Led by Rabbi Maurice Harris
Many who remember the excitement that immediately followed the announcement of the 1993 Oslo Agreement have come to despair that they will live to see a just, sustainable, and peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And while there may be new possibilities for the resumption of direct peace negotiations in light of the recent emergence of new administrations in both Israel and the USA, the combination of conditions that are needed to get the “Two-State-Solution” back on track remain very elusive.
In this 2 hour session, Rabbi Maurice Harris will present how Israelis and Palestinians got to the place they’re now in, followed by an overview of some of the different proposals for resolving the conflict that are gaining increased attention among Israeli and Palestinian officials and activists.
Given the brevity of this session, the presentation on the history of the conflict will be very incomplete. Rabbi Maurice uses a dual-narrative approach to teaching about the history of the conflict, so his goal during the history part of the presentation will be to understand the different ways both peoples’ remember the past and give meaning to their current struggles. The forward-looking part of the presentation will rely in part on how the two narratives play a part in determining what kinds of resolutions to the conflict might be possible in the coming years.
Question and answer will follow.
Rabbi Maurice Harris (RRC ’03) began his rabbinic career serving Temple Beth Israel in Eugene, Oregon, from 2003 – 11. He also taught in the Judaic Studies department at the University of Oregon, including a course entitled “Israelis and Palestinians” for four years. For the past 5 years, Maurice has worked in the Department for Thriving Communities at Reconstructing Judaism, where he also serves as Israel Affairs Specialist. The son of a Moroccan-Israeli mother and an Ashkenazi-Midwestern-American father, Maurice spent most of the summers of his childhood with members of his extended family in working class Moroccan-Jewish Tel Aviv neighborhoods. Since the 1990s, he has been involved in various peace and reconciliation organizations regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and he is a member of J Street’s Rabbinic Cabinet. Maurice is also the author of three books: Moses: A Stranger among Us (2011); Leviticus: You Have No Idea (2012); and The Forgotten Sage: Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah and the Birth of Judaism as We Know It (2019).