Summary: Peaceworks on Campus is an effort to regain the narrative about Israel and Palestine on campus today. The work is focused on future policymakers on college campuses. To counteract the toxic, polarized environment their campuses have become, peacemakers will come to campus with a new forward looking narrative.
Speakers:
Mr. Nidal Foqaha is the Director General of the Palestinian Peace Coalition/ Geneva Initiative, a non-profit Palestinian organization that works on promoting a peaceful settlement for the Palestinian – Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution as envisioned in the Geneva Initiative. Foqaha has contributed to several political dialogues, including on security, boarders, Jerusalem, water and refugees, as well as reconciliation related issues. Previously, Foqaha served as an advisor to the PLO Secretary General, and a team member of the Palestinian – Israeli Joint Economic Committee, a committee in-charge of dealing with economic issues as part of the economic agreements between the two sides. Foqaha co-chairs the Two-State Solution Coalition “TSC”, a coalition of 30 Palestinian and Israeli civil society organizations which promote the two-state solution vision as an end-game settlement for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Also, Foqaha is a member of several Palestinian civil society organizations that promote peace, democracy and civil rights. Foqaha holds MA in American Studies from Al Quds University and BA from Birziet University, Palestine.
Tehila Wenger is the Deputy Director of the Geneva Initiative in Israel, an NGO that promotes a peace agreement between Israel and Palestinians through diplomatic, educational, and public tools. Her work includes organizing and facilitating joint Israeli-Palestinian dialogue forums for a range of key target groups, advocacy and outreach with Israeli decision-makers and international stakeholders, and coordinating research projects on the topics of reconciliation, Jerusalem, and the two-state solution. She has a BA in Politics from Princeton University and an MA in Diplomatic Studies from Tel Aviv University. Her thesis focused on the incorporation of religion into nationalist identities in Israel and Morocco in the 1940s and 1950s, and the impact on Arab-Jewish relations in both countries. Originally from Ohio, Tehila moved to Tel Aviv in 2015 as a Dorot Fellow. During the Dorot Fellowship, she participated in and organized seminars about minority rights in Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Jewish history and identity. She also volunteered at the Arous Albaher women's empowerment center in Jaffa and with the Tag Meir Forum, which combats racism and hate in Israeli society. Tehila has published articles about the conflict in Haaretz, the Jerusalem Post, and Bryant Literary Review, and has been invited to speak about the two-state solution and Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation work in conferences throughout Israel and Europe.