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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20131112T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20131112T180000
DTSTAMP:20260415T021854
CREATED:20140915T061953Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210901T124829Z
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SUMMARY:Micha Kurz on “Mobilizing Communities in Occupied Jerusalem”
DESCRIPTION:Micha Kurz\, a co-founder of “Grassroots Jerusalem\,” delivered a CIRSMonthly Dialogue lecture ‎on “Mobilizing Communities in Occupied Jerusalem” on November 12\, 2013. Kurz works to ‎support a Palestinian platform for community-based advocacy in Jerusalem\, putting Jerusalem ‎back on the international map as a Palestinian capital. His lecture focused on the high degree of ‎misinformation regarding the political realities experienced by the increasingly segregated ‎Palestinian communities on the ground. Issues of escalating Palestinian impoverishment are often ‎marginalized\, and the daily suffering sanitized\, under the Israeli political narrative of “security ‎and peace.” Even though Israelis and Palestinians share some of the same physical spaces in the ‎city\, their experiences could not be more dissimilar causing ongoing conflict and tension. \n \n \nIn order to understand the history of Jerusalem\, Kurz said\, it is important to understand the ‎bifurcated histories of conflict. For Israelis\, the modern historical understanding of the tensions ‎starts in 1967 and the discussions of a “two-state solution\,” but for Palestinians this begins much ‎earlier in 1948 with the Naqba\, or catastrophe. In Israeli schools\, teaching a history of the Naqba ‎is practically an illegal topic\, Kurz argued. Thus\, many Israelis as well as communities in the West ‎do not have\, nor often care to have\, a full picture of what is happening on the ground. ‎ \n \n \nIf one goes back further in time\, before there were divisions between Israelis and Palestinians\, ‎there was a Jerusalem that was populated by Jews\, Muslims\, and Christians\, Kurz said. ‎‎Jerusalem was a central city in the region connecting the cities of Bethlehem\, Hebron\, and ‎Be’ar Saba’a in the South\, to Nablus\, Nazareth\, and Tiberius in the North. The city also ‎connected Jericho from the East\, through the oldest trade route in the world\, to the port of Jaffa ‎and the Mediterranean sea in the West. The city wasn’t just a spiritual or religious capital; it was ‎also an economic capital in the region. But Israel has detached the city from its suburbs and the ‎West Bank\, isolating Jerusalem\, and treating it as if it were a city in Europe\, not a capital in the ‎Middle East. ‎ \n \n \nIn an attempt to control demographics\, for the last four decades\, Israeli government policy has ‎been to keep Palestinian parts of the city underdeveloped\, while expanding mass Israeli ‎settlement housing projects—illegally according to international law. While Israeli settlement ‎grew on stolen Palestinian farmlands during the 1970s and 80s\, without the freedom to develop ‎their own neighborhoods\, young Palestinian families had no choice but to move out of town\, and ‎to live in the suburbs. Later\, in the 1990s during what was described as “a step toward Peace\,” ‎checkpoints were constructed limiting Palestinian access to the Central Business District and ‎with it access to the main market\, employment\, healthcare\, and education. Palestinians who were ‎caught at checkpoints or Israeli military house-raids and designated as not living within the ‎Israeli-defined borders of the city have had their “residency” status revoked. These no longer ‎have the right to visit their hometown without an Israeli issued permit. Israel finally severed ‎Jerusalem from its age-old suburbs with the construction of the “separation wall.” The “wall” was ‎built during the period known as “the Bush War on Terror\,” and its presence has often been justified under ‎the rubric of “security.” However\, it has been widely proven by many Israeli sources that this is ‎not the case\, and the “wall” has benefited the Israeli economy by segregating Palestinian cities ‎from one another. ‎ \n \n \nToday\, the Israeli government does not allow the Palestinian Authority jurisdiction in Jerusalem. ‎Without the right to vote in proper government elections\, Palestinian Residents of Jerusalem have ‎not been politically represented for the last four decades. Kurz discussed the divisions and ‎segregations that have occurred; Palestinians living in the suburbs of the city are physically ‎isolated and segregated from their communities and from basic amenities. As a result\, over 5\,000 ‎businesses have shut down over the past decade\, bringing unemployment\, poverty\, and rising ‎tensions to peak levels. The age-old character has been cleansed from Jerusalem together with its ‎Palestinian residents.‎ \n \n \nKurz lamented how “Israel has over time gained control of the land between the Jordan River ‎and the Mediterranean sea\, including the economy\, resources\, and the peoples living in it.” He ‎added later\, “I find it difficult to describe Israel either as a democracy or a Jewish state.” In ‎conclusion\, Kurz questioned how “Many people around the world still discuss a Two-State ‎Solution\, expecting ‘Peace\, Dialogue\, and Coexistence\,’ where I feel we ought to be discussing ‎human rights\, justice\, and leading practical conversations about freedom of movement and ‎development in an important regional capital.” ‎ \n \n \nMicha Kurz was born and raised in Jerusalem. During the second Intifada he learned about the ‎Israeli Occupation of Palestinian land and people first hand as an Israeli soldier. In 2004\, he was ‎a co-founder of “Breaking the Silence” and has since focused his work in Al Quds-Jerusalem\, “a ‎forgotten epicenter of the occupation. “Grassroots Jerusalem” has recently opened the doors to ‎Al Marsa (the Harbor)\, a Political Community Center and Legal Clinic built to counter the threat ‎on freedom of speech and assembly in Jerusalem today.‎ 
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/micha-kurz-mobilizing-communities-occupied-jerusalem/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Distingushed Lectures,Regional Studies
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20131117T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20131117T180000
DTSTAMP:20260415T021854
CREATED:20140915T050343Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210901T124818Z
UID:10000873-1384675200-1384711200@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:CIRS Research Roundtable
DESCRIPTION:In order to enhance local research productivity\, and build upon its established collegial ‎relationships with other research entities in Qatar\, CIRS hosted a “Research Roundtable” on November 17\, 2013. During this one-day event\, academics\, policy analysts\, and representatives of research institutions and think tanks discussed their respective research initiatives and activities in an attempt to identify research synergies across institutions. Participants additionally discussed the extent to which their research endeavors align with Qatar’s National Research Strategy\, and the linkages between their research output and policy making in the country. \n \n \nThe research landscape and various challenges faced by research organizations in Qatar were central discussions of the Roundtable. As with most early stage research economies around the globe\, capacity building of research institutions\, coordination between research organizations\, and establishing partnerships between research and policy-making bodies are core areas in need of development. In the past decade\, research organizations have mushroomed throughout Qatar and collectively cover a wide array of subject areas. At this stage in its development\, participants discussed Qatar’s need to build the capacity of organizations to conduct and disseminate research. More importantly\, the complex research landscape in Qatar requires a coordinating body that could generate awareness on the type of research carried out by various institutions. This would enable organizations to effectively articulate research synergies with other institutions\, avoid duplication of efforts\, and identify areas where research is needed. Communicating research activities and transferring knowledge output to policy making entities is also of importance. Informed decision making and evidence-based policy are contingent upon access to and knowledge of the relevant research. This Research Roundtable provided a platform for various members of the research community to highlight their research areas and share insights on the state of research in the country.  \n \n \nParticipants: \n \n \n\nIbrahim Sharqieh\, Deputy Director & Foreign Policy Fellow\, Brookings Doha Center\nNader Kabbani\, Director of Research and Policy\, Silatech\nFlorian Wiedmann\,  Urban Planning and Development Authority\nProfessor Tim Cable\, Director of Sports Science\, Aspire Academy\nHanan Abdul Rahim\, Associate Director SESRI\, Qatar University\nTatjana Martinoska\, Independent Researcher\nNoor Al Malki Al Jehani\, Executive Director\, Doha International Family Institute (DIFI)\nSanaa Alharahsheh\, Associate Researcher\, Doha International Family Institute (DIFI)\nSimon Hall\, Project Manager Qatar National Food Security Programme\nJohn Crist\, Director of Research\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nMehran Kamrava\, Director\, CIRS\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nZahra Babar\, Assistant Director of Research\, CIRS\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nSuzi Mirgani\, Manager and Editor of CIRS Publications\, CIRS\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nDwaa Osman\, Research Analyst\, CIRS\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nElizabeth Wanucha\, Project Manager\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nNerida Child Dimasi\, Financial and Budget Analyst\, CIRS\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nBarb Gillis\, CIRS Coordinator\, CIRS\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/cirs-research-roundtable/
CATEGORIES:Focused Discussions,Regional Studies
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