Camp David: 30 Years Later – Northeastern HostedDiscussion as Part of Program on Middle East

As part of a larger series of films, lectures and discussions on the Middle East, Northeastern University hosted Rami George Khouri and Yorman Meital to talk on the 1978 Camp David accords. Close to 200 students, faculty and members of the public attended Camp David: 30 Years Later, a discussion presented by Cinema Studies, Middle East Studies Program, Middle East Center for Peace, Culture and Development, Jewish Studies Program and the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Northeastern.

Northeastern political science professor Denis Sullivan moderated the discussion between Khouri and Meital, followed by a question and answer session that students eagerly took advantage of.

“It was a very thoughtful and intelligent, if not brilliant discussion by both scholars,” Sullivan said. “There was almost not enough time,” he said. “Even after we formally broke up, there was a rush to the front because students wanted to ask more questions.”

Rami George Khouri, director of the Issam Fares Institute of Public Policy and International Affairs at American University of Beirut and Yoram Meital, director of the Chaim Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, discussed the 1978 Camp David accords, the basis of the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt as well as former president Jimmy Carter’s leadership as an “honest broker” between the two countries.

Khouri brought his experience as the editor at large and former executive editor of the Beirut-base Daily Star newspaper to the discussion. Khouri also served as editor-in-chief of the Jordan Times for seven years.

Meital focuses his research on politics, culture and nationalism in the Middle East, with a specific emphasis on Egypt. He has explored various aspects of the Israel-Arab conflict including the relationship between Israel and Egypt. Meital is the author of: Peace in Tatters: Israel, Palestine and the Middle East and Egypt’s Struggle for Peace: Continuity and Change, 1967-1977.

Camp David: 30 Years Later was part of Northeastern’s program, “The Middle East: Focus on Israel and Palestine.” On Thursday, October 30, 2008, members of the Northeastern community and the public can watch Kippur, a movie set in 1973 during the Yom Kippur War in which Egypt and Syria launched attacks in Sinai and the Golan Heights, in 90 Snell Library from 3:00 p.m. through 5:15 p.m.

For more information, please contact Rachel Linberger at 617-373-5471 orr.linberger@neu.edu.

About Northeastern

Founded in 1898, Northeastern University is a private research university located in the heart of Boston. Northeastern is a leader in interdisciplinary research, urban engagement, and the integration of classroom learning with real-world experience. The university’s distinctive cooperative education program, where students alternate semesters of full-time study with semesters of paid work in fields relevant to their professional interests and major, is one of the largest and most innovative in the world. The University offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate programs leading to degrees through the doctorate in six undergraduate colleges, eight graduate schools, and two part-time divisions. For more information, please visit www.northeastern.edu.