Palestinian spokeswoman and scholar Hanan Ashrawi to speak Sept. 20

Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian scholar and political activist, will deliver a talk, "Peace in the Middle East: Who Needs It?" Sept. 20 at 4:30 p.m. in Bailey Hall on the Cornell campus. President David Skorton will introduce Ashrawi, a guest of the Cornell Einaudi Center's Foreign Policy Distinguished Speakers Series. The event is free and open to the public.

Ashrawi is the founder and executive committee chair of the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy and is an elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for Jerusalem. She last spoke at Cornell in 2001 on the topic "Peace: Current Crisis and Future Prospects."

From 1991 to 1993, Ashrawi was the official spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority delegation for the U.S.-Israel-Palestinian Peace Talks and a member of the leadership team, which led to the Oslo Accords. Ashrawi is credited with being one of the main architects of the 1991 Madrid Peace Talks' so-called two-stage framework. She is the author of several books, including "Contemporary Palestinian Poetry and Fiction" and her autobiography, "This Side of Peace: A Personal Account."

Ashrawi holds a B.A. and M.A. from the American University of Beirut and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. From 1973 to 1995, she was a faculty member of Birzeit University, where she held several positions, including dean of the faculty of arts.

She is the recipient of numerous international peace, human rights and democracy awards, including the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation.

In addition to the Einaudi Center, which coordinates ongoing efforts through a newly established Foreign Policy Network at Cornell, Ashrawi's talk is co-sponsored by the Department of Near Eastern Studies, Alice Cook House and the Office of the Vice Provost for International Relations.

Media Contact

Joe Schwartz