Next Monday, February 8th, Skidmore’s Office of Jewish life, Hillel and other members of the Saratoga community are co-sponsoring this year’s Jacob Perlow Lecture. The Jacob Perlow Series is an ongoing presentation of lectures that strive to present issues broadly related to Jews and Judaism. For this year’s lecture, at 7:00 PM in Gannett, Dr. Gershon Baskin comes to Skidmore to talk about the “Rising Challenges from the Middle East: Living and Working for Peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
The discussion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been an ongoing conversation, not only in the global conversation but also on this campus. Last semester, Rabbi Cohen came to Skidmore and gave a lecture on the dual narratives of the two conflicting countries, and illustrated the opposing, yet similar views Israel and Palestine have on the situation: both countries are fighting to reclaim and protect their homeland.
Dr. Baskin, a Social and Political Entrepreneur, looks at this turmoil in the Middle East region and its effect on the chances for peace, saying that the Arab Peach Initiative is still a viable option. Baskin is also an author who wrote about his initiating the secret back channel between Israel and Hamas, making him the man responsible for the successful negotiation of the release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. This lecture will surely be enlightening, as Basking speaks from his own personal experience dealing with issues that have erupted because of this conflict between Israel and Palestine. At 7:00 PM on Monday February 8th, Baskin will be in Gannet Auditorium sharing his story of the tensions and conflicts between these two nations, while also retaining a hope for peace.