Holy Cross Lecture to Consider Past, Present and Future of Israel

Nir Eisikovits, founder and director of the graduate program in ethics and public policy at Suffolk University, will give a talk titled “Stuck: Why Israel is in so much trouble and how it can dig out,” on Monday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. in Rehm Library, Smith Hall, at the College of the Holy Cross. The lecture, supported by the Kraft-Hiatt Fund for Jewish-Christian Understanding, is free and open to the public.

Eisikovits focuses his research and writing on the moral and political dilemmas arising in post-conflict and transitional settings. In this talk, he will consider what led Israel to its current situation and how Israelis can improve their position.

“Israel finds itself in the worst strategic shape it has been in for decades,” he explains. “Its alliances with Egypt, Syria and Jordan have been destabilized; it is subject to intense international criticism over the handling of the Palestinian question; it is experiencing unprecedented internal civic strife.”

An Israeli attorney, Eisikovits earned his Ph.D. in legal and political philosophy from Boston University in 2005. He is a fellow at the International Center for Conciliation. He is the author of Sympathizing with the Enemy: Reconciliation, Transitional Justice, Negotiation (Republic of Letters, 2009).

The Kraft-Hiatt fund supports campus and community-wide educational initiatives that foster understanding of Judaism and Jewish culture, and dialogue between Jews and Christians.  It is administered by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture. The lecture is co-sponsored by Peace and Conflict Studies at Holy Cross. For more information and to listen to lectures online, visit http://www.holycross.edu/crec.

About The Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture:

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture provides resources for faculty and course development, sponsors conferences and college-wide teaching events, hosts visiting fellows, and coordinates a number of campus lecture series. Rooted in the College’s commitment to invite conversation about basic human questions, the Center welcomes persons of all faiths and seeks to foster dialogue that acknowledges and respects differences, providing a forum for intellectual exchange that is interreligious, interdisciplinary, intercultural, and international in scope.  The Center also brings members of the Holy Cross community into conversation with the Greater Worcester community, the academic community, and the wider world to examine the role of faith and inquiry in higher education and in the larger culture.