The Program in Jewish Studies and cosponsors welcome Sheila H. Katz, professor of Middle East history and contemplative studies in the multidisciplinary Liberal Arts Department at Berklee College of Music in Boston, for the second Israel/Palestine Studies Professorship Annual Lecture at the University of Colorado Boulder. Katz’s talk, “Connecting with the Enemy: A Century of Palestinian-Israeli Joint Nonviolence,” will reflect on her new book of the same title and is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m.
Connecting with the Enemy is the first comprehensive history of Palestinian and Israeli grassroots efforts to forge joint nonviolent alternatives to the lethal collision of their national movements. Katz says, “To my knowledge, there has never been an attempt to reach an enemy in such widely diverse and creative ways by so many thousands of ordinary citizens during so many years of conflict.”
In her talk, Katz will chronicle those who resisted the dictates of their societies in order to stand face to face with the enemy. Together they spoke truth to power, witnessed the other's suffering, demonstrated for justice, advocated for equality, monitored human rights, protected their environment, mourned together their children killed by the other, made music and art and challenged policies that perpetuated violence. She will analyze their failures to achieve a just peace and details of their successes.
After her lecture, Katz will sign copies of her book, which will be available for purchase in the CU Book Store prior to the event. She will also conduct a faculty and graduate student colloquium on the feminist impact on the history of Palestinian-Israeli joint nonviolence during her visit to CU.
Where: Old Main Chapel Theatre
Katz holds a doctorate in Middle East history from Harvard University, where she taught for eight years, specializing in Palestinian-Israeli relations and organizing programs on Middle Eastern women. She has published numerous publications, including her book, Women and Gender in Early Jewish and Palestinian Nationalism (2003), and writes frequently for a variety of academic journals and popular publications. During the years Katz lived in Jerusalem, she founded one of the early networks for Palestinians and Israelis to confront tough issues together. She is a founding teacher of the Nishmat Hayyim meditation collective in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Katz’s visit is made possible through the Israel/Palestine Studies Professorship, the first-ever endowed professorship in Israel/Palestine studies, which was established in 2015 thanks to an anonymous gift of $500,000. The endowment supports the study and discussion of the region and offers a model of university-based learning about a challenging set of issues. For more information, please visit the Program in Jewish Studies website.
This lecture is free and open to the public and will take place in the Old Main theater at 1600 Pleasant Street. Space is limited, so please email CUJewishStudies@colorado.edu or call 303-492-7143 to RSVP.
