Event reports
In cooperation with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the Institute of Law held a lecture on "Law, Justice and Reconciliation in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" by Dennis Fox, as part of the Legal Encounter Series. Professor Fox is a retired Professor in Legal Studies and Psychology - University of Illinois at Springfield.
Professor Fox addressed several vital issues and arguments pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and to what extent the law can be utilized as a tool for conflict resolution, noting that law doesn't necessarily achieve justice. But morally speaking, it gives the concerned people the feeling of security, and sometimes this feeling is imperative.
He emphasized on the importance of Social Psychology in conflict resolution, since it takes into consideration the circumstances surrounding the conflict and how to solve it. He noted that the title of the lecture doesn't cover all the necessary pre-requisites for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, indicating that politics, religion and culture are crucial elements too. He added that a unified Palestinian decision is momentous for conflict resolution, and the prevailing conditions may hinder that.
The lecture was followed by an open discussion shedding light on answers to questions like: How law can serve conflict resolution? If not, can we resort to power? To what extent can law, justice and conciliation contribute to peaceful co-existence?
Finally, the audience addressed the role of religion in conflict resolution, stating that sometimes religion employs certain policies and ideologies that hamper the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.