Academic Year 2009-2010

Regional Stability in the Levant: Israel, Lebanon, and Syria
October 14, 2009, 12:30PM
Fares Center Conference Room
Speakers: Rabeh Ghadban, Hammad Hammad, Trevor McNeil, David Wallsh, and Maggie Williams
Moderator: Ambassador William A. Rugh, Fares Center Visiting Scholar; Edward R. Murrow Visiting Professor of Public Diplomacy, The Fletcher School

Summary

Ambassador William A. Rugh, Fares Center Visiting Scholar and Edward R. Murrow Visiting Professor of Public Diplomacy at The Fletcher School, moderated this lunchtime roundtable featuring students who have recently lived and worked in the Middle East and experienced the security and stability in the region.

Rabeh Ghadban (MALD '11) discussed his recent work experience with the Lebanese Transparency Association, which monitored the Lebanese National Assembly election of June 2009. Ghadban has also worked as a freelance journalist and was able to assess the prospects for regional stability after having viewed the Middle  East conflict from many perspectives: as an independent observer of the political process, as a Lebanese-American, and as a journalist. Ghadban witnessed first-hand some of the fighting that went on in Lebanon during the summer, which he found alternatively frightening and eye-opening. Despite this experience, he is encouraged by the current prospects for Lebanese civil society.

Trevor McNeil (MALD '10) recently undertook an internship with the Lebanese Transparency Association and was excited to find himself in Lebanon during the National Assembly election of June 2009, which provided him with insight and first-hand experience through observation of a highly contentious election. McNeil was shocked that the pro-Western 14 March coalition prevailed over the Hizballah-dominated 8 March coalition, which had been widely expected to win. McNeil contrasted this experience with an earlier internship at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in Washington, D.C.

David Wallsh (MALD '11) discussed the two years he spent studying in Jerusalem and working at the Israeli-Palestinian Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) where he was involved with a project aimed at facilitating trade and joint business ventures between Israeli and Palestinian small businesses. Wallsh discussed various public opinions in Israel regarding potential peace efforts, the effects of Israel's settlement policy, prospects for Netanyahu's right-wing government and his “economic peace” plan, and the notion of a possible “third intifada.” Overall, Wallsh's view on prospects for a peace agreement in the near term was not optimistic. He argued that much more additional effort was needed from all sides.

Hammad Hammad (MALD '11) was born in Jerusalem and raised in the West Bank. In his remarks, he discussed the impact of the Goldstone Report on the Palestinian Authority and the viability of resuming negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis. Hammad views Palestinian-Israeli peace as the most important component to regional stability.

Maggie Williams (MALD '10) interned at Tomorrow's Youth Organization (TYO), a community development non-profit in the West Bank city of Nablus. At TYO, Williams interacted with kids and their mothers primarily from the three refugee camps in Nablus. Williams organized and led classes on a diverse range of subjects meant to further healthy expression, increase self-confidence and sociability, and to improve the health of the women and children in the refugee camps. Williams commented on the difficulties faced by residents of such camps and contrasted life in them to life in nearby settlements inhabited by Israeli Jews, which were in excellent condition and offered freedom of movement and infrastructure not found in the refugee camps.  Despite this, Williams had a positive outlook for peace, but acknowledged that many obstacles must be surmounted before an agreement can be achieved.

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