As global tensions continue to rock the political landscape, Cornell is set to host Pathways to Peace, a panel discussion that will explore the conflict in Israel, Palestine and the Middle East.
The event, scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m. in Bailey Hall, will bring together leading scholars, policymakers and regional experts for an in-depth conversation on historical tensions, current challenges and “potential paths forward for the people of Israel and Palestine” — according to the event’s description. The event is free and open to all Cornell and community members with tickets.
Ryan Crocker, a former United States Ambassador who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, among other countries, will moderate the event. Crocker received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 and currently serves as a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Joining the panel are Salam Fayyad, former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, Tzipi Livni, former Israeli vice prime minister and foreign minister and Daniel B. Shapiro, former U.S. ambassador to Israel.
Fayyad, an economist and politician, worked in Palestinian governance and institution-building efforts. Livni, served in multiple high-ranking Israeli government positions and was a lead negotiator in past Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Shapiro served as ambassador under the Obama administration and has remained active in diplomatic and policy discussions on the Middle East.
“This is a region with a long and complex history, which has too often, in recent years, been reduced to binaries,” said Interim President Michael Kotlikoff in a statement to the Cornell Chronicle. “Through hearing firsthand from experts with direct, on-the-ground experience of the peace process, its collapse and the events of the past decades, we hope to challenge those misconceptions, and deepen our community’s understanding of the region’s current challenges and realities.”
The panel has met some resistance on campus. The Coalition for Mutual Liberation — an umbrella organization representing over 40 in and around Cornell — announced an “emergency walkout” in a Saturday Instagram post. According to the post, they are walking out to “protest Cornell University’s decision to invite war criminals to our campus.”
Following the discussion, the panelists will conduct a 45-minute question-and-answer session to address preselected audience questions. Attendees were invited to submit questions for consideration before the event; the submission period ended on Wednesday.
Jeremiah Jung ’28 is a Sun Assistant News Editor and can be reached at jwj66@cornell.edu.
