The Middle East Institute‘s George and Rhonda Salem Family Foundation Lecture Series and the Foundation for Middle East Peace are pleased to host Dr. Husam Zomlot, Ambassador at Large for Palestine, for a discussion about Palestinian politics and strategy.

This past month Palestinians won the right to fly their national flag in front of U.N. headquarters following a 2012 vote by a majority of member countries to grant Palestine the status of non-member observer state.

Despite these achievements, Palestinians are no closer to bringing an end to the occupation and achieving statehood. Instead, their aspirations remain handicapped by an Israeli prime minister who has expressed opposition to a two-state solution and internal divisions between Fatah and Hamas.

Dr. Zomlot will discuss the political dynamics within Palestine, the options for achieving Palestinian national goals, and Palestine’s relations with Israel, the United States, and the EU. MEI president, Amb. Wendy Chamberlin, will moderate the discussion.

Speakers:

Dr. Husam Zomlot is the Ambassador at Large for Palestine. He previously served as a scholar in residence at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and led Dialogue and Conflict Resolution Programs for the Oxford Research Group. Zomlot completed his PhD in international political economy at the University of London, where he also lectured, co-authored several UN reports, and contributed to published books. From 2003 to 2008, he was a PLO representative to the UK. He has also held positions at Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute and the United Nation’s Office of the Special Coordinator in the Occupied Territories.

Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin has been president of the Middle East Institute since 2007. Previously, as deputy high commissioner for refugees from 2004 to 2007, she supervised the administration of the U.N. humanitarian organization. A 29-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, she was ambassador to Pakistan from 2001 to 2002, when she played a key role in securing Pakistan’s cooperation in the U.S.-led campaign against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in the wake of the terrorist attacks against the U.S. on September 11.