Middle East Expert to Discuss U.S. Approach to Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Trump Era

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Mouin Rabbani, resident senior fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies in Washington, D.C.

Mouin Rabbani, resident senior fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies in Washington, D.C., will give a lecture titled "Palestine: Anatomy of an Abyss" on Tuesday, Feb. 5. The lecture will take place at 5:30 p.m. in Gearhart Hall (GEAR) Room 26 on the University of Arkansas campus, and is free and open to the public.

This talk will review the status of Palestine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Trump era, situating these in the broader context of changing regional and global dynamics.

Since taking office, the Trump administration has taken a number of steps to reformulate the U.S. approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including recognizing Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem, relocating the U.S. embassy to Israel, ordering the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization mission to the U.S., and terminating aid to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

"Mouin Rabbani is one of the world's foremost experts on the contemporary Israeli-Palestinian conflict," says Ted Swedenburg, professor of anthropology and program coordinator of the University of Arkansas King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies. "We look forward to sharing his special insights on these issues with the campus community."

Mouin Rabbani is an independent analyst, commentator and researcher specializing in the contemporary Middle East. A graduate of Tufts University and Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Rabbani has published, presented and commented widely on Middle East issues, including for most major print, television and digital media.

He has previously served as principal political affairs officer with the Office of the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria; head of Middle East with the Crisis Management Initiative/Martti Ahtisaari Centre; and senior middle east analyst and special advisor on Israel-Palestine with the International Crisis Group. He is also co-editor of Jadaliyya, contributing editor of Middle East Report, associate fellow of the European Council on Foreign Relations, and policy advisor to Al-Shabaka—The Palestinian Policy Network.

This lecture is presented by the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies, the Department of Political Science, and the International and Global Studies Program at the University of Arkansas, and is free and open to the public.

Learn more about the event on its Facebook page.