On May 5th, in London, I’ll be talking on a great panel. Melanie Phillips is giving a keynote address and then there’ll be panel discussion with these august participants and me!
- Melanie Phillips is a British journalist, broadcaster and author.
- David Hirsh is a lecturer in sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London.
- David Collier has been writing on the Israeli/Arab conflicts for 16 years.
- Ahmed Meligy is an Egyptian peace activist and vlogger.
- Brian of London (Brian Thomas) is not the messiah, he’s a very naughty boy.
- James Sorene is CEO of BICOM, the Britain-Israel communications and Research Centre.
The Facebook page for the event is here and you can reserve tickets here. I’d love to see and meet as many of our Israellycool readers as I can in London in May!
The full details of the event:
Since 1937 the Two-State solution has been put forward as a solution to the conflict between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East.
The clash between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East is widely seen as the worlds most intractable conflict.
Politicians and commentators claim that the window of opportunity for such a settlement is rapidly closing .
Do Palestinian Arabs have a legitimate claim to statehood in Israel’s biblical heartland?
Is the status quo sustainable ?
More than twenty years after the Oslo accord is
the Two State solution dead or alive ?
Will it bring peace or lead to further instability in an already troubled region ?
Join our panel to discuss the best path to peace in the Middle East.
Campaign4truth – C4T -is a non profit , non governmental, grassroots activist organisation based in London whose mission is to analyse and promote the understanding of major issues and current affairs in the context of Jewish Diaspora, Israel and the Middle East, with a particular focus on anti-semitism =anti-Zionism=anti-Judaism.
Keynote speaker: Melanie Phillips.
Melanie Phillips is a British journalist, broadcaster and author. whose weekly column currently appears in The Times. She also writes regularly for the Jewish Chronicle and the Jerusalem Post.
She is the author of Londonistan, The World Turned Upside Down: the Global Battle over God, Truth and Power, and Guardian Angel, the memoir of her personal and political journey from being the darling of the left to prominentdefender of Israel and the west.
You can follow Melanie’s work on Facebook or on Twitter at @melanieLatest.
First panellist: David Hirsh
David Hirsh is a lecturer in sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London.
He is the founding editor of the Engage website which was set up to oppose antisemitism and the boycott movement, in particular within the University and College Union, and more generally on the left, in the labour movement and among academics.
His academic writing has focused recently on the relationship between hostility to Israel and antisemitism.
He is a long time advocate of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians on the basis of the mutual recognition of Israeli and Palestinian states.
Second Panellist: David Collier
David Collier has been writing on the Israeli/Arab conflicts for 16 years.
He spent 19 years living in Israel and ran his own travel business there. During the
Oslo process he co-ordinated tourism projects between Israel and the PA.
He also published a newspaper that was printed at Al-Ayam in Ramallah.
David now writes on antisemitism and antizionism from his blog ‘Beyond the Great
Divide’. His articles are widely shared and have been reprinted in various
newspapers across the globe.
Third Panellist: Ahmed Meligy
Ahmed Meligy is an Egyptian peace activist , vlogger , who works on the Israeli/Arab conflict resolution and Interfaith Dialogue between Muslims & Jews.
As a Muslim,he denounces terrorism, anti-Semitism, and all kinds of violence.
Ahmed believes in democracy, freedom in Islam and the Importance of Islamic REFORMATION, Egypt’s role in the region, the problems of Jews in the Middle East, relations between Israel and Egypt.
Ahmed Meligy helped with the creation of the very first Peace movement on Social media back in May 2011 named YaLa Young leaders which was initiated by The Peres peace center in Tel Aviv for more than 5 years now since it was luanched in which it generated a Million followers from all over the region, Ahmed Meligy also writes for the Jerusalem Post for 4 years now about the political situation in Egypt and his peace experiences with Israelis through the years (blog)
Ahmed Meligy also studied Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding through by the US State Department and the United States Institute for Peace, also he did his own Holocaust research in Europe by visiting the death camps and interviewing Holocaust survivors, he is a senior fellow at Gatestone Institute.
Fourth panellist: Dr. Brian Thomas
Brian of London (Brian Thomas) is not the messiah, he’s a very naughty boy. Brian began writing and podcasting soon after 9-11. Since making aliyah in 2009 to raise his kids in the Jewish state, Brian has been a senior contributing editor at Israellycool. He splits his time between various businesses in Israel, including a new tech startup, and writing. Brian’s interests include electric cars, world peace, Islam and Israel.
There never was a two state solution. Brian doesn’t believe anyone has the answer to the problem of Israel and the Arabs. The best we can do is manage this perpetual problem with the fewest Jewish casualties balanced against the least unreasonable living conditions for Arabs. After years of studying Islam he sees its fingerprints on almost every physical and intellectual attack against Jews running their own affairs in their indigenous lands.
Brian will explain how moving to live in Israel was his first step to realising his home and the home of all Jews, has nothing to do with a place of birth.
Chair & fifth panellist: James Sorene
James Sorene is CEO of BICOM, the Britain-Israel communications and Research Centre. He appears frequently on TV and Radio as a commentator on the Middle East and Israel and writes regularly for newspapers and websites. Before joining BICOM in August 2015 James was Head of Communications for the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. Prior to that, James held senior positions in communications at the Department of Health and the Home Office. From 1997 to 2000 he was Head of Public Affairs at the Israeli Embassy in London. He holds a Law Degree from Queen Mary University of London and a Masters in Middle Eastern Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies.
