Please join the Foundation for Middle East Peace for

The Situation in Gaza: A Briefing

Featuring

Tania Hary (Gisha)

Nour Odeh (Political Activist)

Omar Shakir (Human Rights Watch)

in conversation with Lara Friedman (FMEP)

Recorded on October 17, 2023

Watch on YouTube | Listen as a Podcast

Resources

Follow our panelists on Twitter:

• Tania Hary: https://twitter.com/taniahary
• Gisha: https://twitter.com/Gisha_Access
• Nour Odeh: https://twitter.com/nour_odeh
• Omar Shakir: https://twitter.com/OmarSShakir
• Human Rights Watch: https://twitter.com/hrw

Further Reading

• For daily updates on the numbers of dead, injured, and displaced, sign up for OCHA updates: https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-10
• For background resources on Gaza, and the Israeli siege, check out Gisha’s comprehensive resource, “Gaza Up Close” — https://features.gisha.org/gaza-up-close/
• See all of Human Rights Watch’s resources on Israel and Palestine here: https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/north-africa/israel/palestine
• “A Textbook Case of Genocide”, by Raz Regal published in Jewish Currents (Oct 13, 2023) —> https://jewishcurrents.org/a-textbook-case-of-genocide
• A beautiful tribute to Gazans living and dying under siege: “We Had Dreams” https://wehaddreams.com/

Participant Biographies

Tania Hary is the executive director of Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, an Israeli human rights organization which promotes the right to movement in the Palestinian territory, especially Gaza. Leading Israel’s only organization focused on Gaza, Tania is relied upon as a source of information and analysis on the situation in the Strip both at home and abroad. She appeared before the Security Council in 2015 and 2019. Prior to joining Gisha in 2007, Tania worked on advocacy initiatives for not-for-profit organizations promoting human rights and development. She received her B.A. in modern literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz and an M.A. in international affairs from the New School in New York. Tania was born in Haifa, raised in Los Angeles and now resides in Tel Aviv-Jaffa.

Lara Friedman is the President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) and a leading authority on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, with particular expertise on the Israeli-Arab conflict, Israeli settlements, Jerusalem, and the role of the U.S. Congress. She is published widely in the U.S. and international press and is regularly consulted by members of Congress and their staffs, by Washington-based diplomats, by policy-makers in capitals around the world, and by journalists in the U.S. and abroad. In addition to her work at FMEP, Lara is a Contributing Writer at Jewish Currents and a non-resident fellow at the U.S./Middle East Project (USMEP).

Nour Odeh is an independent media professional and communications consultant with 20 years of experience as a distinguished journalist. In 2012, Ms. Odeh became Palestine’s first female government spokesperson and she served in various capacities as a senior communications and public diplomacy advisor to the Palestinian leadership. Ms. Odeh writes opinion and analysis in English and Arabic and is a regular guest in international news outlets.

Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, investigates human rights abuses in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Prior to his current role, he was a Bertha Fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights, where he focused on US counterterrorism policies, including legal representation of Guantanamo detainees. As the 2013-14 Arthur R. and Barbara D. Finberg Fellow at Human Rights Watch, he investigated human rights violations in Egypt, including the Rab’a massacre, one of the largest killings of protesters in a single day. A former Fulbright Scholar in Syria, Omar holds a JD from Stanford Law School, where he co-authored a report on the civilian consequences of US drone strikes in Pakistan as a part of the International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic, an MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Affairs, and a BA in International Relations from Stanford.