Palestinian/Israeli Conflict

Ehud Eiran

Ehud Eiran is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Politics at Brandeis University and a fellow at the International Security Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Relations at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Ehud Eiran has held various positions in the Israeli civil service. He has served as personal legal clerk for two Israeli Attorneys General and as Assistant Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Ehud Barak. In his last post in the Prime Minister’s office, he worked on Israeli-US relations and the Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations.

Ehud has been a featured guest on national media programs such The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (PBS) and On Point with Tom Ashbrook (NPR). Mr. Eiran holds degrees in Political Science and Law from Tel Aviv University and an MA in International Relations from Cambridge University. As a volunteer, he has worked with an Israeli youth movement and with the Israeli Center for Psychological Support for Holocaust Survivors. He holds the rank of Major (Res.) in the Israel Defense Forces.

Topics:

• US-Israel Relations: Historical, Sociological, and Security Dimensions
• Israeli Law: Human Rights, the Constitution, the Separation of Church and State
• Israeli Security Policies
• Israeli History and Society
• Influences on Israeli Identity: Immigration, Jewish Tradition, Democracy, the Holocaust, and Israeli Arabs
• Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations and Conflict 

Nir Eisikovits

Nir Eisikovits teaches legal and political philosophy at Suffolk University. He is also a fellow at the International Center for Conciliation.

Dr. Eisikovits’s research focuses on the moral and political dilemmas that arise in post-conflict settings. His research interests include the possibility of sympathy between enemies, the feasibility of forgiveness in politics, and the comparative benefits of truth commissions and war crime tribunals for societies emerging from prolonged conflict.

His recent scholarly publications include: "Forget Forgiveness: On The Benefits of Sympathy for Political Reconciliation" (Theoria, 105), "I am the Enemy you Killed my Friend: Rethinking The Legitimacy of Truth Commissions"(Metaphilosophy, 37), and "Moral Luck and the Criminal Law" (in Law and Social Justice MIT, 2005). Nir has also written numerous op-ed pieces on the Middle East conflict for various American newspapers and weeklies.

Dr. Eisikovits received his Ph.D. in legal and political philosophy from Boston University in 2005. Prior to that, he graduated from law school in Tel Aviv. Dr. Eisikovits is a captain in the IDF reserves.

Topics:

• Democracy and the War on Terrorism
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and Attempts at Peace
• Israel as a Jewish Democratic State
• The Day After: A Comparative Look at Political Reconciliation
• Moral Questions in International Relations: Just War Theory, Duty of Assistance to Poor Countries, Realism vs. Idealism in Foreign Policy

Deborah Nathan

Deborah Nathan is the founder and Executive Director of Artsbridge, Inc., a new non-profit that utilizes the art-making process to foster creative vision, empathy, and skills in communication, teamwork, project management, conflict resolution and leadership.

Deborah Nathan, MA is the founder and Executive Director of Artsbridge, Inc. Artsbridge utilizes collaborative artmaking and reflective dialogue to build lasting relationships between young people caught on either side of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Through a unique disciplinary integration of expressive therapy, fine arts education, artmaking, reflective dialogue, and recreation, Artsbridge participants work together to create a new, joint narrative, that empowers each participant and enables them to move forward productively. It is the interdisciplinary synergy of the Artsbridge model that enables rapid and profound shifts in students’ experiences, abilities and narratives over the course of their training.

Artsbridge capitalizes on opportunities inherent to the artmaking process to cultivate hope, empathy and empowerment in participating youth, and processes those ideas through a reflective, dialogic process.

Now in its third year, Artsbridge’s impact in the region is undeniable. Since its inception, more than one hundred Palestinian and Israeli youth have participated in this unique interdisciplinary program. In the face of ongoing conflict between the peoples of Israel and Palestine, Artsbridge students have retained their loyalties to each other personally and to the Artsbridge ideals of respectful listening.

Nathan lived in Israel from 1976-1979. She received her Master’s Degree in Art Therapy and Mental Health Counseling from Lesley University and has over 30 years experience as an artist and art educator. She is also affiliated with The Salem Center for Therapy, Training and Research where she sits on the Board of Directors.

• Are there Two Sides for Peace?/ A Personal Journey towards Coexistence Work and Conflict Mitigation
• The Artsbridge Approach/ The Need for Grass Roots Peace Efforts
• Transforming the Narratives of Youth/Empowering Youth who live the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

Ofer A. Zmiri

Ofer A. Zmiri currently serves as a president and CEO of a security-consulting firm and as a professor of intelligence, counter-terrorism and international security, terrorism, and security management at UMASS Lowell. Previously, he taught on those topics at Elon University, University of North Carolina, and Wake Forest University. He was security director at Ben Gurion International Airport.

An independent security analyst. Mr. Ofer Zmiri has brought his expertise from security methods founded abroad, to apply in the United States. While security director at Ben Gurion International Airport, Shimon Peres, then Secretary of Transportation, asked Mr. Zmiri to overhaul the security system at the airport. In this context, while crafting the security concept at Ben Gurion Airport, he was among a group of only 3 people that created the famous Israeli Aviation Security System.

After completing that mission, he was assigned by the Israeli government to top executive level security positions in Europe and the Middle East.

He moved to North America in 1986 to take part in postgraduate programs at McGill and Harvard Universities, and after working as Vice President and International Chief Marketing Officer for large American companies, he has decided to implement his security knowledge in the United States. Currently he serves as a president and CEO of a security-consulting firm and as a professor of intelligence, counter-terrorism and international security, terrorism, and security management at UMASS Lowell. Previously he has taught courses on the aforementioned topics at Elon University, University of North Carolina, and Wake Forest University. He brings with him a methodology that, while his security measures are impermeable to attack, the system does not hinder the activities of the facility, its organization, its business, or its people. A method of living and survival that was inspired by his mentor Shimon Peres, and that has become the motto of his security career.

• Current Events in Israel and the Middle East
• The Changing Threat of International Terrorism
• Counter-terrorism - Philosophies and Methods
• Israeli Security Policies and Experiences
• The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Radical Movements in the Middle East