Join the Group of 78 on January 13, 2025, at 1 PM as speakers Peter Larson (OFIP) and Reuven Shultz (CFPN) discuss Canada’s potential role in making and keeping peace in the Israel/Palestine Conflict.
Peter Larson is the Chair of the Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine (OFIP), a Canadian human rights organization focussing on the Middle East. His professional career included periods at the Public Policy Forum, the Conference Board of Canada, the French-language daily “Le Droit”, and as a consultant to labour unions and federal government departments and agencies. He has frequently visited Israel, Iran, Jordan, Egypt and the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza and led many trips to Israel/Palestine for Canadians interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the complex Israel/Palestine issue. He is a frequent lecturer whose presentations are appreciated for being fact-based and balanced. He is also the principal author of a weekly series of articles on the Middle East to be found at www.CanadaTalksIsraelPalestine.ca
As founding Chair of the Middle East Study Group of the Canadian International Council (National Capital Region) Peter was also a board member of the National Council on Canada Arab Relations, and the first chair of its National Education Committee on Israel/Palestine. In recognition of his work on Canada-Arab relations, Peter was awarded The Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Governor General of Canada in 2012.
Reuven Shultz began his association with Canadian Friends of Peace Now around the time of the 1982 Lebanon invasion. His hope that diplomacy would lead to the recognition of Palestinian statehood, coexistence, and confederation remains unrealized. With Donald Trump’s re-election, peace seems further away than ever before. Reuven says he prefers not to speculate about future possibilities for peace, as ‘I am prone to underestimate our human proclivity for mendaciousness, folly and cruelty’. However, he is interested in what Canada can contribute to peacemaking. What is there in the federal toolbox that could both advance the cause of peace in the Middle East, and rally popular support? Is defending and strengthening the institutions of the United Nations in the cards? What can we learn from the past?
Let’s find out together. Click the button below to register to attend.