The Palestinian Catastrophe

The peace of the region and the world beyond hangs in the balance.

What is a principled response? Which way for a just peace? What constructive initiatives can Australia and other governments take? What of the UN? Is civil society everywhere ready to assume its responsibilities?

When: Tuesday 5 September 6:00 – 8:00pm AEST

Where: The Great Hall, Sydney University Quadrangle, (from Parramatta Road, best accessed via University Ave / University Place) Sydney NSW

Keynote Address: 

The Hon Bob Carr (pictured), former Foreign Minister for Australia and NSW’s longest continuously serving premier, is Industry Professor (Business and Climate Change) at University of Technology Sydney (UTS). He previously headed the Australia-China Relations Institute at UTS as Director and Professor of International Relations.

Respondents: 

• Sophie McNeill Australia has been researcher for Human Rights Watch, and before that an investigative reporter with ABC’s Four Corners program where she produced several programs. She was also a foreign correspondent for the ABC and SBS in the Middle East, including Israel/Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Egypt and Turkey. 
• Rawan Arraf is Executive Director & Principal Lawyer, Australian Centre for International Justice. She most recently worked as a refugee lawyer at Refugee Advice & Casework. She is actively engaged with lawyers and organisations working in universal jurisdiction litigation abroad and in 2018 trained with the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) in Berlin. 

This is a free event but registration required. Register on Trybooking 

Background information

The Palestinian catastrophe, known as the Nakba, refers to the devastation of the Palestinian homeland in 1948, and with it the displacement of the majority of Palestinian Arabs. The Catastrophe did not end in 1948. 75 years later Palestinian lands remain under occupation. As the dramatic use of military force in recent weeks shows, violence, discrimination and displacement remain the lot of the Palestinians. 

Presented by Conversation at the Crossroads in association with the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney.