Mideast Expert to Deliver Address at Symposium

Author: Tim McCahill

Dennis Ross, a former United States ambassador who played an integral role in peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian authorities, will deliver the keynote address at the Silberman Symposium. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, May 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Mead Chapel.

The Symposium is supported by a fund established by Curt Silberman, which also endows the Curt C. and Else Silberman Chair in Jewish Studies. An annual event, the mission of the Symposium, according to Curt Silberman's founding statement, is "the creation of a forum for students of all creeds and religions and even non-believers, which would become at the same time a kind of community forum with scholars, professors, lecturers, and citizens at large as participants."

The topic of Ross' address will be "Any Hope Left for Peace in the Middle East?" Immediately following his talk will be a response to and discussion of the address, delivered by a panel of Middlebury College staff, faculty and one alumnus, former CNN Washington, D.C., Bureau Chief Frank Sesno '77.

An envoy to the Middle East under both the Clinton and Bush administrations, Ross brokered the 1995 Interim Agreement between Israeli and Palestinian forces and played an instrumental role in negotiations leading up to the 1997 Hebron Accord. He has also worked closely in negotiations between Israel and Syria. He currently serves as the director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Dean of Faculty and Curt C. and Else Silberman Professor of Jewish Studies Robert Schine helped organize Ross' visit and will sit on the discussion panel. "What is happening in the Middle East is a terrible tragedy that seems to make the wish for peace more remote day by day. What we hope to accomplish is to deepen our understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and learn from Ambassador Ross, who has had a central role in United States efforts to advance a diplomatic solution to the conflict," said Schine in a press release issued by the College's Office of Public Affairs.

The rash of fighting since Israeli army incursions at Ramallah more than a month ago has fueled intense formal and informal debate on campus. At an awareness event two weeks ago organized by a coalition of campus religious and activist groups, including the Jewish student organization Hillel and the Islamic Society, tempers flared over the violence and what appears to be an ever-elusive appropriate policy response.