Today Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church begins a series of discussions regarding Israel, Palestine and the Presbyterian Church (USA). This series comes in response to a controversial statement adopted by the Presbyterian General Assembly this past summer.

Dr. Ross Brann will present a historical overview of the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including a critical examination of the current state of affairs. Dr. Brann will address the General Assembly’s language describing Israel as “an apartheid state” and offer tools for further study.

Dr. Brann is the Milton R. Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University.