The Provost's Initiative on the Middle East is an ongoing effort to make space in the Duke campus community for rigorous and respectful debate in which differing perspectives are welcome on current and past conflicts in the region. 

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In a Feb. 12 message to the Duke community, Provost Alec D. Gallimore announced the initiative, which is building on the activities of Duke departments, schools, centers, and institutes to:

  • foster constructive and civil dialogues about these complex, contentious, and emotionally charged issues in ways that enhance understanding and build skills that lead to shared learning;
  • take advantage of the talent and expertise available at Duke supplemented as needed with the voices of outside scholars, writers, and political actors; and
  • nurture a sense of community, particularly between individuals from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.

The initiative is led by Bruce Jentleson, the William Preston Few Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Political Science and an expert on the Middle East as well as international security and U.S. foreign policy broadly. Professor Jentleson is working in partnership with Vice Provost Abbas Benmamoun and Associate Provost Noah Pickus and in consultation with a faculty working group and others in the campus community, including academic programs in Trinity College with expertise on the Middle East as well as the Center for Muslim Life and Jewish Life at Duke.

Together, they will be organizing a variety of events, programs and engagement opportunities that strive to model thoughtful and civil engagement, provide a forum for different perspectives on the conflict, and enhance understanding based on expertise and evidence-based scholarship, and supporting others at Duke who are striving to do the same through their own activities.

As many of you told me, communications about these conflicts can be fraught... But as members of a pluralistic community who strive to practice civil discourse, we shouldn’t shy away from conversations just because they’re difficult. 

Provost Alec D. Gallimore

Upcoming Events

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Feb. 20 | "No Other Land" film screening

Join the Duke Human Rights Center for a screening “No Other Land,” a film about the relationship between a young Palestinian activist and an Israeli journalist, made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of young activists as an act of creative resistance on the path to greater justice.

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Past Events

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The reaction on college campuses to the October 7 attacks, the ongoing war in Gaza, and the resulting humanitarian crises has been one of the defining events of the last year. The 2024 Provost’s Forum, “Universities and the Israel-Palestine Conflict: How to Discuss, How to Engage?”, explored how universities can foster constructive discourse and greater understanding on current and past conflicts in the Middle East and apply knowledge and skills to help address critical needs in the region. More than 300 Duke students, faculty, and staff participated in the event.

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Nov. 21 | Meeting in the Middle: the Migrant Crisis in the Mediterranean

Fyras Mawazini, director of S.O.S. Mediterranee's Marseille Division, will speak following a screening of his short film, "Mothership," which depicts the international organization's work since 2016 rescuing 20,000 migrants from the Mediterranean Sea.

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Nov. 19 | Former Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit

Avichai Mandelbilt, who served as Attorney General of Israel from 2016 to 2022 and was previously Chief Military Advocate General, will speak at a November 19 event hosted by the Program in American Grand Strategy. 

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Nov. 18 | Rami Davidian, "The Unknown Hero"

Rami Davidian, who risked his life to rescue around 700 young people near the Gaza border on October 7, 2023, will speak about how he drove repeatedly into danger, bringing terrified survivors to safety. Note: the event is at 5:15 pm in Physics 130 on West Campus. 

Register
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Nov. 14 | Engage, Share, Discover: A Collaborative Conversation on Israel and Palestine

Rabbi Daniel Greyber of Beth El Synagogue in Durham and Chaplain Joshua Salaam, director of the Center for Muslim Life at Duke, will hold a second public conversation moderated by Father Timothy Kimbrough, Jack and Barbara Bovender Professor of the Practice of Anglican Studies. 

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Nov. 13 | Believing in “The Holy Land”: Religion in the Israel-Palestine Conflict

Faculty from Duke, UNC, NCSU, and other Triangle-area colleges and universities are invited to join colleagues and special guests as three experts who belong to Muslim, Jewish, and Christian traditions speak on the role of religion in the current Israel-Palestine conflict. The night includes dinner, presentations from featured speakers, and small group discussion. Co-sponsored by the Center for Christianity and Scholarship, a Duke Chapel affiliate.

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Nov. 8 | Dialogue amidst differences: Politically charged issues at home and abroad

Controversial and complicated issues unfolding at home and around the world impact how willing students and faculty are to engage with one another on these topics. In this Bass Seminar on Teaching Excellence, Professors Deondra Rose and Bruce Jentleson will share classroom strategies for promoting dialogue among students across global and local issues. This session will also involve time for discussion and conversation for participants to share strategies from their own classroom experience. Lunch will be provided.

Register (faculty only)
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Nov. 7: Israel-Palestine in World Religions: Whose Promised Land?

Historian Ilan Troen, founding director of the Schusterman Center at Brandeis University and a professor emeritus at Brandeis and Ben-Gurion University, will speak at an event hosted by the Center for Jewish Studies. 

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Oct. 31 | A Landscape of War: Ecologies of Resistance and Survival in South Lebanon

Munira Khayyat, an anthropologist whose research revolves around life in war, intimate genealogies of empire, and theory from the South, will speak in an event co-sponsored by the Middle East Studies Center.

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Oct. 30: Former Deputy U.S. Secretary of State

Wendy Sherman, who served as the first female Deputy Secretary of State from 2021 to 2023 and before that led negotiations with Iran, will speak at an October 30 event hosted by the Program in American Grand Strategy. 

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Oct. 21: Journalist Nathan Thrall

Nathan Thrall, winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy and former director of the Arab-Israeli Project at the International Crisis Group, will discuss politics and everyday life in Palestine and Israel, in conversation with Professor Rebecca Stein.

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Sept. 30: Muslim-Americans and the 2024 Presidential Election

Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage, a national civic engagement organization for Muslim Americans, and a non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute, will speak at this event organized by Polis: Center for Politics at the Sanford School of Public Policy. 

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Sept. 26: A Year of War: Reflections and Conversation

Rabbi Daniel Greyber of Beth El Synagogue in Durham and Chaplain Joshua Salaam, director of the Center for Muslim Life at Duke, will hold a public conversation moderated by Father Timothy Kimbrough, Jack and Barbara Bovender Professor of the Practice of Anglican Studies. 

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Sept. 18: Environmental Diplomacy in Israel-Palestine Peacebuilding

Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, executive director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and former Israeli acting chief scientist, will speak at the Nicholas School of the Environment on advancing climate justice and resilience in conflict zones.

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Out of Crisis, Opportunity?

Middle East expert Robert Satloff T'83 discussed war and peace in the post-Oct. 7 Middle East.

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Acts of Silence in Literature

Celebrated Palestinian author Adania Shibli spoke on the power of silence in a April 3 lecture at Duke.

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The Day After the War in Gaza

Former Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad met with students and faculty and spoke at a public event.

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Amid War, the Constitutional Dilemma for Israel

Israeli Supreme Court Justice Daphne Barak-Erez called her country's Jewish and democratic identities its "inseparable twins."

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Finding Common Ground in the West Bank

An Israeli and and a Palestinian described their experiences bridging differences in the Middle East at the Divinity School.

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Humanizing the Humanitarian Crisis in the Middle East

Peace in the region will require recognizing the humanity of other side, a panel at a Sanford School event argued.

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Charting a Path Forward in the Middle East

Former U.S Ambassador to Israel and Egypt Daniel Kurtzer discussed the future for Israel and Gaza.

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People

Leadership

  • Bruce Jentleson, Public Policy  
  • Abbas Benmamoun, Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement
  • Noah Pickus, Associate Provost and Professor of Public Policy

Conveners

  • Gary Bennett, Dean, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences (Academic Structures)
  • Kim Hewitt, Vice President, Institutional Equity (Belonging and Civility)
  • Mary Pat McMahon, Vice Provost / Vice President, Student Affairs (Engagement)
  • Luke Powery, Dean of Duke University Chapel and Professor of Homiletics and African and African American Studies (Interfaith and Pluralism)
  • Joe Salem, University Librarian and Vice Provost for Library Affairs (Education)

Faculty Working Group

  • Abdullah Antepli, Sanford School of Public Policy
  • Elana Friedman, Campus Rabbi and Jewish Chaplain
  • Seth Cohen, Medicine
  • Shai Ginsburg, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
  • David Hasan, Medicine
  • Mbaye Lo, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
  • Ellen McLarney, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
  • Adam Mestyan, Director, Middle East Studies Center
  • Eric Meyers, Director, Center for Jewish Studies
  • Andrew Park, Office of the Provost
  • Jen'nan Read, Sociology
  • Mara Revkin, Law and Political Science
  • Joshua Salaam, Director and Chaplain of Muslim Life
  • Rebecca Stein, Cultural Anthropology
  • David Toole, Theology, Ethics, and Global Health
  • Erika Weinthal, Environmental Policy and Public Policy
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Contact Us

We want to hear from you. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for activities, please email middleeastinitiative@duke.edu