MEPEACE Chat - October 23

You are cordially invited to take part in the first of three workshops of our new series 'After September - The Prospects of Palestine'. The workshops will begin at 20.00 Jerusalem time in the MEPEACE Chat.

 

Event link: http://mepeace.org/events/mepeace-chat-october-23 

 

In the Middle East, turbulent weeks and months lie behind us. The Arab Spring took us by surprise, and, even without being an accomplished process yet, has already changed realities in the region. Some weeks ago, in New York - some may regard it as having a direct connection to the mentioned upheavals in the Arab world - Mahmoud Abbas handed a paper to UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon. With this paper, Abbas, on behalf of his people, asked the United Nations for official recognition of the Palestinian state.

 

What was this? What significance has the September UN General Assembly gathering? A milestone, or a mere footnote? Or something inbetween? This is what we want to discuss in the upcoming three workshops.

 

In the first workshop, on next Sunday, we will focus on the speeches by both Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu. We will evaluate the content of both speeches and reflect on their respective significance.

 

Here are links to the full texts of both speeches:

 

Netanyahu: http://www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com/israelinews/politics/united-nations/1464-netanyahus-speech-to-the-un-full-video-and-text.html

 

Abbas: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/full-transcript-of-abbas-speech-at-un-general-assembly-1.386385

 

The leading questions for the workshop, titled 'Evaluating the UN speeches of Abbas and Netanyahu', will be:

 

How do you evaluate the significance of what happened at the UN in general?

 

What are your reflections on Abbas's speech? Did it move you, in the way it moved so many Palestinians in the West Bank and elsewhere?

 

What is your analysis of Netanyahu's words? In your view, does his 'reply' to Abbas contain any valid points? If so, how could the different positions be reconciled?

 

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<p><strong>THIS EVENT, WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY DUE TO BE HELD ON OCTOBER 9, HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO OCTOBER 23!</strong></p>

Please note that the event will start on Sunday, October 23 at 20.00 Jerusalem time, in the MEPEACE Chat.

If you have any questions regarding the event, please don't hesitate to contact us at dialogue@mepeace.org.

We are looking forward to your participation!

The MEPEACE Team