The Holocaust and the Nakba: Traumatic Memories and (Bi)National Identities in Israel-Palestine

The Jewish Holocaust and the Palestinian Nakba fundamentally shape two peoples' identities. Memories of each function as exclusionary "Myths of Origin," at once demanding acknowledgement by the other, while denying recognition of the other. Deeply polarizing, the Jewish and Palestinian national narratives become irreconcilable, inhibiting prospects for a political settlement.

Israeli-Palestinian Claims Tribunal: The Case of Sheik Jarrah

 

Please join us for a mock international tribunal, which will hear arguments on the application of principles of international humanitarian law to the property issues at the heart of the Sheikh Jarrah litigation. Sheikh Jarrah, in East Jerusalem, is an area of great historical and cultural significance, both to Palestinian and Jewish communities, and has been the site of a long-running litigation involving a wide range of international law issues. These include the status of the properties at issue under international law, the right of return of refugees to their homes in the State of Israel, and the fair and lawful resolution of international property law disputes. The purpose of this event will be to present these issues before a fair and impartial hypothetical international tribunal, which will resolve the issue based on principles of international humanitarian law.

 

Tuesday October 9 | 12:10 - 1:10pm
Jerome Greene Hall Room 107

Presenters:

Michael Mansfield QC (Palestinian side) is a British lawyer with an international reputation on human rights issues. He has represented defendants in criminal trials, appeals and inquiries in some of the most controversial legal cases of the past 45 years, particularly where issues of Civil Liberty have arisen. 
Michael Sfard (Israeli side) is an Israeli lawyer specializing in international human rights law and the laws of war. He has served as counsel in numerous important cases on these topics in Israel. 


Sami Ershied (Israeli side) is an Israeli Bar-qualified lawyer with a significant practice and expertise dealing with housing, land and property issues. He has extensive knowledge of the current legal situation in Jerusalem. 


John Dugard (Chair of Tribunal) is a Professor of Law at the University of Leiden and the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He is internationally respected for his work on human rights in South Africa, and is a former special rapporteur for both the UN Commission on Human Rights and the International Law Commission. 

 

Origins of Traditional Palestinian: Costume and Embroidery

Hanan K. Munayyer is a molecular biologist and worked for three decades in pharmaceutical research in NJ. She is president and co-founded, with her husband Farah, the Palestinian Heritage Foundation, 25 years ago, to preserve and exhibit their comprehensive collection of Palestinian costumes, jewelry and other artifacts, one of the largest in the world.