Nov 1, 12-1:30 pm (food at 11:30), 501 CL: Jeff Halper "An Israeli in Palestine."

A READING BY JEFF HALPER:

AN ISRAELI IN PALESTINE: RESISTING DISPOSSESSION, REDEEMING ISRAEL

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1,  12 NOON-1:30 PM   501  CL.   Discussion will follow the reading.

REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED AT 11:30 AM AND AFTER THE DISCUSSION.

         In his book An Israeli in Palestine, from which he will be reading, Halper throws a harsh light on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the point of view of a critical insider.   While the Zionist founders of Israel created a vibrant society, they did so at a high price:  Israel could not maintain its exclusive Jewish character without imposing on the country's Palestinian population policies of ethnic cleansing, occupation and discrimination, expressed most graphically in its ongoing demolition of thousands of Palestinian homes, both inside Israel and in the Occupied Territories. 

                Without dismissing Israel's legitimacy, Halper exposes how Israel is defined by its oppressive relationship to the Palestinians.  Pleading for a aview of Israel as a real, living country which must by necessity evolve and change, Halper asks whether the idea of an ethically-pure 'Jewish State' is still viable, and he offers ways in which Israel can redeem itself. 

Dr. Jeff Halper is the Co-founder and Director of ICAHD, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.

He was born in 1946 in Minnesota and emigrated to Israel in 1973. Since then he has been a tireless advocate for justice 

and civil rights for all Israelis and Palestinians. He spent ten years as a community worker in Jerusalem aiding low-income 

Mizrahi families. He co-founded ICAHD in 1997 to help resist Israel’s strategy of house demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian 

Territory. He is the author of three books, 'Between Redemption and Revival: The Jewish Yishuv in Jerusalem in the 

Nineteenth Century', 'An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Possession, Redeeming Israel', and 

"Obstacles to Peace: A reframing of the Palestinian – Israeli Conflict'.   In 2006 Dr. Halper was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing ICAHD's work "to liberate both the Palestinian and the Israeli people from the yoke of structural violence" and "to build equality between their people by recognizing and celebrating their common  humanity."

CO-SPONSORED BY:   THE LITERATURE PROGRAM, THE HUMANITIES CENTER, AND THE JEWISH STUDIES PROGRAM