Register for our next conference on April 10, 2016
at Adyar theater
4 Rapp square, 75007 Paris
The Middle-East is in turmoil. Shattering of State structures, exacerbation of internal repression, conflicts between regional powers, international interventions, hostilities between factions and currents within Islam —Sunnis against Shiites, Sunnis against Sunnis—conflicts get entangled and go on and on, making more and more difficult for non-specialists to understand clearly the destructive dynamic which drives civilian populations to flee their countries and to gatecrash into Europe. Daesh, which continues to control through coercion and terror the territories it has conquered, undoubtedly attracts hundreds of young European Muslims fascinated by its deadly ideology. The weakening of the American presence in the Western Mediterranean and the obvious reluctance of Europeans to intervene in that region have allowed Russia to regain the place it held 25 years ago, which it highlights by rescuing the Assad regime while all observers recently agreed in predicting its fall.
We will devote the first round table of our conference to deciphering this situation with the help of our guests, by analyzing the actors’ strategies and the power relationships which could open the door to new alliances.
In this chaotic context, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not anymore a priority for the international community. France alone calls for the organization of a regional conference in order to save the Two State Solution by involving the neighbouring Arab States also faced with the Islamist threat.
In Israel, one year after the elections put him in power for the fourth time, Benyamin Netanyahu is unable to take the least political initiative in order to défuse this new cycle of terrorism the casualty toll of which rises every day. By linking all the—real— threats surrounding the country to the worst traumas of the Jewish history and by dismissing all international criticism of Israeli politics as being antisemitic, Netanyahu bolsters the Israelis’ fears. His government —the most rightist in the history of Israel—multiplies initiatives and bills that endanger the foundations of the Israeli democracy, while continuing the settlement policy, which makes even more difficult the land partition.
The Palestinian Authority, however, has given up all direct negotiations with Israelis, favouring an international approach. Powerless in front of the new Intifada, mostly conducted by young uncontrolled Palestinians, it condemns neither the attacks against Israeli civilians, nor the glorification of these attacks in the media and the social networking.
The second round table will deal with the situation in Israel by insisting on the civil society resistance through the action of numerous NGO’s fighting for the human rights and against occupation. With our guests, we will also ponder on the ability of the political forces in the country and in the international community to put an end to this suicidal status quo and restore the hope of both populations.
To try to decipher this situation, we organize our next conference on April 10, 2016
at Adyar theater
4 Rapp square, 75007 Paris
Conference program:
9.30 a.m: public reception
10 a.m. Till 1.p.m.: Round table on the geopolitical situation of the region considering the current turmoils and the evolution of the international situation.
with the participation of:
Mytiam Benraad, political scientist, specialist of Irak and of the Arab world
Kendal Nezan, French-Kurdish nuclear physicist, president of the Kurdish institute of Paris
Ilan Paz, Former head of the IDF Civil Administration, former brigade commander in the West Bank
Bernard Rougier, director of the CEDEJ, specialist of the Arab Middle-East, assistant professor in political science and professor in Sciences Po Paris
Hubert Védrine, former French minister of Foreign Affairs
From 2.p.m. till 5.p.m.: Round table on the choices of the Israeli policy and the consequences of the ongoing occupation on the Israeli society
With the participation of:
Elie Barnavi, historian, former ambassador of Israel in France
Ilan Paz, Former head of the IDF Civil Administration, former brigade commander in the West Bank
Mossi Raz, general secretary of the Meretz, former director of the Forum of NGO ‘s for peace
Talia Sasson, President of the New Israel Fund, legal expert and author of the Sasson Report commissioned by Ariel Sharon
Alain Finkelkraut, member of the French Academy
Registration fee:
Non member: 20€
Member up to date of contribution: 15€
Student or job-seeker: 10€
Membership and Registration : 45€
Register to this conference : Click here
