The Institute for Public Service & Policy Development and the Institute for Global Engagement, two Washington DC-based organizations, invite you to three free networking receptions and public lectures featuring Michael Gerson, E.J. Dionne and Dr. Andrea Bartoli to explore Christian’s positive and negative contributions toward the Middle East conflict. 

Each lecture will be held in the Senate Auditorium (Room G50 of Dirksen – enter at 1st & C Street, NE) at the U.S. Capitol with refreshments beginning at 6:30pm, the presentations beginning at 7:00 and a time for response following. The receptions and public lectures are free and open to the public.

The series provides an opportunity for Protestant (including Evangelical), Catholic and Orthodox religious perspectives to interact with each other, along with invited Jewish and Muslim voices to help enrich the conversation. The title suggests ways forward while recognizing how the Christian community broadly has both helped and hindered efforts to ease the conflict.

E.J. Dionne
“Cries for Justice”
Hunger, housing and social justice in the Middle East
Pope Paul VI once said, “If you want peace, work for justice.” This has been understood by many as a call to action to improve living conditions for all people. How have the problems of social injustice, including hunger and the struggle over housing, fueled the on-going conflict in the Middle East?

E.J. Dionne is a columnist for The Washington Post. Before joining The Post in 1990 as a political reporter, he spent 14 years at The New York Times, covering local, state, and national politics, and also served as a foreign correspondent in Paris, Rome and Beirut. He is a University Professor at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution. Dionne has been a frequent commentator on politics for National Public Radio, ABC's "This Week," and NBC's "Meet the Press." His books include "Why Americans Hate Politics" (1991), "Stand Up Fight Back: Republican Toughs, Democratic Wimps, and the Politics of Revenge" (2004), and "They Only Look Dead: Why Progressives Will Dominate The Next Political Era" (1996).

Scheduled respondents to Dionne are Michael Ostrolenk (Jewish), Greg Khalil (Orthodox Christian) and Suhail Khan (Muslim).  Ostrolenk is the co-founder and National Director of the Liberty Coalition, a trans-partisan coalition of groups working to help organize, support, and coordinate public policy activities related to civil liberties and basic human rights. Khalil is President and co-founder of the Kairos Project. From 2004 to 2008, he served as a legal advisor with the Negotiations Support Unit (NSU) in Ramallah, the West Bank.  And, Khan is the Senior Fellow for Christian-Muslim Understanding at the Institute for Global Engagement.

Dr. Andrea Bartoli’s
“Overcoming Violence”
Fresh approaches to conflict resolution in the Middle East
Violence plagues the Middle East. A series of wars, an ongoing intifada, and sporadic terrorist attacks against the civilian population has kept the region in a state of high alert for more than 60 years. Typically, an Israeli military response to a terrorist attack has led to a repeated cycle of violent acts, with both sides hurling recriminations against the other. Is there any way out of this cycle?

Dr. Andrea Bartoli has been the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution’s Drucie French Cumbie Chair at George Mason University since 2007. He works primarily on Peacemaking and Genocide Prevention. The Founding Director of Columbia University’s Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR), a Senior Research Scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), a Teaching Fellow at Georgetown University, and at the University of Siena, Dr. Bartoli has taught in the US since 1994. He is a member of the Dynamical Systems and Conflict Team and a Board member of Search for Common Ground. He has published books and articles on violence, migrations and, conflict resolution and was co-editor of “Somalia, Rwanda and Beyond: The Role of International Media in Wars and International Crisis.”

Learn more at www.Nyack.edu/DC or by calling 202-220-1300.

The Institute for Public Service & Policy Development (I.P.S.) is a faith-based academic center powered by Nyack College's Capitol Hill campus in Washington, D.C. The I.P.S. prepares people for national and international government and non-profit service.  The I.P.S. functions as a place where differing multi-partisan views can be addressed with civility, respect, honesty and trust; a place where thoughtful solutions to the challenges of contemporary society can be sought. 

The Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) promotes sustainable environments for religious freedom worldwide. It studies the impact of faith on state and society, it encourages governments to protect religious freedom, and it equips citizens to exercise that freedom responsibly. 

This lecture series is the first collaborative effort between the two D.C.-based institutes.  The first lecture in the series took place on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 when Michael Gerson spoke on “Faith or Fanaticism: The problem and promise of faith and politics in the Middle East.”  Michael Gerson is an opinion writer at The Washington Post and senior research fellow at the Institute for Global Engagement's Center on Faith & International Affairs. He served as a policy adviser and chief speechwriter to President George W. Bush from 2000 to 2006. Before that, he was a senior editor covering politics at U.S. News & World Report. His book, "Heroic Conservatism," was published by HarperOne in 2007.