Gershon Baskin

Dr. Gershon Baskin is best known for facilitating the release of Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. He is a leading Israeli scholar and peace activist.

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About

Gershon Baskin founded IPCRI (Israel Palestine Center for Research & Information), a joint public policy think tank. He is country manager for Palestine and Egypt in Gigawatt Global. His book 'The Negotiator - Freeing Gilad Schalit from Hamas' was published in 2013. His new book 'In Pursuit of Peace in Israel & Palestine' was just released last year by Vanderbilt University Press.

Programs

The Secret Conduit to Freedom – The Story of the Secret Negotiations between Israel and Hamas

Gershon Baskin describes in detail his first hand experience in initiating and establishing the secret direct channel of talks that he held with Hamas starting immediately after the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit on June 25, 2006. He focuses on the conditions that enabled the deal to be reached, how the deal was closed, and the lessons that need to be learned from the ordeal.

Rising Challenges from the Middle East - new opportunities

The Middle East is the world's most challenged region today. Converging interests between Israel and many of its neighbors offer new opportunities to address old conflicts. Gershon discusses the impact of these challenges on the Israel and Palestine, focusing on security, human security, environment, energy, and business.

The Peace Process in the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict

Gershon focuses on the numerous failures and successes of the process, and the valuable lessons learned from his years of first hand experience as an advisor to leaders of both sides of the conflict. He discusses proposals that could have changed the course of history and shares his candid insights on how to run a peace process, including his own list of do’s and don’ts of peace negotiations.

The Trump Administration and the Israeli Palestinian Conflict

The policies of the Trump Administration regarding the Israeli Palestinian conflict are unclear at best and totally unpredictable. This talk will examine the possible policy options facing Trump and his advisers and possible outcomes of their choices.

In Pursuit of Peace in Israel and Palestine

Baskin's new book -Vanderbilt Univ. Press. 38 years of intensive pursuit of peace. Creating & directing the Institute for Education for Jewish-Arab Coexistence. Founding and co-directing the only joint Israeli Palestinian public policy think & do-tank in the world. During the many cycles of peace negotiations, Baskin served as an adviser & agitator for peace.

Genres

Endorsements

What sets him apart is his ability to weave together a sweeping historical narrative with detailed “insider” insight into present day local and regional challenges. More impressive still,Gershon maintains an uncanny ability to cut through the bluster and approach the conflict with sensitivity and objectively, all the while maintaining a critical eye.
— Robert C. Blitt, Professor of Law, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN

Gershon gave a magnificent & balanced overview of the current issues facing Israelis & Palestinians and possible scenarios towards resuming Peace negotiations. Gershon is the only person I know who can really bring alive both narratives to reveal the complexities & sensitivities for both Israelis & Palestinians in the challenges they face in building peace &d security
— Elizabeth Harris-Sawczenko, Deputy Director, Council of Christians and Jews, London

“My students were absolutely riveted by your story and your assessment of the current situation. One student told me that after a decade of studying the conflict and four different classes in college and law school, he felt for the first time that he had a coherent understanding after hearing from you.”
— Professor Andrea Kupfer Schneider, Director, Dispute Resolution Program, Marquette University Law School, Milwaukee, WI

“One can exhaust the resources of the thesaurus trying to come up words to describe Dr. Gershon Baskin — determined, stubborn, resolute, resilient, indefatigable…Not to mention very, very optimistic.”
— Chris Leppek, Intermountain Jewish News, Recepient of Rockower Award for Excellence in Jewish Journalism, Colorado

We greatly appreciated your two lectures. People are still talking about how much they learned. You speak with passion and knowledge, and your many personal stories take us behind the headlines, telling us much about the people we read about . I hope your sense of optimism for a peace breakthrough comes about, but if it doesn’t, it won’t be for any lack of work on your part.
— Rabbi Paul Plotkin, Rabbi, Temple Beth Am, Margate, Florida

Gershon Baskin, is one of the outstanding originator of peace initiatives in our era. This is based on a deep belief in the qualities of human affinity, human dignity and selflessness. He is a pluralist and recognizes that social behavior is essential to building peace through participation from the bottom up. Gershon promotes the art of conversation and listening ...”
— HRH Prince Hassan Bin Talal, Founder, The Arab Thought Forum, The Royal Palace, Amman Jordan

Gershon Baskin is among Israel’s most intrepid pursuers of peace. His book is not only a fascinating journey across the Jewish-Palestinian divide, it also provides that rarest commodity in these dark times: hope.
— Peter Beinart, Author, The Crisis of Zionism, New York

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