Middle East conflict

Raja Shehadeh is a Palestinian lawyer and writer whose latest book is Strangers in the House: Coming of Age in Occupied Palestine. (Steer Forth Press) He is a founder of the nonpartisan human rights organization Al-Haq, an affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists, and author of several books about international law, human rights and the Middle East. Shehadeh lives in Ramallah.

Bernard Lewis is a Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. He just written a new book about the war in the Middle East called What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response (Oxford University Press). The New York Times Book Review has called Lewis "the doyen of Middle Eastern Studies." Lewis says that there may be no escape from the "downward spiral of hate and spite...culminating sooner or later in another alien domination."

Ghassan Khatib is the Director of the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center and publisher of Palestine Report Online. He offers the Palestinian perspective on the peace process and post-September 11th events.

Israeli journalist David Horovitz is the editor of the Jerusalem Report. He will discuss how Israelis are responding to the Sept. 11th attacks, the war on terrorism, and the continued violence in the Middle east. Horovitz is the author of, A Little Too Close to God. He was the recipient of the Bai Bai International Award for journalism in 1994.

Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg is a staff writer for the New Yorker, specializing in foreign reporting with an emphasis on Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. His article, "Letter from Cairo: Behind Mubarak: Egyptian Clerics and Intellectuals Respond to Terrorism" appears in the Oct. 8 issue of the New Yorker. He is currently writing a non-fiction book about the Middle East, due out next year. Previously, Goldberg was a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine.

After Maine Senator George Mitchell left office, he chaired the Northern Ireland peace talks. His book, Making Peace, is about his work on that negotiation. He recently headed an international panel examining the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Psychiatrist and Director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj. The Programme is a non-profit Palestinian, non-governmental organization, formed to help families cope with the aftermath of torture and violence. El-Sarraj is well known in the occupied territories and Israel as Gazas first practicing psychiatrist and for his efforts to foster co-existence between Arabs and Jews. El-Sarraj is also former Commissioner General of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens rights.

Psychiatrist, peace activist and feminist Dr Ruchama Marton. She teaches at the Tel Aviv University Medical School Institute for Psychotherapy. She is also President of Physicians for Human Rights, Isreal.

Shlaim is the author of the new book, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World. Shlaims book is a revisionist interpretation of Israel's policy toward the Arab world, based on newly released documents, and on interviews with policymakers and participants in events.

Religion scholar Karen Armstrong. She’s the author of the bestselling books “The Battle for God,” “Jerusalem,” and “The History of God.” She’ll discuss the religious history of the Middle East, and the significance of the region to the people there. She’s also written “Islam: A Short History” (Modern Library Chronicles).