Join us for a special event with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (in person) and former Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa (via Zoom)*.
As the war in Gaza continues, and potential peace proposals are discussed by world leaders, please join us for a timely public conversation with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa. Both influential political leaders who have played pivotal roles in shaping the Israeli-Palestinian landscape, they will engage in a constructive dialogue on the ongoing war and the prospects for peace, offering critical insights into pathways toward conflict resolution.
*Nasser Al-Kidwa has been asked by President Abbas to re-join the Palestinian Authority to lead the implementation of the new ceasefire agreement and further negotiations. Therefore, he will be joining us on zoom from Ramallah for this event.
Please note that this hybrid event is open to PennCard holders ONLY. This event will be held in the Harrison Auditorium at the Penn Museum with a zoom option available.
Speakers
Ehud Olmert served as Prime Minister of the State of Israel from 2006–2009, making the establishment of a peace agreement with the Palestinians his priority. He served in the Israeli Knesset from 1973–2009 and was twice elected to be the Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993–1998. In November 2007, he attended the Annapolis Peace Conference led by President George W. Bush, and in 2008, he proposed a peace agreement with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the basis of a two-state solution. He was born in 1945 in Israel and is a graduate of the Hebrew University in Psychology, Philosophy, and Law. Olmert and Nasser Al-Kidwa are now jointly proposing a framework for a cessation of the war in Gaza and the framework for a two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine historical conflict.
Nasser Al-Kidwa is a prominent member of the Palestinian political party Fatah, a member of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian National Authority. He served as the PLO / Palestine Observer to the United Nations in New York from 1991–2004. Al-Kidwa played a key role in bringing Palestine’s case against Israel’s wall to the International Court of Justice in 2003–2004. In 2012, he was appointed as Deputy Special Envoy of the UN-LAS Joint Special Mission for Syria under the leadership of Kofi Annan. He also served in 2014–2015 as the League of Arab States Special Envoy to Libya. In 2021, Al-Kidwa founded the National Democratic Assembly and headed the “Freedom” list for the Palestinian elections that were arbitrarily canceled. Both the creation of the NDA and the “Freedom” list led to an illegal expulsion from the Fatah Central Committee and a removal as Head of the Yasser Arafat Foundation. In 2024, he developed a joint proposal with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for a political solution to the Israel-Palestine historical conflict. Born in Gaza in 1953, Al-Kidwa graduated as a dentist from Cairo University, Faculty of Medicine. He is presently a member of the Board of the International Crisis Group.
This event is sponsored by Perry World House and other campus partners with support from the SNF Paideia Program.
