On the weekend of March 22-23, our board member Rami G. Khouri will be presenting a series of in-person events in Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, in which he will assess the situation in Gaza and introduce some of the themes addressed in Just World Ed’s ongoing project “Understanding Hamas And Why That Matters”, which he co-led along with JWE President Helena Cobban.
Click on the full flier here to see details of these events– and please share this information widely with any friends or colleagues you have in that part of North America!
Rami Khouri’s exciting schedule of upcoming events are just the latest phase in this project, which started with a series of web-based conversations with recognized subject-matter experts that he and Cobban presented last May.
In the second phase of he project JWE prepared and last October released (with the help of OR Books) a book that married the transcripts of the May 2024 webinars with excerpts from some key source documents on and from Hamas and readers’ aids that provide non-specialist readers with solid information on the history, people, and, events referred to in the five substantive conversations.
You can read accounts of most of the earlier public events that Cobban and Khouri have headlined as part of this project here (early October), here (mid-October) and here (early December.)
In recent weeks, the project has once again picked up steam. Since early December, Khouri and Cobban have given four significant public presentations on the “Understanding Hamas” theme. Despite opposition that has sometimes been intense, we’re proud that our team has continued to bring these critical conversations to significant audiences worldwide:
Helena Cobban with Jeroen Gunning and Mouin Rabbani, at LSE London, March 10
On March 10, the London School of Economics’s Middle East Center hosted an evening event billed as a “book launch” for our Understanding Hamas book, which almost immediately upon its announcement attracted hefty pushback from the pro-Israeli community in London– and indeed, also, an explicit, public call by Israel’s ambassador to London to LSE, to cancel the event.
In the end, LSE went ahead, though by then they had restricted in-person attendance to LSE’s staff and students. At the event,JWE’s Helena Cobban, and book contributors Jeroen Gunning, and Mouin Rabbani presented their work despite a heavy Zionist protest outside the lecture hall. That protest was met with an equally strong counter-protest, demonstrating the significance of these discussions.
We hope to share the video of this event soon, once LSE has made it available.
In the meantime, we’re happy to share recordings from several other recent events– in London, Washington DC, and online:
Helena Cobban on the Origins of Hamas | SOAS, University of London | March 6, 2025
This event featured JWE’s president, Helena Cobban, in a discussion moderated by Dr. Nathaniel George, a SOAS Lecturer in Middle Eastern politics. Cobban provided a deep historical analysis of Hamas, covering its founding during the First Intifada, its ideological foundations, and its role in Palestinian resistance. The discussion offered critical insights into Hamas’s political and historical significance.
Watch the full video here. Audio and transcript to come.
Understanding Hamas, Book Talk | American University, Washington, DC | February 10, 2025
Cobban spoke about JWE’s book Understanding Hamas alongside Palestinian nonviolence leader Jonathan Kuttab. The discussion explored Gaza’s role as a key incubator of Palestinian nationalism and its global impact today. This hybrid event was sponsored by American University’s Abdul Aziz Said Chair and Nonviolence International.
Watch the full video here.
Virtual Event: Understanding Hamas Webinar | Hosted by the Center for Nonviolent Solutions, Worcester, MA | December 5, 2024
Looking back, one additional virtual event remains key in our calendar. Helena Cobban and her co-author, Rami G. Khouri, participated in a conversation hosted by the Center for Nonviolent Solutions. The discussion built on the themes of Understanding Hamas and engaged audiences on the importance of critically analyzing Palestinian resistance.
Watch the full video here.
Stay tuned for more updates and upcoming events as we continue to push for open and honest conversations about Palestine. For more videos and discussions, follow Just World Educational on our platforms.
