University News

Kuttab: Israeli-Palestinian Situation ‘Ripe for Resolution'

Jonathan Kuttab, a Palestinian attorney, expert in international law and leading human rights activist in Israel and Palestine, spoke at Creighton on Oct. 8. The title of his address was “Peace and Justice for Palestine: Can Either Be Achieved Through Non-Violent Resistance?”

“On the one level, the situation is very ripe for a resolution, because all the elements of a possible deal, a just, rational, pragmatic deal, that addresses Israel’s concerns and interests and addresses Akpan Palestinian concerns, at least partially, as well as the interests of the international community — all the elements are there, are on the table,” Kuttab said prior to the lecture. “What is lacking, I think, is a little bit of political will to implement it.”

Kuttab co-founded the Palestinian Center for the Study of Non-Violence, now called the Holy Land Trust, which is based in Bethlehem. He currently serves as chair of the organization’s board of directors. Kuttab earned a law degree from the University of Virginia and worked for a Wall Street law firm for several years before returning to his homeland as a nonviolence activist.

Kuttab’s visit was sponsored by Creighton’s Justice and Peace Studies Program, the Graff Chair in Catholic Theological Studies, the Muslim Student Association and Nebraskans for Peace.