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Understanding Palestine and Israel with Phyllis Bennis (Methodist Federation for Social Action)
October 15, 2025 @ 1:00 pm
UMKR and MFSA present: Understanding Palestine and Israel, with Phyllis Bennis Phyllis Bennis stands among the world’s most knowledgeable and insightful analysts on the Middle East. The author of an indispensable primer on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, she has a gift for providing clear and accessible explanations for complex issues. In this special webinar, we will explore with her some of the most challenging questions that people around the world are grappling with, including: What are the root causes and the purpose of Israel’s genocidal war that has raged since Oct 7, 2023? What should we know and understand about Hamas? In light of the ever-worsening horrors unfolding in Gaza, what are the most useful actions we can take? What to think of various plans that are arising for Gaza’s future? With alarming developments in the West Bank, is formal annexation to Israel looming? What would that mean for the future of Palestine? What has been the impact of U.S. policies, particularly of the Biden and Trump administrations? How significant are recent shifts in U.S. politics and society regarding Palestine/Israel, and what might we expect in the year to come? How helpful (or not) are recent developments in Europe and at the UN, and what is needed from them? Phyllis Bennis is an American Jewish writer, political commentator, and advocate for Palestinian rights. She directs the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in D.C. and she is a fellow of the Transnational Institute, Amsterdam. She serves on the national board of Jewish Voice for Peace; in 2001, she helped to found US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Bennis has served as an informal adviser to several top UN officials and has been short-listed twice for the post of UN Special Rapporteur. She speaks widely across the US and the world, and she is the author of numerous books on the Middle East and U.S. policy. Her most recent book is Understanding Palestine and Israel (2025)
