Arab Center Washington DC, in partnership with the Institute for Policy Studies, invites you to a conversation with Phyllis Bennis to discuss her latest book titled "Understanding Palestine and Israel." In the book, Bennis unpacks the complex history and present-day realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. From the Balfour Declaration to the current genocide in Gaza, she provides context and clarity on key issues central to understanding the conflict.

Phyllis Bennis is a Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington and Director of its New Internationalism Project. She is also a fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. In 2001 she helped found the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights and more recently spent six years on the board of Jewish Voice for Peace. She has addressed the UN General Assembly, served as an informal adviser to several top UN officials on Middle East issues, and was twice short-listed to become the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. She is also the author of Ending the Iraq War; Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power; Calling the Shots: How Washington Dominates Today’s UN; and Before & After: U.S. Foreign Policy and the War on Terrorism.

Moderator, Khalil E. Jahshan is a Palestinian American political analyst and media commentator. He serves as Executive Director of Arab Center Washington DC. Between 2004 and 2013, he was a Lecturer in International Studies and Languages at Pepperdine University and Executive Director of Pepperdine’s Seaver College Washington DC Internship Program. Previously, Jahshan served as Executive Vice President of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and Director of its government affairs affiliate, National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA)-ADC.