According to Dennis Ross, diplomat for three presidential administrations and expert on Israel-Palestine issues, peace between the two nations is further out of reach today than at any point in his 30-year efforts on the issue.
Last Wednesday, diplomat and author Dennis Ross sat with political scientist Geoffrey Kemp in the Amphitheater for a discussion on the conflict in Gaza and the jihadist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. The discussion of international politics was blunt and garnered a warm welcome from Chautauquans.
Political scientist Geoffrey Kemp has hosted annual lecture updates on the Middle East at Chautauqua for the last 20 years. Kemp, who serves as director of Regional Security Programs at the Center for the National Interest, returned to the Amphitheater stage at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday to hold a conversation with Dennis Ross, counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Few foreign policy experts or commentators in the past 30 years have shown the resiliency, versatility or continuing relevance of Dennis Ross, who will deliver the 10:45 a.m. lecture in the Amphitheater with political scientist Geoffrey Kemp.
For more than 20 years, Chautauqua Institution has hosted a Middle East Update, an annual program that brings in foreign policy experts to help Chautauquans understand the tightly wound and highly complicated knot of conflicts and relationships in the Middle East.
This year’s Middle East Update begins at 4 p.m. today in the Hall of Philosophy and will continue on Aug. 12 and 13 at the same time and place. Today, Geoffrey Kemp, director of regional security programs at the Center for the National Interest, will moderate a discussion with Dennis Ross, diplomat and counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Ross is also speaking at today’s morning lecture.
When Dennis Ross served under the Reagan administration as the director of the Near East and South Asian affairs for the National Security Council, he worked with a team of three. But almost 25 years later, when he served as special adviser for the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he worked with a team of 33.
“We’re looking at a region that is, at this point, undergoing upheaval,” Ross said, “and it’s frankly unprecedented. It’s not surprising that we’re wrestling with profound challenges that we haven’t really seen before.”
Chautauqua focuses on international affairs this week with a series of lectures on the importance and practice of diplomacy.
During Week Seven of the 2013 season, Chautauquans and visitors can look forward to a week devoted entirely to the theme of diplomacy, or the art and skill of conducting negotiations among states, groups or organizations.
“At a time when America’s place in global affairs is changing daily and becoming increasingly complex, Chautauqua will look into diplomacy as a central activity of global citizenship,” said Institution President Tom Becker. “We will look at the history of diplomacy, key dates and individuals in its development and hear from contemporary practitioners.”
Sherra Babcock, director of the Department of Education, said the inspiration for the theme stems from the overwhelming interest in foreign affairs on the part of Chautauqua.
The Chautauquan Daily 