Small Group Series: The History and Context of the Current Crisis in Israel/Palestine

So what is this Hamas organization we’ve heard so much about? And for that matter, who are these Palestinians, and why are they so angry? And what were the Oslo Accords? And didn’t Bill Clinton get peace in the Middle East at Camp David a few years ago? And how does the Israel-Hamas War pertain to the “West Bank?” And why is all this connected to the Arab Spring of 2011-2012?

To answer these and other questions swirling around the horrors of the Israel-Hamas War, the UCG Small Group Committee is hosting a series of three sessions to understand this war in greater depth.

Starting at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14, and continuing for two more Sunday evenings (Jan. 21 and Jan. 28) in Reimer Hall, we will take up the troubling details of the war so far and try to arrive at policy recommendations that could lead toward peace in the Middle East. We expect the series to focus on:

• Jan. 14 – A History of Israeli-Palestinian Relations, 1936-2022
• Jan. 21 – Current Affairs: The Israel-Hamas War So Far, 2023-2024
• Jan. 28 – Open Discussion: The Road to Peace?

The series will be co-led by Dr. Fletcher Crowe of UCG and Dr. Mona Ashour of Cairo, Egypt, a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Florida. Dr. Crowe has worked for the United Nations in the Gaza Strip and wrote his doctoral dissertation on international relations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

All discussions will be conducted with the greatest respect for the variety of points of view that might be represented and will follow the highest principles of polite civic engagement.

For further information, contact Fletch at 770-876-0763