The Department of Near Eastern Studies will offer a panel discussion, “Understanding Events in Israel – Palestine” from 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26 in Room 165 of McGraw Hall (Note: Location has changed to allow for greater occupancy, but seating is limited)

Panelists will provide historical context for the recent developments in the region and respond to questions from the audience.

Panelists will include:

Ross Brann, Milton R. Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies & Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, Department of Near Eastern Studies (A&S);

Alexandra Blackman, assistant professor, Department of Government (A&S); and

Paul Kohlbry, postdoctoral associate, Department of Anthropology (A&S).

Deborah Starr, professor and chair in the Department of Near Eastern Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences, will moderate the panel.

PACS Distinguished Lecture

Dmitri Alperovitch, a leading national security expert, will explain why he believes that China's Xi Jinping is preparing to conquer Taiwan in the coming years—and the dire stakes for the world if he is not deterred. Alperovitch makes the case that we are already in the midst of a second Cold War with Taiwan as the perilous strategic flashpoint of this new conflict. The conflict risks triggering a devastating war between major nuclear powers in a similar role that West Berlin nearly played during the first Cold War.

Laying out a comprehensive strategy to deter war and maintain the United States' status as the world's leading superpower in the face of rising China, Alperovitch breaks down the significant weaknesses that can prevent China from surpassing the U.S. and the key policies that will enable America to maintain primacy even as China ramps up its efforts. As Alperovitch explains, we must play to our strengths and address our weaknesses, using our leverage as the strongest nation on the planet to tactfully navigate the next Cold War.

About the Speaker

Dmitri Alperovitch is an internationally recognized thought leader on geopolitics and national security. He is co-founder and executive chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, a think-tank focused on policy solutions in national security, trade and industrial security, and ecological and economic security. He is also the co-founder of the leading cybersecurity company CrowdStrike Inc.

Alperovitch serves on the Homeland Security Advisory Council of the Department of Homeland Security and as a founding board member of the U.S. government's Cyber Safety Review Board. He has previously served as a special advisor to the Department of Defense. He is the host of Silverado's "Geopolitics Decanted" podcast and author of an upcoming book, World On the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the 21st Century.

Event Host

Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, part of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies

Part of Cornell’s yearlong exploration of freedom of expression, this event from Global Cornell brings together the campus community to discuss how Cornell can protect academic freedom while collaborating with institutions and scholars in places with different political realities and views on free speech.

Allan Goodman, chief executive officer of the Institute of International Education, joins Vice Provost for International Affairs Wendy Wolford to discuss:

How can universities like Cornell provide a safe haven for scholars whose right to free expression is threatened?How can universities act to promote scholarship, free expression, and global collaboration?Cornell has worked with the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) for over a decade to provide yearlong fellowships for displaced academics and human rights defenders. IIE also supports the Humphrey Fellows Program in the Department of Global Development and Fulbright fellowships for undergraduate students from across the university.

Goodman and Wolford will be joined by these panelists:

Sharif Hozoori (Afghanistan) | IIE-SRF fellow in the Einaudi Center’s South Asia ProgramPeidong Sun (China) | Einaudi Center’s East Asia Program and Associate Professor of History, A&SAzat Gündoğan (Turkey) | Florida State University, former IIE-SRF fellow in the Einaudi Center’s Institute for European Studies***

If you can't attend in person, register for a Zoom link to join the livestream here.

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About Allan Goodman

IIE’s CEO Allan E. Goodman is a Council on Foreign Relations member and serves on the selection committees for the Rhodes and Schwarzman Scholars and the Yidan Prize. He also serves on the Council for Higher Education Accreditation International Quality Group advisory council and the Education Above All Foundation board of trustees. Goodman has a PhD in government from Harvard, MPA from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and BS from Northwestern University.

About the Institute of International Education

For more than 100 years, the Institute of International Education has promoted the exchange of scholars and researchers and rescued scholars, students, and artists from persecution, displacement, and crises. IIE conducts research on international academic mobility and administers the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Program.

Supporting Scholars Under Threat

Learn more about how Global Cornell supports Scholars Under Threat.

Empirical Study of Gender Research Network (EGEN) in collaboration with the Gender and the Security Sector Lab, and the Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies presents the Global Status of Women Talk.

Speakers

Dawn Teele, Co-founder of EGEN, the Empirical Study of Gender, Johns Hopkins UniversityTiffany Barnes, Professor, University of KentuckySoledad Prillaman, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Stanford University.