Wednesdays, Mar. 5, 24, 31, 3-5pm
Blue Hill Public Library, Howard Room

Facilitator: Norm Olsen

Outside the Middle East, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict looks like a nonsensical battle between two peoples who hate each other for ideological or religious reasons. Like most conflicts, the truth is far more prosaic and down-to-earth, at least in its origins.

Participants will explore the 19th and 20th century movements and tactics for establishing a Jewish state, the impact on and reactions by the indigenous people of Palestine, and where we are today.

Norm Olsen, is a native of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, served for 26 years as U.S. Foreign Service Officer. He served 1991 to 1995 in the Gaza Strip, covering the First Intifada and the establishment of the Palestinian Autothority, and from 2002 to 2007 as Counselor for Political Affairs at the Embassy in Tel Aviv. His most recent tour of duty was as Associate Coordinator for Counterterrorism in the State Department.

Dr. A. J. Sherman: Mandate Days: British Lives in Palestine, 1918-1948;

John Hopkins University Press, ca.265pp

The Haaretz.com website, both News and Opinion pages