holocaust and the Politics of Nationhood (3/13/07)

Recent Developments in Israel and Palestine
Panel discussion exploring the political landscape after the Israeli disengagement from Gaza and the electoral victories of Hamas and the new Kadima Party (4/4/06)

The Search for Identity in a Fractured Society
Two films by Israeli and Palestinian women directors, shown in conjunction with the Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival and the Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival (March 28-30, 2006)

A Land Twice Promised
Israeli storyteller Noa Baum builds bridges of understanding and compassion (4/5/05)

Defending Palestinian and Israeli Human Rights
Lecture by Rabbi Arik Asherman, the Israeli director of Rabbis for Human Rights (11/21/04)

Struggling Towards Peace in Times of Terror
Lecture by Avraham Burg, former speaker of the Israeli Knesset and Geneva Accord negotiator (11/9/04)

Missing Peace in the Middle East
Lecture by Ambassador Dennis Ross, the United States' chief envoy in the Middle East during the Reagan, Bush Sr. and Clinton administrations (5/7/03)

One Holy Land, Three Holy Peoples
Lecture by Reuven Firestone, an expert on Jewish-Muslim and Jewish-Arab relations (10/20/02)

Film: "Promises"
Award-winning documentary exploring the Middle East conflict through the eyes of its children. Discussion with director B.Z. Goldberg following the film (4/30/02)

Photographic journey through the Israeli/Palestinian conflict
A photo essay by Larry Goldbaum chronicling his experiences during an interfaith visit to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza in June 1999.

Roads to Reconciliation in the Middle East
Israeli and Palestinian peace activists Zoughbi Zoughbi and Judith Green discussed their experiences trying to build bridges across "enemy" lines (11/9/98)

Transforming Hatred:
Sowing the Seeds of Peace in the Middle East
Panel discussion with four graduates of the "Seeds of Peace" summer camp—youths from Jerusalem, Ramallah, Cairo, and Amman, Jordan (3/5/98)

Palestinian-Jewish Dialogue for Peace
The cofounders of the Palestinian and Jewish American Women's Dialogue Project discussed Israeli-Palestinian relations and their experience forging a respectful dialogue across a vast cultural and political divide (12/3/97)

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